The Uzumaki Tales: Return of the Whirlpool
by jbriz
Summary: What if Naruto met the Kyuubi during the Land of Waves? What if it was all a big misunderstanding? Watch as Naruto is able to tap into the power sealed inside of him on the day of his birth and the following events. Starts after the graduation. Better summary inside. Stronger Naruto (but realistic progression). NaruHina and others. Title becomes more apparent later in the story.
1. Chapter 1 (revised)

Author Note

First, I want to say thank you to everyone for reading my first fanfiction on this site. As of now, it will be of epic-length that will be subdivided into at least three books within the book itself. Bellow are the summaries for the current books.

**Book 1 (ch 1-60):** Starting from the formation of Team 7, watch as during their first mission Naruto meets the Kyuubi and strikes a deal with his inner demon. From there, Naruto begins his quest to understand not only the power that was sealed inside him at birth, but also his own power. Watch as he begins the journey to become what he was born to be, an Uzumaki.

**Book 2 (ch 61-70): **Jiraiya and Naruto have officially left on their 2-3 year long training trip. With the help of one of the Legendary Sanin, watch as Naruto grows into the ninja that he could once only dream about. However, not all is as it seems with this 'simple' training trip. A dangerous enemy with a decade-old grudge is beginning to move and Naruto will have to do everything in his power to become stronger in order to survive. Not only that, but he'll have to deal with Jiraiya's attempts to bring out his inner-perv.

**Book 3 (ch 70-onward): **not available yet.

This story will be rated M for violence, language, other adult content, and potential lemons during Book 3. Book 1 may be able to pass as 'T', but as the characters grow and mature, the contents of the book will as well.

This story features a stronger and more mature Naruto, but at a progressive and realistic pace. However, while he may grow into a stronger and more mature individual, Naruto is still Naruto and he will still have his moments. This also features a seal-master Naruto later on and takes a look at what it would be like if Sasuke never got the curse mark and left the village.

Pairings in this story currently are: Naru/Hina (minor development starts around ch 19 with major development around chapter 25). Sasu/Saku (begins ch 59). Shika/Tema, Neji/Ten, and Shino/Fu (these are minor pairings at the moment, but will see more development starting in book 3). Other pairings have yet to be announced or determined.

There may be minor bashing. If I do include some bashing of major characters (Konoha 12 for example) it won't last too long and is usually used in character development. I will only consistently bash those who I feel truly deserve to be bashed (council, Hyuga main branch [not including Hiashi/Hanabi/Hinata], Orochimaru, and Danzo).

Enjoy.

**A/N:** Hey everyone, I am currently in the process of going through and editing the spelling and grammar in this story. This will be rather timely process, so if you see a spelling mistake, please just bear with me. I am also changing the names to the Japanese arrangement (ex. Uzumaki Naruto). This was a convention that was started later in the story and I am simply making things smoother. The same thing with the underlining of jutsu names. Again, please bear with me while these changes are implemented.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters

"Normal speech"

"_Normal thought"_

"**Demonic speech/extremely pissed off Tsunade"**

"_**demonic thought"**_

Jutsu/technique

* * *

Note: Just a quick heads up, this chapter is more of a refresher on the events surrounding Naruto actually becoming a genin (aka bell test). If you do not feel like reading the Bell Test, then I suggest you skip to the next chapter where I will delve a little into some of the first missions of Naruto and his friends. However, I do suggest you read the A/N at the end of this chapter.

* * *

_**The Uzumaki Tales: Return of the Whirlpool**_

_**Book 1**_

**Chapter 1: This Year's New Genin Teams**

Today was the day. Today was March 5, the day that this year's class would finally end their time in the academy and become full fledge ninja of the village. The graduation exams had been held just two days ago with all but one student graduating. This student was Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto was the village prankster and the class clown. He was also considered the 'dead last' of the class and everyone thought of him and his proclaiming that he would become Hokage as a complete and utter joke. No matter how much Naruto tried, he couldn't manage to succeed for some reason. Even the simplest jutsu, such as the Clone Jutsu, were too much for Naruto and as such, Iruka was reluctantly forced to fail Naruto.

Iruka didn't want to fail the blonde child that he had become emotionally attached to, but seeing as the child had failed to perform even the simplest jutsu, was forced to decide that Naruto was not quite ready to be a ninja. Frankly, Iruka was beginning to doubt that Naruto would ever be able to graduate. And then THAT event happened.

On the evening of March 3, Naruto stole the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing as an attempt to earn some 'extra credit' and pass the exam. It was on this night that Iruka and Naruto did battle with the traitorous Mizuki, one of the now former academy teacher. It was also on this night that Naruto finally learned why his life had practically been a living hell. He was the Kyuubi no Kitsune, or rather the Kyuubi was sealed inside him.

Just under twelve years ago, the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked the village, resulting in many deaths and a great deal of destruction. Seeing no other way to defeat the beast, the Yondaime Hokage, the greatest shinobi of his time, sealed away the great beast into a newborn infant. This infant was Uzumaki Naruto.

Now, Naruto wasn't the Kyuubi nor was he some manifestation of the Kyuubi. The Yondaime had made one last wish that Naruto be regarded as a hero of the village for keeping the Kyuubi at bay. Unfortunately, the Yondaime's dying wish was ignored and the village began to torment the child. This upset the Sandaime Hokage, who had returned to his former position after the death of his successor, and many laws were enacted. The most notable was to forbid the village from even mentioning the Kyuubi. Unfortunately, this resulted in the village shunning Naruto, leaving him to contemplate why the village hated him. What was worse was that the child was an orphan, not knowing the love that only a parent could give him. Whenever he would ask the Sandaime about his parents, the Hokage would just bypass the answer to the question by saying they were "great people". This and the shroud of secrets surrounding Naruto only served to further the young child's misery.

And then it happened. After years of constantly failing to master even the simplest of jutsu, Naruto finally did it. In a time where his and his sensei's life, one of the few people who had actually acknowledged him, Naruto finally performed the Clone Jutsu…or rather the Shadow Clone Jutsu. This was a jonin-level technique that told Iruka enough…Naruto was in fact ready to become a ninja. As such, Iruka decided to pass Naruto, by giving him the Leaf headband off his own head.

Looking around the class room, Iruka couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride come to him. All 27 students in his class had managed to pass. This was a rare accomplishment that he would be sure to rub in the face of the other teachers later. He only wished that ALL of his class would become true genin.

"Alright class, I would like to congratulate you all for becoming ninja" the instructor announced. "I have your team assignments right here. After I call out your teams, you will be dismissed for the morning and report back here this afternoon to meet your new senseis."

With that Iruka began announcing the team assignments. "Team 7 will be Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura was happy that she was on Sasuke's team, but mad that Naruto was also there. Naruto was happy for being with Sakura, but mad that he got stuck with Sasuke. Sasuke, well he hated both of them. Hinata was also a little disappointed that she would not be with Naruto. "Team 8 will be Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. Team 10 will be Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji." The class was dismissed.

* * *

With the newly minted genin given the rest of the morning off, Naruto figured now would be a good time to ask his crush and now teammate, Haruno Sakura, to grab lunch with him. Unfortunately, this turned out like any other attempt to get to spend some time with her. She rejected him, rather harshly. It was no secret who Sakura liked as it was the same guy most of the other girls in his class. She was an avid fan girl of Naruto's other teammate, Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto didn't like Sasuke, simply because of all the attention Sasuke got and the slight rivalry the two had developed during the academy, although Naruto constantly got his ass handed to him by said Uchiha.

Unfortunately for Sakura, she was shot down just as harshly when she tried to see if Sasuke wanted to grab lunch. Instead, Sasuke simply went off to brood about some unknown issue. It was then that she realized what she was treating Naruto like...in fact, this actually got her to think about being nicer to the blonde the next time they ran into each other.

* * *

All of the genin met back at the classroom after lunch break and awaited for their new senseis to come and collect them. While the other teams left with their senseis, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were left alone in the classroom, waiting…and waiting…and waiting. They had been waiting for just over two hours before someone finally came into the room. It was their jonin sensei, who had somehow managed to fall for one of Naruto's more obvious and ridiculous traps. Naruto had wedged an eraser in the door, which would fall when the door opened. For Naruto, the trap worked perfectly and their new sensei was bonked square on the head as the eraser bounced off his gravity defying silver hair.

For their sensei, this gave him a bad fist impression. All he really said to them was "My first impression is…I don't like you" before taking them away to the roof of the academy for introductions.

Their sensei went first, introducing himself as Hatake Kakashi, a jonin in Konoha. Unfortunately, this was all Team 7 got out of their sensei as the remainder of his answers were rather…vague.

Naruto followed up. Unlike Kakashi, Naruto basically read off his autobiography for the most part, stating his dream to become Hokage and his absolute love for ramen. His hobbies included eating ramen and pulling pranks. Kakashi sent him an intriguing look, almost as if he knew Naruto from a long time ago and was slightly curious as to how the boy had grown.

Sakura was next. Like Naruto, she didn't hold back, although she really didn't say much. No, her expressions told the entire story. In short, she was a die-hard Sasuke Uchiha fangirl, who was probably only here to impress Sasuke.

Sasuke finished off the introductions. His introduction was much darker than the two before him, stating that he disliked many things and like very few things. His dream, or should I say ambition, was to kill a certain man and to rebuild his clan.

"_Hmm, a ramen-obsessed failure, an emo 'avenger', and an obsessive fangirl" _thought Kakashi as he made his impressions on the team sitting in front of him. Sadly, this was going to be like every other team…they would fail his exam. He hated to do it as one of the children given to him was the last member of his late friend and former teammate, Uchiha Obito, and his sensei's…well, I'm not allowed to talk about that because of the Sandaime's laws.

Kakashi gave his team the dreaded news of the actual genin exam, telling them to meet him at training ground 7 tomorrow morning at 8:00am. This test would determine if they were amongst the 33% of their class that passed the exam. Oh, and he told them not to eat breakfast or else they would throw up.

* * *

Kakashi was a lazy liar. That was Team 7's second impression of Kakashi and one that they got before beginning the exam. They were told to meet up at 8:00, but Kakashi didn't even bother showing until just after 10:00. Furthermore, the 'don't eat breakfast' part turned out to be a trick to simply make them suffer more.

Kakashi explained to them that the objective of this test was to obtain the two bells that he had tied to the side of his belt. However, because there were only two bells, only two people would pass while the third would be sent back to the academy; that is if they even managed to get a bell. Instantly, Naruto began to shout out against this, questioning the whole point of the test.

Kakashi began the exam, giving them until noon to take the bells from him. As soon as he started, Sakura and Sasuke darted off into the trees to conceal themselves like a true ninja would. As for the third member of the team, well…

"Come and fight me!" declared Naruto, not even bothering to hide himself.

"_Baka"_ both Sasuke and Sakura though, observing Naruto from their hiding spots.

Naruto charged as the one-eyed jonin only to halt when Kakashi reached into his back pouch for what seemed like a weapon. To Naruto slight disappointment, it was an orange-colored book titled 'Icha Icha Paradise'. After overcoming his initial confusion, Naruto resumed his attack, hoping to teach the jonin a lesson for underestimating him. Kakashi managed to dodge ever single blow with minimal effort, if even that, not even having to take his eye off the book.

"A ninja isn't supposed to get caught from behind, idiot" Kakashi said, appearing in a crouching position behind Naruto. Kakashi made a quick hand seal as Naruto tried to react in time. "Too late. Hidden Technique: 1000 Years of Pain!" Naruto was sent flying while Sakura and Sasuke just looked on in embarrassment. All Kakashi had really done was poke Naruto in the ass, sending him flying into the stream in the training ground.

"You sure are weak for someone wanting to become Hokage" taunted Kakashi as it became obvious that the blonde wasn't surfacing anytime soon.

"Shut it you! I'm going to make you acknowledge me!" shouted Naruto as half a dozen Narutos burst out of the water. For the first time since meeting his team, Kakashi was actually slightly surprised. Even Sasuke and Sakura were amazed by the fact that Naruto had managed to pull off this many clones…and not just normal clones, but physical ones.

"You still can't beat me with that jutsu" Kakashi said as the eight Naruto's charged at Kakashi. Before he knew it, a seventh Naruto had grabbed Kakashi from behind.

"Weren't ninjas not supposed to get caught from behind? Right Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto said ironically. "Here comes revenge for poking my ass like that!"

Even Sasuke admitted that Naruto had come up with a decent plan. Naruto made a fist and punched Kakashi, only to realize that he had punched one of his clones. Before anyone knew what was happening, the Naruto's were beating up each other. Kakashi had used a Substitution Jutsu to get out of that mess.

Naruto spent the next few minutes trying to find where Kakashi went. To his delight, he found one of the bells sitting by the base of a tree. "Hehe, he dropped a bell" Naruto said, reaching for the bell. Next thing he knew, he was pulled into the air by a rope. He had just walked right into a trap. Kakashi then appeared and picked up the bell. One down, two to go.

Seeing his opening, Sasuke unleashed a barrage of shuriken upon Kakashi. All of them hit their mark as Kakashi was pinned into a nearby tree with half a dozen shuriken sticking out of his head.

"Poof!" Kakashi turned into a log, using a Substitution Jutsu to avoid any damage. Sasuke was cursing as he had just given up his position. Panicking, Sasuke bolted out of his hiding spot as Sakura did the same, not wanting to lose sight of her crush.

Sakura quickly lost sight of Sasuke, only to find herself in Kakashi's trap.

"Hello Sakura" said Kakashi, appearing behind her as she was caught in a swirl of leaves. The next thing Sakura saw was a beaten and bruised Sasuke crawling out of the bushes, roughly a few dozen kunai and shuriken sticking out of her body. And then he collapsed to the ground….dead. Sakura cried out in horror as she lost consciousness due to the genjutsu placed on her. Two down, one Uchiha left.

Kakashi moved to the next clearing, tripping a wire and sending a barrage of knives at him. He easily dodged the trap that Sasuke must have set for him. When Kakashi recovered, he quickly found himself engaged in a taijutsu battle with Sasuke. Kakashi easily repelled Sasukes attacks and Sasuke was forced to resort to something Kakashi really was not expecting.

"Fire-style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" shouted Sasuke. Genin fresh out of the academy weren't supposed to know jutsu on this level. It was surprising that Naruto knew the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but the fact that Sasuke also knew an advanced jutsu…he was beginning to hate the fact that he would be forced to fail them in less than an hour now.

The flames died down and Sasuke couldn't see any sign of Kakashi anywhere, that is until a pair of arms came shooting up out of the ground, dragging Sasuke into the ground so that he was buried up to his head. Three down.

Shortly after, the three academy students found themselves back at the posts with Kakashi facing them. Sasuke and Sakura were sitting against two posts and Naruto had somehow managed to get himself tied to one post.

Kakashi gave them a quick lecture about not working together, emphasizing his point by telling Sakura to kill Naruto or he would kill Sasuke. He didn't actually mean it, but it was just to help prove his point. Kakashi agreed to give the three one more chance, as long as they did not share their lunch with Naruto.

After much complaining, Sasuke decided to go against Kakashi's rule and offered Naruto his lunch. Sakura quickly followed and Kakashi caught them in the act.

The three of them prepared themselves for the punishment and Kakashi delivered. They passed. They were now officially ninja of Konoha.

* * *

Yuhi Kurenai had been assigned to Team 8, consisting of Hinata, Shino, and Kiba. Like the other jonin, she had been tasked with determining whether or not her team had the potential to become an actual team of shinobi.

Hinata was the current heir of the Hyuga clan, currently the most powerful clan in Konoha; however, her father had labelled her as a failure due to her lack of skills and her shy and timid nature. As such, her father, Hiashi, had assigned Kurenai to watch over Hinata since a few years ago while he shifted most of his attention to his younger daughter, Hanabi. Kurenai wasn't too fond of the treatment Hinata had received at home and she was sure her father still cared for his daughter. However, clan politics had gotten in the way of what's best for Hinata. Kurenai took this as a challenge, determined to make Hinata into a kunoichi that the Hyuga clan would regret casting aside. It was for this sole reason that she would most likely pass her team, even before she tested them.

Kiba was the younger of the two children in the Inuzuka's main family. For years, the Inuzukas were renown through Konoha for producing some of the best hunter ninjas in the shinobi world. Their relationships with dogs made them ideal for tracking and their own senses were more beast-like as well. Kiba's own sense of smell was about 100x more powerful than humans, not nearly as strong as a dogs, but still…

Shino was the final member of her team. He was the clan heir to the Aburame clan. The Aburame were, in a sense, outcasted by some of the population of Konoha as they lived in symbiosis with insects, allowing the insects to live inside their own body. However, much of the shinobi population knew of the potential the Aburames possessed and as such, they had a great deal of respect for the clan. Shino's knowledge of the insect world and ability to make use of the faint chemical signals found in insect pheromones made him a valuable member in a team that was destined to become a great tracking team, if not the best.

Kurenai saw the potential in this team to be great. She would put very little effort in testing them as she was pretty much set on passing them the moment she was assigned this team.

* * *

Sarutobi Asuma had been assigned to the clan heirs of the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans, as per tradition. Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji were the selected members of each clan who were destined to form the next generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Konoha's legendary combo rivalled only by the Raikage and his brother in terms of teamwork.

Ino was, and still was, one of Sasuke biggest fangirls. Like all the other Sasuke fangirls, this held back her own potential. If she could just focus more on her shinobi career and less on the last Uchiha, she would be one hell of a kunoichi.

Shikamaru, like the rest of the male populous in his clan, was extremely lazy yet possessed superior intelligence that was seen nowhere else. Like Ino, Shikamaru had immense potential, but he held himself back as it would be too much effort for him to care about much else.

Chouji was the final member of his team. Chouji was the heir of the Akimichi clan. The main problem with Chouji however, is that he cared more for food than shinobi training. Sadly, this was common in the Akimichi clan.

Asuma would likely pass this team as well without much evaluation. He knew the three of them were destined to work together, like the generations before them. All he had to do was to get them out of their own little worlds and start working together. Once that happened, his team would be a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, gathered all of the jonin instructors assigned to this year's class. Like in the past, there was only about a 33% pass rate for all of the teams. In particular, the most notable team that passed was Kakashi's team. He had been assigned to test genin teams for the past 7 years and all of them had failed, miserably. However, this team had managed to pass. Many jonin credited it to the fact that the Uchiha was assigned to him. Out of the nearly 1000 students who graduated this year, only 300 (or 100 teams) were actually going to become genin.

* * *

Author Note (warning: potential spoilers)

So here is the REVISED first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

Just a quick note, if you have read or seen the cannon up until the Fourth Shinobi War, the Allied Shinobi Forces had numbers ranging around 80,000 between all five villages and the Land of Iron's samurai. With Konoha being one of the larger nations, I have estimated that its shinobi forces number around 15,000-17,000. As such, I find it highly unlikely that only 9 new ninja are added to the force each year. This was kind of hinted in cannon when they only focused on Naruto's class. I will only be focusing primarily on the 9 genin who graduated from Naruto's class of 27 students, but please be aware that there were many other classes than graduated at the same time as Naruto and his class. As such, this makes the number of new genin more realistic. Now, there are other paths to becoming a shinobi, but the academy is the path that most ninja take towards becoming a Konoha shinobi.

While Konoha won't be quite as large, there will be a population of around 25,000-30,000 with a ninja population of around 10,000. I'll explain this later on.

I hope this clears up a few things right off the bat.

I hope you enjoyed. Reviews and Comments greatly appreciated.

**Edit (3/5/13): **Some minor formatting and A/N changes

**Edit (3/18/13): **A/N changes and formatting.

**Edit (5/8/13): **Spelling, grammar, and formatting changes


	2. Chapter 2 (revised)

Revised: 12/2/2012

**Chapter 2: A Ninja…Finally!**

Naruto awoke early the next morning. He had finally done it. He was now officially a ninja. Yesterday, he and his team, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke-teme Uchiha, had passed the true genin exam and they were slated to start as true ninja today. Naruto went through his usual morning routine before leaving his apartment to meet up with his team.

Meeting up at the training ground, he found that Sasuke and Sakura had already arrived, but Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. He remembered from the past two days that Kakashi had been late by atleast 2 hours. Hopefully this wouldn't be a regular occurrence. Sadly it was.

"You're late!" shouted Naruto and Sakura simultaneously as Kakashi arrived two hours late.

"Sorry guys, you see there was this old lady who needed help crossing the street and then she needed help…" Kakashi was interrupted.

"Can it!" shouted Sakura.

"Yeah, come on sensei, what sort of cool ninja stuff are we going to be doing today?" asked Naruto.

"Well someone looks eager to get started. So we will. Today we will be working on your teamwork" said Kakashi.

"Huh?" All three of them looked at Kakashi with a dumbfounded look. "Why do we need to do that? Come on, we are ninja now. Can't we get either an exciting mission or a cool new jutsu?" asked Naruto.

"No, not today anyways. I told you yesterday that the three of you will be working together in a team so we will work on making sure the three of you can work together" said Kakashi.

"But come on Kakashi. We are ninja now" argued Naruto.

"No 'but's. You are ninja and as ninja, you need to work together in teams" explained Kakashi. "Do you have a problem, or would you rather go back to the academy?"

"Err…no. Teamwork is great" said Naruto sarcastically.

For the rest of the week, Kakashi had them working on simple trust exercises, such as throwing a ball back and forth blindfolded or having someone guide another around a course while the one being guided was blindfolded. For the most part, these exercises went smooth, for the first hour that is. There came a point every time when Naruto would become fed up with the exercise and slip up somehow, creating tension within the group. Most of this tension was between him and Sasuke with Sakura siding with Sasuke, always. As such, the exercise would go downhill from there. Kakashi sighed at his teams progress. Perhaps a mission might help things out. He had the right mission in mind that was designed to serve as a good first mission and help build teamwork.

* * *

"Is everyone in position?" Kakashi called out through the wireless radios his team was wearing.

"I'm ready" called out Sakura.

"I'm in position" said Sasuke.

"I'm here" replied Naruto.

"Alright, where's the target?" asked Kakashi.

"Target is five meters. We are ready to go" said Sasuke.

"Alright, on my mark…go" ordered Kakashi.

With that, the three newly minted genin dove forward on their target. Naruto came up the one to catch it, although he was wishing he hadn't. Their target just so happened to be a pretty angry cat, known around the village as Tora, the Fire Damyio's Wife's pet and the Demon Cat of the Leaf.

Team 7 reported that they had caught the intended cat, indicating that it had a pink ribbon in its ear. They quickly made their way back to the Konoha mission hall and Naruto couldn't get rid of the cat any sooner. By the time Tora was back in the suffocating arms of its owner, Naruto's face looked like it had just been put through a blender five times over. Kakashi called that enough for the day, citing Naruto's health as an excuse to dismiss his team for the day and to read his book.

Before leaving, Iruka, who had been stationed to give out missions that day, asked Naruto if he wanted to get ramen later. Naruto gratefully accepted Iruka's offer.

* * *

"So Naruto tell me, how was your first week of being a ninja?" asked Iruka.

"You know, I thought it would be better, but all Kakashi-sensei has us doing are stupid teamwork exercises and then we get that mission" said Naruto, rubbing his face. "My face still hurts."

"Ah yes, the infamous Capture Tora mission" said Iruka.

"Wait, did you have to do that mission as well?" asked Naruto.

Iruka cringed a little as he recalled the full memory. "Yeah. That cat has a history of getting away from its owner."

Naruto laughed. "I can see why. That lady was practically suffocating the cat. Serves it right" said Naruto.

"Now Naruto, be nice. That lady is the wife of the Fire Damyio and you won't believe how much money that cat brings into the village" said Iruka. Naruto looked at Iruka a little confused. "All right, I'll explain. People hire ninja to do tasks ranging from catching a pet cat, all the way up to assassinations. We assign a ninja team to these missions based on the assigned ranking and the clients pay us a commission. Out of the commission paid, you get a certain amount of it, as well as the rest of your team, and the village takes its cut. This is main way a ninja village makes money is through the service of our ninja. The price of a mission depends on a few things but the two main factors are the intended length of the mission and the assigned difficulty. Now, missions are assigned a difficulty rank ranging from D all the way to S. As a genin, you will only be doing D-ranks for now but you may get a C-rank or two in the future once begin to prove yourself. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I guess. But still…" said Naruto. Iruka laughed.

"Don't worry. Everyone has to go through D-ranks. Think of it as a rite of passage that every ninja has to take. Eventually, there will be other ninja doing those missions and you will be doing things more exciting. Just stick with what you're given for now and eventually your time will come" said Iruka.

"Yeah, you're right. Besides, they can't all be as bad as catching that stupid cat. Just you watch, in no time I'll be kicking ass and saving nations! Dattebayo!" exclaimed Naruto.

* * *

Naruto was walking back from their daily training session. It had been just over a month since he became a ninja. His current schedule consisted of alternating between missions on one day and training on the other day with a personal day for rest or whatever every week. Now this wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been for the missions they were stuck doing or the 'training', if it was even that, that Kakashi had them doing.

The missions were more of chores. In the past month, his team had accomplished 10 D-ranks which consisted of menial tasks such as painting fences, weeding gardens, delivering baked goods, picking up trash, and the worst of them all…catching that damned cat. Sure Iruka-sensei told him a few weeks ago just to put up with them, but this seemed just like a waste of his amazing ninja talents. It was also on these missions where he always seemed to screw up somehow and as a result, Sasuke had to come to his rescue, causing Sakura to fawn even more over Sasuke for acing so cool and heroic. Naruto would then get yelled at, usually by Sakura, for not taking things seriously. Well perhaps if he was taken more seriously and given something that an actual ninja would do, then he would actually take the mission more serious.

If the missions weren't enough, the training just made it worse. After getting out of the academy, Naruto was expecting to learn some really cool jutsu and ninja techniques, but Kakashi had them working on nothing more than teambuilding exercises. Today was an exercise where Kakashi had one of them blindfold the other and then the non-blindfolded person would guide the blindfolded person around, directing them away from danger.

Everything had started alright. He had been tasked with guiding a blindfolded Sasuke around an obstacle course in less than 15 minutes. Sure he might have steered Sasuke into a few trees or off a log once or twice on accident, but that didn't warrant what he received when he and Sasuke swapped places. It only took about 5 minutes before Sasuke guided Naruto into the river, soaking him. From there, everything went downhill and the two boys ended up in a little bit of a fight, Sasuke coming out on top.

Naruto cursed his misfortune, being stuck with Sasuke-teme and a sensei that couldn't care less for his career as a ninja.

* * *

If Naruto was having a bad day, then Sasuke's wasn't much better. These menial D-ranks were starting to get on his nerves as well. He needed to become stronger so that he could accomplish his goals and these general labor tasks were not doing anything. In fact, if it wasn't for the Dobe and the obsessive fangirl, he could probably get them done faster and use the rest of the day to get in some useful training…but sadly that wasn't the case.

During those missions, Naruto would usually find some way to mess up and he would be forced to save the blonde. However, Naruto wasn't the worst. At the very least, Naruto was trying…to some degree. He had to give him that. Sakura, on the other hand, was the worse of his two teammates. He hated how her attention was always focused on him and not the task at hand. If she would put even half the effort into the mission or bettering herself as a shinobi, then that would also better the success of the mission and he would have some time to train. Sasuke knew what Sakura was…she was a fan girl.

Ever since the academy, he hated the fan girls. They did nothing but fawn left and right over him, coming up with ridiculous excuses to try and capture his attention. In fact, they had even gone as far to grow all of their hair because they heard that he liked girls with long hair. All the fan girls did was prove to be an unavoidable obstacle for him. If it wasn't for Sakura's constant nagging, he wouldn't have dropped Naruto into the creek

In reality, he couldn't care less. As part of his goal was to revive his clan, Sasuke knew that one day he would have to find a girl (or girls if the village forced the CRA on him) to help him. However, he didn't want this girl to be a brainless fan girl who practically worshiped the very ground he stood on. No, he wanted a girl that was strong and herself. He wanted someone who could stand against him and tell him he was wrong when he was. He wanted someone who didn't care if he was an Uchiha. Sakura was nowhere near that someone.

Sasuke could also care less for the team building exercises. To him, they were nothing more than a waste. He needed to kill someone and in order to do such, he needed power. He needed training. Not this. He needed real training and he needed real missions to test his abilities.

* * *

Sakura was nearly the exact opposite in terms of Naruto and Sasuke when it came to these missions. She didn't mind the menial missions or the labor. In fact, she rather enjoyed them as it gave her an opportunity to spend some quality time with Sasuke. The only thing she disliked about the missions happened to be Naruto. He always seemed to get in the way of her and Sasuke.

Sakura wasn't complaining so much. She had been slightly nervous when she started as a ninja, afraid that she would be thrown directly into some life threatening situation. She had heard of the shinobi life-style from her father. He was a former shinobi, nothing special, who retired from that life a few years after she was born as he had nearly lost his life during a mission with their former sensei, Iruka. When she told her parents that she wanted to be a shinobi, they questioned her decision, but eventually ended up supporting her. None the less, there was still a fear that she was getting in over her head.

Regardless, this choice wasn't too bad as it put her on the same team as just about every 11-13 year-old girl's dream guy, Sasuke Uchiha.

* * *

Naruto had just finished up dinner one night after yet another day of D-ranks. It was now six weeks since his start as a ninja and he was really getting fed up with the current program. Kakashi still had them doing teamwork exercises with some physical conditioning involved. Yet, Kakashi still refused to teach them anything ninja-like.

Coming out of Ichiraku, receiving some of the typical glares from the villagers, Naruto spotted someone he hadn't seen since the academy. It took him a few minutes to realize who it was exactly, but it came to him. That someone was Hinata. He had always thought of her as a weird and dark girl who just sat in the back and never talked to anyone. In fact, she was the exact opposite of most of the girls in the class. She was one of the very few, possibly the only, girls that didn't fawn over Sasuke. But there was something else…she was also the only one in the class that was never mean to him.

Naruto hadn't seen anyone else, besides Sakura and Sasuke, since the graduation from the academy. Well actually, he had seen Shikamaru and Chouji once, but they were busy chasing after that damned cat.

"Hey, uhh…Hinata!" shouted Naruto. He was just looking for someone else to talk to from his class besides Sasuke and Sakura.

Hinata froze up, hearing the voice of her crush coming up from behind her. "N-n-na-ruto?" she stuttered, looking frantically for something to hide behind. She found a nearby post and used that as cover although she peaked out from behind, glad that Naruto was talking to her.

"Hey, you still have your headband!" exclaimed Naruto, noticing the forehead protector around her neck. Besides his own team and Team 10, Naruto didn't know who the other teams who passed the genin exam from his class were. Kakashi had mentioned that there were three teams from his class, but he didn't know who the other team was…until now. "That means your team passed the genin exam!"

"Y-yes w-we d-d-did, N-naruto. I-I'm glad t-t-o s-see t-that you d-did as w-well" replied a stuttering Hinata.

"Wait, you're actually glad that I passed?" asked Naruto. He was sure half of the class had placed bets on him failing and the other half were preparing to beat him to death when he was the reason for Sasuke failing.

"I-I am. I a-always knew y-you w-would" she said.

"You did?" asked Naruto, getting a slight smile on his face. "Thanks. I'm glad you passed as well. Everyone in your family must be proud of you."

Hinata was happy that Naruto had acknowledged her, but at the same time, she was wishing that he hadn't brought her family into this. She looked down, catching Naruto's attention with this. "Hinata? What is it?"

"N-nothing. J-just that m-my f-father h-has always b-been strict and-and w-well, I-I'm afraid I-I'll d-disappoint h-him" said Hinata.

Now, if there was one thing Naruto knew, it was disappointment. For most of his life, he had been just that…a disappointment. However, through experience he learned that you're only a disappointment if you just give up. If you keep trying your absolute hardest, there is no way you could disappoint someone. He proved this the night he finally graduated after saving Iruka-sensei with the Shadow Clone Jutsu. "Don't worry. All you have to do is do your best. If you do that, you'll never disappoint. Dattebayo!" This picked Hinata's spirits up. If there was one thing she always admired about Naruto, it was his never give up attitude.

It was around that time that another man came onto the scene. "Hinata-sama, let's go. You shouldn't associate with that thing" said the man. He had the same eyes as her, indicating he was also a Hyuga.

"B-but..." Hinata tried to protest.

"No Hinata-sama. He's not right. You can't believe anything he says" said the Hyuga as he took Hinata away. Naruto looked down. He was used to this…adults grabbing children and dragging them away from him. He knew why, thanks to Mizuki's big mouth and an explanation later from the Hokage, but he still didn't understand. He wasn't the Kyuubi, he just had the beast sealed inside him.

"B-but, he t-told me t-to not give up, w-what's so b-bad about t-that?" asked Hinata. The Hyuga stopped in his tracks, turning around to see Naruto walking away, head down. Being a Hyuga, he could easily read people and in Naruto he saw a sense of sadness and loneliness. He hadn't seen this before, probably blinded by the whole Kyuubi thing. After what Hinata told him, he finally decided to take a good look at the boy…perhaps he was wrong. This boy was trying to encourage Hinata, something she didn't normally receive at home. Perhaps he wasn't the demon the entire village saw him as.

A group of men came walking past the two Hyugas, obviously coming from a bar. "Hey! It's that Thing!" one of them exclaimed quietly to the rest of his group so that Naruto wouldn't hear. The other men picked up various object lying around in the street and alleys, including a broken bottle of sake, a wooden plank with a few rusty nails, and even a rather large wrench. The men snuck up behind Naruto, ready to beat him as the other villagers just simply watched. Most of the villagers were hoping that the men would give Naruto a good smack or two before some of the ANBU intervened. To them, it was one of the more entertaining things in the village…watching a few people take a shot as the one they labeled 'Demon Child'.

Naruto felt something coming up behind him. This was a familiar feeling to him and he learned how to detect it. If he didn't know how to detect it, he most likely wouldn't be alive. It was the feeling of someone wanting to hurt him. Naruto turned around just in time to see the group of men charge towards him. He did what he would normally do, he began to run. Naruto had gotten half way down the street when he realized no on as following him. He turned around to see those men on the ground unconscious and the Hyuga man, holding Hinata's hand, standing over them. It was obvious that he had knocked them unconscious.

Hinata was a little surprised that her caretaker had actually decided to help Naruto. For as long as she could remember, he did everything he could to keep her away from Naruto. Naruto approached the Hyuga with caution, not sure if this was some sort of trick. "Honestly, I don't really see why they hate you so much. You're nice to Lady Hinata, so you can't be that bad" the Huyga said. Naruto was pretty sure he had just managed to make another friend.

"Umm, thanks for the help back there…uhh" replied Naruto, not sure of the man's name.

"I'm Ko Hyuga, pleased to make your acquaintance, Naruto" said Ko. Hinata hid behind her caretaker, blushing a little. She was also wondering if this meant that Ko would actually let her talk to Naruto from now on. "I'm sorry, but it is getting late and Hinata-sama's father is expecting her home. Perhaps we will see each other some other time." Ko's last remark encouraged Hinata that perhaps he wouldn't try to force her away from Naruto.

* * *

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura showed up at the training grounds the following morning at 10:30. Kakashi had told them to meet up at 9:00am, but they had already gotten into the routine that Kakashi was going to be at least two hours late. Sakura had started the day out as she normally did, trying to get Sasuke's attention and ask him out on some sort of date. After awhile, Sakura gave up for the moment, but she would be back.

Just after 11:00am, Kakashi finally showed. "You're Late!" shouted Naruto and Sakura.

"Good morning. Sorry I'm late, but there was this little old lady and…" Kakashi stopped as he saw Sakura getting angry with him. "Anyways, I'm here, so who's ready for some wonderful teambuilding exercises?"

As soon as he mentioned it, all three members of Team 7 looked at Kakashi with killing intent. They had all just about had it with these exercises, even Sakura who saw them as a way to get to Sasuke. "We don't want none of your stinkin' teambuilding exercises! We've been doing those for what feels like forever!" shouted Naruto. "I think it's about time that you finally teach us a cool ninja technique or something, right guys?" Naruto looked to Sasuke and Sakura for support and surprisingly, he got it.

"The Dobe is right, Kakashi-sensei. Those teambuilding exercises of yours aren't getting us anywhere" said Sasuke. Kakashi was feeling slightly insulted that they were attacking his teambuilding exercises. Even Sakura had to agree with Naruto, and not just because Sasuke agreed.

Kakashi sighed. He was wondering when this day would come. "Alright, I suppose we've done enough of those exercises for now" said Kakashi in defeat. "I suppose it's time we work on your guys' chakra control."

"Why do we have to do that? We spent the last four years learning how to control chakra?!" Naruto blurted out. "We get our first real training session. Now why can't you teach us a cool new jutsu or something?"

"Naruto, chakra control is very important. Without the proper control, you would never be able to master anything above a D-rank jutsu" Sakura said after smacking him upside the head.

"Sakura's right Naruto" Kakashi said. "If you hope to be able to learn a cool jutsu, you must learn how to control the flow and release of chakra. The lessons you learned in the academy are basic, but they are not enough."

"Fine. It beats catching that damned cat any ways I wonder what sort of demon that cat came from anyways" said Naruto.

* * *

Somewhere in Kumogakaru, a young woman with blonde hair felt the urge to sneeze.

* * *

As if scripted perfectly, said cat came running out of the trees with a genin team in pursuit. Unfortunately for Naruto, Tora remembered him from the last time Team 7 was assigned to capture her and proceeded to claw Naruto in the face before darting off into the woods.

"I swear that the village makes more off of that cat than all the other D and C-ranks combined" said Kakashi quietly. "Anyways, today we'll be working on the first of the regular chakra control exercises, the tree climbing exercise."

"Tree climbing?" Sakura questions while Naruto and Sasuke looked on with a bit of curiosity.

"Yes, it's the first exercise in chakra control. The idea is to hold a constant chakra at the bottom of your feet and use it to stick to a surface, in particular the side of a tree, while you walk up it" Kakashi explained. He further instructed the genin in that exercise and they each proceeded to a tree. Naruto and Sasuke took a few steps up the tree before falling to the ground. Sakura had managed to climb the entire tree with little effort. Kakashi noted that her control was the best of the group. They were instructed to work on that exercise for the remainder of the day until they could climb the entire tree. After that, they were to exhaust their chakra as they continued to refine the technique.

* * *

Out of the three rookie instructors, Kurenai had begun teaching her students much earlier than either Kakashi or Asuma. It was already clear to her that her team had no pressing issues with one another, except for Hinata wishing that Naruto was on her team, and they didn't require much effort getting the three of them to work together. As such, Kurenai had begun actual training with them only a week or two out of the academy. Asuma followed, but it took a bit longer to get the boys and Ino to work with one another as Ino would constantly belittle them, saying stuff regarding Sasuke doing much better than they would ever do.

* * *

For Naruto and Sasuke, it was getting late. Sakura had already called it a night as she didn't have anywhere near the chakra reserved that Sasuke, let alone Naruto, had. However, she had accomplished the training after about two hours. Naruto and Sasuke were locked in a competition as to who would reach the top first. After the day ended, they were each about two-thirds up the tree.

The following day was a mission day for them filled with more exciting D-ranks. It was obvious that Naruto and Sasuke were getting irritated at having to do those. By the second day of their training, the two boys of Team 7 had managed to make it up to the top of the tree. Sasuke had been the first to reach the top, although he noted that Naruto was not far behind, making it to the top the next attempt. The three of them were instructed to refine the exercise for the remainder of the training days that week, until they had it down perfectly. They even used their free day to dedicate to the training.

* * *

"Alright, Team 7. For your next mission, you can either babysit an elder's grandson, shop in the neighboring village, or…" the Hokage was cut off by someone entering the room and whispering something in the Hokage's ear. "Well, it appears Tora has escaped again."

Team 7 shuttered at the thought of having to catch that cat again. "No!" Naruto shouted out. "I don't want another stinking D-rank. I want a real mission!" Surprisingly, Sakura and Sasuke both found themselves agreeing.

"_I thought it was about time for this"_ Kakashi thought to himself.

"Idiot, you're just a rookie!" Iruka shouted, his head growing to 5 times its original size as he used his Big Head no Jutsu. "Everyone starts off at the bottom and works their way up!"

"But we keep getting the crappiest duties!" Naruto responded. The Hokage sighed. "We've been doing menial tasks for the past two months. It's about time we got something more fitting for a ninja!"

"Naruto, it seems I have to explain to you what these duties are about" the Third said. "Every day, the village receives requests, from babysitting to assassinations. Each request is written down and given a rank of D, C, B, or A. These missions are handed out to ninja based on their experience. If the duty is completed, the village receives payment from the client. You just recently became genins, so D-ranks are perfect for you." Obviously, Naruto was distracted, discussing his favorite ramen. It was then that the Hokage flipped out, and Kakashi knew he was going to get it later.

"But, if you must" the Hokage said. Team 7 diverted their attention to the old Hokage. "I'll give you a C-rank mission." Naruto was ecstatic, Sasuke and Sakura were pleasantly surprised, and Kakashi was in disbelief. "You will be acting as bodyguards for a certain individual as they travel to the Land of Waves."

"Who is it?! A Feudal Lord? A princess?" Naruto shouted out.

The door opened, and in walked a slightly drunken looking man. "Eh? You're giving me these brats? Hey you, short one with the stupid looking face, are you really a ninja?" the man asked.

"Haha, who's the short one with the stupid looking face?" Naruto asked, soon realizing it was him as he was the shortest. Naruto tried to charge the man, only to be held back by Kakashi.

"I am the super expert bridge builder Tazuna. I expect protection until I get back to my country and complete my bridge" the old man said. With that, the team departed the village a few hours later.

* * *

Author Notes

So here is my revised second chapter. This chapter gave a small run through of Team 7's first two months as a ninja. Like in cannon, they have been stuck with menial D-rank missions and Kakashi's 'teambuilding exercises'. However, near the end of this chapter, Kakashi gave in and decided to teach his team the tree walking. This is one diversion from cannon that will play into their training further on.

I also tried to smooth out a few things in here to make the story flow better with past and future events.

Please review/comment.


	3. Chapter 3 (revised)

****Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Revised: Dec 14, 2012

A/N: This is the revised third chapter to my story.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Journey to the Land of Waves**

The four ninja, plus Tazuna set out of the Leaf village for the Land of Waves, the location of their next mission. They had been walking for roughly a few hours now. During the beginning of their trip, Kakashi explained about the layout of the ninja world and that there were 5 major shinobi nations. Each of those nations had a corresponding Kage that was the leader of the ninja in that nation. However, the Wave Country was a small nation that didn't have any ninja to protect it, although ninja don't normally bother it because of its size. He also explained that it was common for ninja of different countries to encounter one another and do battle as missions between countries tended to interfere with one another.

"Don't worry though" Kakashi reassured. "This is a C-rank mission, which means we won't encounter ninja from other nations." It was at that moment that Kakshi spotted an out of place puddle in the road ahead of them.

As the group passed, two cloaked figures appeared from the puddle. They had claws surrounding their hands with a spiked chain conneting them. Before anyone knew what was happening, the cloaked ninja charged Kakashi, entangling him in their chain. As the two pulled on the chain, Kakashi was instantly ripped to shreds. The three genin stood there horrified. "Kakashi-sensei!" they shouted.

"One down" the enemy ninja said. "Two down." They suddenly appeared behind Naruto. They struck at him with their claws. Naruto was too petrified with fear to move. However, Naruto was spared when sasuke flung a shuriken and kunai at the ninja's chain, pinning it firmly into a tree. Sasuke proceed to deliver a few kicks to the face of the enemy. When they got the chance, the ninja detached their chain, bolting around Naruto and Sasuke. Their target was Tazuna.

Sakura jumped in front of the bridge builder, ready to defend them from the enemy's attack. Before they could strike, Kakashi appeared and knocked the pair to the ground, unconscious but not dead. Everyone realized then that Kakashi had used a substitution when he was attacked. "Naruto, sorry I didn't save you immediately. I didn't think you would freeze like that" Kakashi said to his student.

"_Damn it. I couldn't do anything. But Sasuke, it was his first real battle, yet it didn't faze him at all. He saved me."_ Naruto thought to himself.

"Hey you" Sasuke said to Naruto. "You alright, scaredy cat?" Naruto was getting really pissed at Sasuke's smugness until he realized a wound on his hand.

"Naruto, save it for later" Kakashi said, picking up on the wound as well. "There claws are poisoned. We must open the wound and remove it, or you will die." Kakashi turned his attention to their client. "Tazuna, I need to talk to you. These are Kirigakaru chunin."

The two ninja finally woke to find themselves tied to a tree. "How did you read our movements like that?" one asked.

"On a sunny day like this, when it hasn't rained, there is not going to be a puddle" Kakashi explained. "If I wanted to, I could have killed you, but I needed to know who you were after. Ninja attacking ninja is something we have to deal with, but their target wasn't one of us, right Tazuna?" Everyone turned to the bridge builder. "We haven't heard that there were any ninja after you. We were only hired to protect you from thieves or gangs. This was supposed to be a C-rank mission, but it has now become a B-rank, if not an A-rank. I'm sure you have your reasons, but the mission becomes more complicated when information is left out."

"Sorry, but we aren't ready for this mission. We need to head back and get Naruto some medicine for that wound" Sakura said, a little relieved. Unfortunately for her, Naruto had to open his mouth.

Suddenly, blood splattered to the ground. Naruto had pierced his own hand with a kunai. Everyone looked on in shock. "Naruto! What are you doing?!" Sakura screamed.

"Damn it, why am I always so far behind?" Naruto asked. "I've completed many missions and even practiced justu on my own every day. I should become stronger. I won't lose to you anymore, Sasuke. With this kunai, I will protect the old man and continue this mission."

"Naruto" Kakashi said, smiling. "It's good that you're releasing the poison, but anymore and you'll die from blood loss." Kakashi helped Naruto to close the wound, but saw that it was already healing itself at an accelerated rate. He knew why…the Kyuubi. Kakashi just wrapped the hand and told Naruto that he will be alright. The Konoha ninja agreed to continue the mission, but told Tazuna that this mission was becoming at least a B-rank and that he would have to pay the village when the funds become available.

* * *

"You failed!" a rather short man shouted in a castle far away. "You were supposed to be very strong former ninja." Getting pissed off at the little man's yelling one of the ninja swung his sword, stopping just before it cut into the man's neck.

"Stop bitching. This time I'll go and kill them myself" the masked ninja said.

"Heh, are you sure? It seems as if the enemy has hired some skilled ninja" the short man said. "And with the failure of the Demon Brothers, they are aware of us now."

"Who do you think I am?" the masked ninja said, irritant. "There's a reason I'm called the Demon of the Hidden Mist, Zabuza Momochi."

* * *

A few more days of traveling passed and the group of five came to the edge of the sea where a Ferrier was waiting to take them from the Land of Fire to the Land of Waves. The boat was small and it was barely able to hold the six of them, not to mention it almost tipped a few times because of Naruto. Soon, Tazuna's fabled bridge came into view and Naruto had to admit that it was impressive as he stood up to observe, nearly tipping the boat…again.

"Wow, its huge!" Naruto shouted out. Suddenly, he was silenced by Tazuna and the farrier.

"Why do you think we are hiding in the mist and the motor isn't running. We don't want Gato to find us." The farrier said.

"Who's Gato?" Sakura asked.

"He's a wealthy shipping merchant known across the great nations. He came to our country, promising a boom to our economy. However, after a little, it was clear that he was only taking over our economy for his own gain. He quickly took control of our shipping companies, the major source of income for us. Over time, he took over our economy using his secret drug trade and some of the ninja he employs. Through force, he now has a monopoly on all shipping traffic into and out of our country" Tazuna explained. "The only thing he has to fear, is the completion of that bridge."

"So that is why those ninja were after you" Sasuke realized. "But why did you hide the fact that ninja were after you?"

"Because of Gato, the Wave Country is poor. Even the feudal lord has no money. We can't afford an expensive B-rank mission right now." Tazuna explained.

The group got off the boat, but Kakashi had an uneasy feeling. He knew that if they attacked again, it would be by jonin-level ninja this time. Suddenly, Naruto heard something off in the bushes and tossed a few shuriken, just barely missing a poor rabbit. However, Kakashi was even more suspicious. The rabbit was a white snow rabbit, yet it was late spring. Suddenly, Kakashi knocked his team to the ground as a large sword came flying towards them.

When Kakashi looked up, he saw a man standing on the hilt of the blade, Zabuza Momochi.

"Everyone stay back. This guy's on a whole different level" Kakashi said. He lifted his headband to reveal a red eye with three black marks, a Sharingan.

"Heh, so you would be Sharingan Kakashi" Zabuza said. This shocked Sasuke that Kakashi had a Sharingan, the dojutsu of his clan. "I already get to see the famed Sharingan, I'm almost honored."

"What's the Sharingan?" Naruto asked.

"It's one of the three great dojutsu, also known as the copy wheel" Sasuke explained, as it was part of his clan. "It's said that the Sharingan gives the user the ability to defeat all types of taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu. But that's not all."

"Hehe, that's right" Zabuza said. "What's even scarier is that you can copy your opponent's techniques once you see them. Kakashi, when I was a jonin for the Hidden Mist, there was a page in my bingo book about you. It said that you had copied over 1000 jutsus."

"_What's going on? The Sharingan only appears in a select few members of the Uchiha clan?"_ Sasuke thought to himself.

Zabuza jumped off the tree and landed on water, just a few meters away. Kakashi attacked the ninja, who just turned to water, revealing it to be a water clone. Before Kakashi knew what was happening, Zabuza appeared behind him. "Suiton: Water Prison Jutsu" Zabuza called out as Kakashi became trapped in a ball of water. Zabuza then made another water clone to deal with the kids while he held Kakashi prisoner.

"Hmph. Wearing headbands and acting like ninja" the water clone said. "But you know what? A real ninja is someone who has survived numerous brushes with death. Basically, once you're good enough to be listed in my Bingo Book, then you can call yourself a ninja." The clone disappeared, only to reappear and kick Naruto, sending him flying and knocking his headband off.

"Take Tazuna and run! You're no match for him. His clone can't move far away, and he's stuck here keeping me prisoner" Kakashi yelled out. As the clone began to move towards Naruto, he thought he was really going to die there. He froze again, but suddenly realized the oath that he had sworn a little while ago. Naruto charged at Zabuza, only to be sent back to where Sasuke and Sakura were standing. However, he got what he wanted. Naruto was able to reclaim his forehead protector from Zabuza's clone.

"Put this in your handbook you browless freak. I'm the one who will become Hokage one day! Naruto Uzumaki" Naruto exclaimed. "Sasuke lend me your ear." Sasuke didn't like the idea of working with Naruto, but realized that he had no choice.

"Hehe" the clone laughed. "When I was your age, I had already slaughterd my entire class. That is how I got the name, the Demon of the Hidden Mist."

"The Hidden Mist graduation exam?" Kakashi asked, still trapped in water.

"Ah, so you've heard of it" Zabuza said.

"Wait, what exam?" Sakura asked.

"Hehe, fights to the death between students" Zabuza said, letting some killer intent loose. "Children raised together as friends, were pitted together until one lost their life."

"Ten years ago, the Hidden Mist changed their graduation exam as a result of one child who killed his entire class, without pause or hesitation" Kakashi said. "Zabuza." It was at that moment that Sasuke attacked the clone, only to be forced to the ground. He was starting to cough up blood.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto said, making about 30 clones of himself. They jumped at Zabuza with their kunai, only to be dispelled by one swing of his sword. As Naruto slid past Sasuke, he handed his teammate a fuma shuriken. Sasuke threw the shuriken at the real Zabuza, not the clone. However, he caught it.

"What?! Another shuriken in the shadow of the first?" Zabuza said as another shuriken sailed towards him. He couldn't catch this one. However, he jumped to dodge the second shuriken. Sasuke's attack had missed. Or did it?

The second shuriken disappeared in a puff of smoke, revealing that Naruto had been transformed into the shuriken. Before landing in the water, Naruto threw a kunai at the Mist jonin, it was aimed for the back of his neck and he wasn't going to be able to dodge this one. Zabuza did the only thing he could. He jumped back, releasing Kakashi from his prison. "Great plan you two" he said to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Heh, I just got distracted and released the jutsu" Zabuza said, trying not to admit he had been bested by a couple of brats.

"No, they forced you to move" Kakashi stated. It was now Zabuza versus Kakashi. The two ninja jumped away from each other. Zabuza flipped through a series of hand seals as Kakashi copied the seals exactly at the same time. "Sution: Water Dragon Jutsu!" the both said at the same time. Two water dragons rose up out of the water and began to do battle with one another. In the end, it was a draw.

Zabuza was shocked that Kakashi was following him so close and so exact. "My movements, is he…" Zabuza was interrupted.

"Reading them?" Kakashi finished.

Kakashi flipped through a few more seal, shocking Zabuza. "Suiton: Water Vortex!" Kakashi called out as a blast of water sent Zabuza crashing back into a tree.

"How?" Zabuza said, weakly. "Can you see the future?"

"Yeah" Kakashi responded. "You're going to die." Just as he said that, two senbon came sailing out of nowhere and nailed Zabuza in the neck, killing him. Out of surprise, Kakashi looked up to see a Mist ninja wearing an ANBU mask. To everyone's surprise, the ninja was a kid, no older than Naruto.

"Thank you very much. I have been searching for the opportunity to kill this criminal" the mysterious ninja said.

"That mask, you must be a Kiri hunter ninja" Kakashi stated. The ninja agreed.

"What the hell?! Who are you?" Naruto said as the hunter ninja caught his attention.

"Back down Naruto" Kakashi ordered. "He's not our enemy."

"It's not that. He killed Zabuza, our enemy, that easily. Who the hell is he?" Naruto blurted.

"Naruto, in this world there are kids younger than you, but stronger than me. Just accept that fact." Kakashi stated. With that, the hunter ninja took Zabuza's body and disappeared. For Kakashi, something still wasn't right and it wasn't his lack of energy as he collapsed to the ground.

The three genin and Tazuna then proceeded to carry their lazy sensei's body towards Tazuna's house.

* * *

Back near the site of the battle, the Mist ninja was preparing to do something with Zabuza's body. He pulled out a pair of scissors to cut the bandages off Zabuza.

"That's alright. I'll do it myself" Zabuza said, waking up from his 'death'. "Damn, you sure are rough." Zabuza pulled the senbon out of his neck.

"You shouldn't be rough yourself, or else you will die from pulling them out" the masked ninja said.

"How long are you going to wear that mask, Haku?" Zabuza asked.

"It reminds me of the old days. Plus it is useful in situations like this" Haku said, removing his mask. His face was rather young and looked rather feminine, although he was a boy. "You shouldn't move for about a week, while you heal."

"Hmph, you are so pure and clever. That's what I like about you" Zabuza said.

"That's because I'm just a kid." Haku smiled.

* * *

Kakashi woke up, feeling something was wrong and scaring Naruto and Sakura so much that they nearly choked on the food they were eating. "What's wrong Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Hunter ninjas usually dispose of the body on sight. How did the hunter ninja dispose of Zabuza?" Kakashi aksed.

"I don't know, he just took the body and disappeared" Sakura said, her words not reassuring Kakashi. Sasuke also realized what Kakashi was thinking. There was no way simple needles could kill Zabuza like that. He was still alive.

"What the hell do you mean?!" Naruto shouted out. "You even said he was dead!"

"I did, but that was most likely a momentary death" Kakashi explained. "He knew about the body's structure thoroughly, and he used a weapon with a low chance to kill. He was there to save Zabuza, not kill him. There is no assurance that Zabuza is alive or dead, but I say we have a week's time before Gato rallies another, stronger opponent or Zabuza returns. You guys will need training. Over the next week, we will try to make you strong before Gato returns."

"What's a little training going to do?" Sakura said, taking Naruto's place as the loudmouth on the team.

"Sakura, who saved me back there?" Kakashi said. "You guys are growing rapidly, especially you Naruto."

"So we will train until then! Sounds like fun!" Naruto shouted, reclaiming his title as team loudmouth from Sakura.

"That's no fun" a little boy said, appearing in the room.

"Oh, Inari. You're here" Tazuna said. "This is Inari, my grandson. Inari, say hello to everyone. They are ninja who protected me."

The boy turned to his mom and grandpa. "Mom, they are going to die" the little boy said. "There is no way that they can win against Gato."

"What the hell are you talking about you little brat!" Naruto said, only to be held back by Sakura. "Listen kid, one day I'm going to become an incredible ninja and Hokage. I don't know who this Gato guy is, but I'm not going to lose against him."

"What are you, stupid?" Inari responded, sending Naruto into an even greater rage. "If you don't want to die, leave." With that Inari left. Tazuna apologized for his grandson's behavior and explained to everyone how his father was killed by some of Gato's thugs.

Naruto had followed the boy, who was in his room crying, but he decided to leave the kid alone.

* * *

Author Note

Okay, I really didn't think I needed to do that much to change the initial encounter with Zabuza and Haku. I do feel as if the cannon did that part alright. I will be changing up the next parts of the wave a little bit though, including the week they have to prepare and finally the next confrontation between the Konoha ninja and the Kiri missing-nins.

Hope you enjoyed. Please review/comment.


	4. Chapter 4 (revised)

**disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

Revision posted: 12/16/12

Here is my revised Chapter 4. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 4: One Week**

Kakashi had brought his team out to the edge of a lake. Kakashi knew it was true…Zabuza was alive, and he would most likely be back. With the false death that the 'hunter nin' had put Zabuza in, Kakashi figured he had about a week to get his team ready for the inevitable rematch with Zabuza and whatever else he brought with him.

"Kakashi-sensei, so what are we doing?" asked Sakura.

"Easy, we are making you stronger" replied Kakashi. "I have the next chakra control exercise for the three of you, water walking."

"What? Water walking?" asked Sakura and Naruto in unison. Was that even possible? Apparently it was.

Kakashi demonstrated by gathering chakra in his feet and hobbling with his crutches out onto the water, remaining afloat on top of the surface, Naruto and Sakura looked on in amazement with Sasuke looking on with an indifferent expression.

"You are to expel chakra from the base of your feet at a constant rate, keeping you afloat on the surface" explained Kakashi. "You saw how I did it, now I want the three of you to try" he instructed.

Naruto was the first to try, gathering chakra into his feet and taking a step out onto the water, only to fall straight in, soaking himself. Sakura was next. Much to Kakashi's surprise, she had managed to stay afloat, even though she was bobbing like crazy, trying to get herself to stabilize. After a few minutes, she finally had the flow of chakra down and was standing on the surface just like Kakashi was.

"Wow Sakura, it's great that you can already do that!" shouted Naruto. Sakura turned around, giving a slight smile while scratching the side of her face. She had hoped to get a positive response from Sasuke, not Naruto.

Sasuke was last, confident that he would get it; he took a step onto the water. Like Naruto, he fell through the surface. Kakashi instructed the three of them to work on the exercise. Since Naruto and Sasuke hadn't gotten it done yet, they had to get the technique down first. Sakura on the other hand, had already managed to stand on the water after the first attempt. Kakashi attributed her success to her superior chakra control over the two boys.

For the next two days, Kakashi had all three of them working on the exercise. He had Sakura refining the technique by doing various physical exercises such as running, jumping, and skating on the surface of the water. Sasuke and Naruto were still struggling to get the water walking exercise, and much to Sakura's delight, had resorted to taking off all but their shorts so their clothes wouldn't become any more soaked than they already were. It wasn't so much Naruto she cared for, but a shirtless Sasuke was too much to pass up. This was the one time in the exercise where she completely lost her focus and ended up falling through the surface into the water.

At the end of the second day, Naruto and Sasuke were getting close. They were each able to hold the chakra flow for a few seconds before falling through. Like the tree climbing exercise, they had inadvertently turned this into some sort of competition, not wanting the other one to best them. Late at night, Sasuke managed to get the exercise down first but Naruto was only an attempt or two behind, showing Sasuke that the 'dobe' really wasn't that far behind after all.

Back at Tazuna's house Naruto and Sasuke showed up, finally. Kakashi was glad that the two had finally got the basics down. He gave the two boys one more day to refine their technique while he and Sakura would join Tazuna on the bridge for guard duty.

The following day, Naruto and Sasuke were back at the lake, working on the same thing that Sakura was doing the other day. Both boys were getting impatient by this as there was really no way for them to cmpete against one another. And then Sasuke made a suggestion.

"Naruto, fight me" he said. It was true, he wanted to fight Naruto. Even though he always wiped the floor with Naruto back in the academy, he had taken notice of the blonde's rapid progress. Now he wanted to fight the blonde.

"What?" asked a slightly surprised Naruto.

"You heard me, Dobe. Fight me, right here. The first one to either give up or fall through the surface loses. Or are you afraid scaredy cat?" taunted Sasuke.

That last phrase did it as Naruto accepted the challenge. "That's it, I'm finally going to kick your ass and show to you what a good ninja I actually am!"

Naruto ran at Sasuke, only to receive a foot in the gut, sending him sliding back across the water and through the surface. Round 1 went to Sasuke.

"Come on, is that all you've got?" said Sasuke. Naruto picked himself out of the water and caught his breath.

"Heh, you wish" said Naruto. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he said as 6 clones poofed into existence and attacked Sasuke. All six clones and the real Naruto charged Sasuke and he found himself actually finding a certain difficulty fending off six attackers at once. Perhaps there was something more to the Dobe after all.

Sasuke won the second match as well, followed by the third and fourth (In Naruto's defense, he lost control of his chakra for a moment on the fourth try, falling through the water not because of Sasuke, but because of his own chakra control). But each time, the victory came with an increased challenge. Finally, it was getting late at night and the two boys had been going at each other for some time now. Both of them were getting tired and they could feel it. The both barely had enough energy to keep themselves afloat.

"Hn, perhaps you're not so much of a Dobe after all. Let's go back" said Sasuke. That had been just what he wanted, some actual training that made him stronger, not just some meaningless running and jumping around on the surface of the water.

Naruto stared at the Uchiha wide eyed. Did Sasuke actually compliment him for once? Naruto grinned at the Uchiha. "What's…the matter…giving up already?" he huffed.

"Dobe…you can barely keep yourself…afloat. The last thing I need…is to drag your unconscious and drowned body back to…Kakashi" said Sasuke, panting as hard as Naruto.

Both boys had to admit it. That last match was good enough to bring them to this point. To emphasize on that fact, they had to rely on each other to drag the other home. They finally made it home, only to collapse through the door.

"Sasuke!" shouted Sakura, rushing to Sasuke's side. "What happened? You guys are all dirty and bruised?"

"Heh, both of us…training" said Naruto.

Kakashi smiled. "Looks like the two of you have been sparring" he said.

Sasuke grinned, kind of, and nodded.

"Good. That helps you train not only chakra control effectively, but also taijutsu. Starting tomorrow, you'll be joining us on the bridge" said Kakashi as the two dragged themselves over to the table and began eating just about anything in sight.

* * *

Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke were at the bridge the next day. Naruto had managed to sleep in. I reality, they most likely forgot about him. At the bridge, there was a problem with the workers leaving their jobs. Apparently the thought of Gato was enough to scare off most of the workers. Having ninja around really didn't help. At noon, Tazuna decided to end work for the day.

The four of them went into town, only to see the depressing state that Gato was driving the country into. There was little food in the store and most of the population had resorted to thievery. Suddenly, Sakura felt something tough her on the behind. "PERVERT!" She screamed, knocking a man hard in the face who was trying to pickpocket her. Shortly after, she felt someone tug on her again. Ready to punch another thief, she soon realized that it was just a child begging for food. As a result, she gave in a gave the kid a handful of candy.

"This is why we need the bridge, a symbol of courage. We need these people to let their fears go and once again stand up for themselves. If that bridge can be completed, the city will return to the old times when it was prosperous and happy" Tazuna explained.

* * *

The four of them left early for construction on the bridge. Once again, no one woke Naruto. As Naruto got up and realized that he was late, he headed off into the forest to use as a shortcut to get to the bridge. There, he encountered a beautiful young lady. "Who are you?" Naruto asked, trying to figure out what the lady wanted. "Oh, is this the plant you are looking for?"

"Yes, thank you" the woman said. "Oh, that forehead protector. Does that mean you are a ninja?"

"Yeah, you notice? I'm a ninja" Naruto said. "And one day, I'm going to become Hokage, the strongest ninja in my village."

The girl laughed. "Do you have someone important to you?" she asked. "When a person has someone precious to them, they will truly become strong."

"Yeah, I understand that" Naruto said. "I'm going to become strong so that I can protect my friends!"

The lady go up. "You'll become strong, I know it. I hope we'll meet again sometime. I want to see how strong you've become" she said as she walked away. "Oh, and by the way, I'm a boy." Naruto's world was shattered. That boy was almost prettier than Sakura he thought.

Arriving at the bridge, Naruto realized that more workers had left, afraid that Gato would kill them if they continued. However, with Naruto there, Tazuna got an idea.

"Hey kid, those clones of yours" he asked as Naruto looked at him curiously. "Can they do anything else besides get hit with a sword?" Naruto was now getting a little mad, but Kakashi picked up on Tazuna's thoughts.

"What he really means Naruto, is make a bunch of your shadow clones and help with construction on the bridge. That way, this bridge will get completed sooner, and you will really be helping the village here" Kakashi said. Naruto actually agreed. To everyone's amazement, the work on the bridge had shown a lot of progress after that day. The bridge was now only a few days from completion.

* * *

It was now one week since team 7's encounter with Zabuza. For Kakashi, this meant that they would be seeing Zabuza or another opponent here shortly. As such, Team 7 was on high alert, except for a particular blonde ninja. Yes, Naruto had managed to sleep in once again. However, it was a good thing that he did. Suddenly, a knock came on the door, followed by a crash.

"Are you Tazuna's daughter?" one of the men standing at the hole of a door said. He had long grey hair with a black cap. At his side was a rather large katana. "Sorry, but I'm afraid you're coming with us."

Tsunami knew she was in trouble. Out of reaction, she grabbed Inari, who was right next to her and began to run. Before they knew it, the two thugs had her cornered. As for Inari, they only needed one hostage and one of the thugs was dying to cut something up. "Should I kill him?" the other thug said. This one was larger and more muscular than the first thug. He had a patch over one of this eyes and was also carrying a katana like his partner. Out of desperation, Tsunami did the best she could.

"You want a hostage, right?" She said. "If you even touch him, I will kill myself." The bandits were depressed by this. They had really been hoping to kill someone, but they needed a hostage and two dead bodies would do them no good. Inari had managed to escape, but the two thugs had taken his mother. Sitting in a corner, Inari began to cry and think on what Kakashi had said to him the other day, regarding Naruto.

*Flashback*

"You little sissy!" Naruto said to him. At that moment, he got up and left the house. Kakashi followed him, hoping to calm the crying boy down.

"Inari, about Naruto. He didn't mean what he said, but you have to understand that, like you, he didn't grow up with his father around either. In fact, Naruto has never known either of his parents" Kakashi said, trying to calm the crying boy down. "He has had a rougher childhood than you can imagine, but he always manages to see the best out of life. Perhaps, he's just tired of crying. He knows what it means to truly be strong, just like your dad."

*End Flashback*

After a few moments of reflection, Inari realized that he had to let the cry-baby in him go and grow up. He mustered his courage and pursued the bandits. '_Will I also become strong like Dad?'_ he thought to himself. Upon reaching the bandits, he shouted out getting their attention. The bandits turned around to face him and his mother called out for him to run. "Get away from my Mom!" he screamed as he charged the bandits.

The bandits drew their swords and proceeded to slash at the boy. Their attacks hit, cutting him to pieces, much to the horror of his mother. "Inari!" She screamed out.

But, before she could say anymore, Inari disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving cut pieces of wood. "Sorry for being late. I've been doing that a lot this past week" Naruto said, holding Inari who was unscathed. "But a hero usually shows up at the last seconds anyways. Great job Inari. Now let me take it from here."

The bandits charged at Naruto who was all alone, or was he. Suddenly, two figures appeared from behind and gave the thugs a good kick to the head. Before they became unconscious, the bandits turned to see two more Narutos coming at them with their feet only inches from their heads. Naruto then turned to Inari. "Sorry for calling you a sissy yesterday. You're actually pretty strong." Inari began to tear up.

"Damn it. I promised myself I wasn't going to cry anymore. Now you're going to make fun of me." Inari said.

"Inari, it's alright to cry when you're happy" Naruto explained. With that, he headed off towards the bridge, knowing that something was wrong.

* * *

Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna arrived at the bridge to find most of the workers either injured or dead. Before they could realize what was going on, the mist began to thicken as Kakashi realized that Zabuza had returned. "Hehe, I see your brats are still shaking" Zabuza called out through the mist. Suddenly, they were surrounded by about a half dozen Zabuzas.

"Hmph, I'm shaking from excitement" Sasuke responded as Kakashi signaled for him to go. With that, Sasuke defeated the clones with only a few movements of his knives, much to Sakura and Tazuna's surprise. The group looked up to see two ninja standing before them, Zabuza and that hunter ninja from the other day.

"The brat has grown. Perhaps I have found myself a rival, eh Haku?" the Demon of the Mist asked. Haku nodded and Kakashi knew that his hunch had been correct.

"That masked man, he's obviously a comrade of Zabuza…" Kakashi said, but was interrupted.

"I'll fight him" Sasuke said. "Tricking us with that stupid act, I hate bastards like that."

"Sasuke, you're so cool" Sakura shrieked out as Kakashi's sweat dropped.

Sasuke engaged the masked figure, who brought some water around him to defend himself from Sasuke's attacks with.

"Sakura, guard Tazuna and stay by my side. We'll leave the masked ninja to Sasuke" Kakashi ordered as Sakura complied.

* * *

Author Notes

Alright, I do apologize if this is starting to sound somewhat like the cannon plot line, but I honestly felt that there was no major event yet that would deter from the actual plot line. I did change up the training sequence a little to make up for that Kakashi had already taught his students the tree walking and that they were now on water walking.

One of the main points of these revisions was to try and clean up the previous chapters, make them a bit more exciting, and condense them a little.

The upcoming battle will be slightly different with a big change in the outcome.


	5. Chapter 5 (revised)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

Revised: 12/29/12

* * *

**Chapter 5: Awakenings**

Sasuke had begun his battle with the masked ninja as the two assaulted each other with a hail of senbon and shuriken. None of the shuriken or senbon hit their target as they had all collided with one another in mid air, canceling the attacks. As the air began to grow moist, so did the ground. Puddles began to form around the two combatants. The masked ninja halted his attack and began to speak.

"I don't want to kill you, but you won't stand down will you?" the masked ninja said to Sasuke, who responded with his usual response. "I see, but you won't be able to keep up with my speed the next time." The ninja began flipping through a series of hand seals and Sasuke rushed towards him, hoping to stop him before he completed some sort of jutsu. Unfortunately, he realized the trap the moment he grabbed onto the arm of the ninja. "Now that I have one of your arms preoccupied, you won't be able to counter this. Suiton: Flying Water Needles!"

With that, the water around them began to rise, forming sharp needles of water. Sasuke channeled some chakra to his legs and jumped up before the needles could impact him. He then retaliated by throwing some shuriken at the masked ninja, who had just barely dodged them. Sasuke then appeared behind the ninja and sent him flying back with a kick to the stomach, much to Zabuza's surprise.

Kakashi turned to Zabuza. "I can't have you underestimating my students by calling them 'brats'" Kakashi explained. "Sasuke is the #1 rookie in the village, Sakura is the brightest, and Naruto is well, Naruto, the #1 hyperactive knuckleheaded ninja in the village."

"Hmph, just because your brat scored one lucky hit, doesn't mean he can take Haku" said Zabuza to Kakashi. "He's just getting started and it looks like it's all over for your brat now."

Sasuke felt a sudden chil surround him. "Hyoton: Demonic Ice Mirrors!" Haku called out. Sasuke was shocked that he was now surrounded by a dome of ice mirrors, with Haku's reflection in each one. He tried to figue out what that jutsu was, but he did not remember the 'hyoton' being one of the common elemental affinities.

"_So he has a bloodlimit, this will get interesting"_ thought Sasuke. However, in reality, he was extremely tense, not sure what to expect at all.

"Now I'll show you my real speed" Haku said. Suddenly, Sasuke was hit with a barrage of needles, none of which severely injured him, this time around. Seeing Sasuke's troubles, Sakura ran to aid him, temporarily abandoning her charge. She threw a kunai at Haku, who came out of the mirror only to catch it. Suddenly, he was knocked onto the ground outside the mirrors.

"Naruto Uzumaki has arrived!" Naruto shouted.

'_That idiot show off'_ Sasuke thought as he picked himself off the ground. He was covered in scratches and cuts from the needles, but nothing was fatal, yet.

"Now that I'm here, the hero usually shows up like this and kicks the enemy's ass instantly!" Naruto exclaimed.

'_That idiot'_ Kakashi said. Zabuza got a little laugh at Kakashi's facial expression. _'What kind of ninja does he think he is, barging in like that?'_

Naruto threw a few shuriken at the distracted Zabuza, only to have them knocked away by Haku's needles. "Hmm, so you don't want me attacking them? You're soft as always, Haku" Zabuza said to his comrade. Sasuke realized the situation he was in. Apparently, Haku had been holding back. None of those hits were vital, only mere scratches so far. However, after the way he 'killed' Zabuza back by the lake, Sasuke realized that this ninja had deadly accuracy with senbon and he had been holding back.

Now that Naruto had arrived though, perhaps Sasuke could get out of this. With the dobe working on the outside and himself on the inside, perhaps they could take down Haku. Sadly, he would have to swallow his pride for this and allow Naruto to help him…assuming Naruto hadn't done what he just did.

"Sasuke, I came in here to save you" Naruto said, now inside the ice dome. Sasuke was about ready to beat the knucklehead senseless as Haku resumed his assault. Thinking of the ice, Sasuke made a few hand seals "Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!" With that, Sasuke launched a fireball at the mirror that Haku was in. Unfortunately, the ice mirror did not sustain any damage. Afterwards, Naruto and Sasuke were pelted with a barrage of needle. Naruto made a bunch of clones to attack the mirrors, hoping one of them would be able to get Haku; however, Haku was too fast and the clones were easily defeated.

As Naruto and Sasuke were facing Haku, Kakashi stared down his opponent. "For a kid to master a jutsu like that, it must be an advanced bloodline" he said.

"Bloodline?" Sakura questioned.

"It's a deep lineage, a jutsu or style of jutsu passed down by your family. Even I cannot copy it" Kakashi explained. With that, Kakashi revealed his Sharingan, ready to fight Zabuza and end the battle quick.

"The Sharingan. Only one trick, Kakashi? You should know better than to show your moves to an opponent more than once." Zabuza said. The two jonin engaged one another, both piercing the other's hands with kunai.

"You should be honored. You're the first opponent to see my Sharingan twice" Kakashi called out as the two disengaged.

"I've been waiting to say this line. You can't use the same jutsu on me twice" Zabuza called out as he made a hand seal. Suddenly, the area around them was covered in a thick mist and Zabuza disappeared.

Back in the ice dome, "Damn it. I can't fail here. I have a dream I need to fulfill" Naruto said out loud. Haku then experienced a flashback upon hearing Naruto's words.

*Flashback*

Dream? He remembered himself as a lonely child. His home in the Land of Water had just been destroyed after the Mizukage's persecution of people with bloodlines. Soon he saw Zabuza standing before him. "An unfortunate child" Zabuza said. "A brat like you is wanted by no one. You will die with neither freedom nor dreams."

"Hehe, you have the same eyes as me" Haku said to Zabuza, striking some sort of emotion in the Demon.

*End flashback*

"Dream. Becoming a true shinobi is difficult for me. If possible, I do not want to kill you, nor have you kill me. But if you come at me, I can destroy my kind heart and come at you as a true shinobi" Haku said to Naruto and Sasuke. "This bridge is the place we fight to connect our dreams. Please don't hate me. I want to protect someone precious to me, fight for them, and make that person's dreams come true. That is my dream. For that, I can become a shinobi and kill you if I must."

Zabuza laughed at what Haku was saying. He knew that Naruto and Sasuke had not killed anyone yet and that they did not know what it was like to truly become a shinobi. Kakashi heard this, but couldn't see anything. The mist was too thick, even for his Sharingan. But he figured that Zabuza couldn't see either. Suddenly, about a dozen shuriken came flying at his and Kakashi just barely managed to block them.

"Impressive that you were able to block them, Sharingan Kakashi." Zabuza said, appearing behind him. Kakashi turned around to see that Zabuza's eyes were closed. He disappeared back into the mist. "Kakashi, you have overestimated the use of your Sharingan. You acted as if you could read my mind and see the future, but that Sharingan is merely a trick. Basically, it involves hypnotism and attention to detail. By using those two abilities together, you can make it seem like you are seeing into the future. The answer to combating it is simple. First, I use the mist to make that keen eye of yours useless. Second, I keep my eyes closed to prevent you from influencing me. However, I am an expert in silent killing. I can kill you just by hearing you." Kakashi was worried by this realization.

Zabuza moved to Tazuna and attacked, hoping to take out the bridge builder and Sakura. As Zabuza swung the blade, it was stopped by the steel plate on Kakashi's gloves. Zabuza growled at kicked Kakashi in the gut before swinging his blade again. Kakashi had just enough time to throw himself backwards to dodge most of the attack; however, the blade still sliced across his chest, creating a rather large gash. He slipped back into the mist again, ready to strike another blow. Now, Kakashi had once been in charge of the ANBU and the Sharingan wasn't his only trick. He made a few hand seals. "Summoning Jutsu!" Kakashi said, summoning eight ninja dogs to his side. He ordered them to find and immobilize Zabuza, which they did without trouble, using the scent of Kakashi's blood on Zabuza's blade to track him.

Naruto woke, just in time to see Sasuke take the attack that was intended for him. The needles hit Sasuke in the chest and what appeared to be the liver. Naruto saw Sasuke fall to his knees, just as a single needle that Sauke had failed to take hit Naruto in the neck, in roughly the same spot where Zabuza was hit when he was 'killed' a week ago. Naruto slipped into darkness.

* * *

Naruto awoke again, this time finding himself in a damp sewer, unsure of exactly where he was. He heard growling coming from one direction and his curiosity got the best of him. He turned to find the source of the noise. Soon, he found himself standing in for a large gate.

"**It's about time the two of us met" **a strange voice said from behind the bars.

"W-who's there?" asked a startled Naruto. The voice sounded demonic and it sent Naruto falling back onto his ass.

"**Why don't you take a close look, child, and see"** said the voice. A faint light filled the room and Naruto could see what was behind the bars.

"Y-you're t-the K-k-kyuubi no K-kitsune" stuttered Naruto in fear.

"**Yes, and since you're here, that must mean you're in some sort of trouble"** the Kyuubi said to Naruto.

"What d-do you m-mean?" Naruto said, still trembling in fear_. _"A-are you going to k-kill me?"

"**No. Even if I wanted to, the seal on you that keeps me imprisoned in you would prevent me from doing such. If I remember, you were in a battle with a masked man." **The fox did his best to conjure an image of what was happening. The thing that shocked Naruto was the image of Sasuke taking the hits for him, saving him, but getting injured in the process. Naruto saw that Sasuke was falling to the ground and feared that Haku had actually managed to kill Sasuke. **"I can sense that your friend is still alive, but he may not be for long if you just sit there and do nothing like a blundering idiot. I will give you a little bit of my power for now, but there is something I want to discuss with you later. Now go!"**

With that last bark of the Kyuubi, Naruto was forced out of his mindscape.

* * *

Finding himself in the real world, facing Haku and a dying Sasuke, Naruto instantly felt a surge of power course through his chakra system. The needles that were stuck in him were forced out and any wounds instantly began to heal. Haku looked on in shock as a red aura began to surround Naruto.

Naruto caught Sasuke as he was falling to the ground. Afraid that his teammate was dead, Naruto went into a rage, launching himself towards Haku's image in the mirror. With a strike of his fist, Naruto punched Haku in the mirror and sent him flying backwards. The mirror he was in shattered and the dome collapsed with it. Haku managed to barely regain himself, remaining on his feet, but no longer inside any mirror to protect him from the next assault. Unfortunately for him, this next assault, he would not be able to dodge. His mask was cracked and his head was ringing, most likely suffering from some sort of concussion.

Naruto's next attack came swift, a strong punch to the chest that send Haku skidding to the ground. As Naruto moved over to Haku, ready to deliver the finishing blow. As Naruto lashed out at Haku with his fist, the mask crumbled off, revealing the same boy he had met in the forest only a few days ago. Naruto's attack immediately stopped there. He grabbed Haku by the collar of his robe. "Why!?" demanded Naruto. "Why did you kill him? Why are you doing Gato's dirty work? Why?!"

"Because…I am simply a tool…to be used by someone else…to accomplish their goal" said Haku, breathing deeply. Naruto was disgusted at the words that came out of Haku's mouth, yet he couldn't bring himself to blame Haku for turning out like that. Naruto could see some familiarity in Haku's eyes. He could see loneliness in those eyes. He determined there that Haku must have lived alone until someone came to him with an offer. Hell, Naruto had almost fallen to the tricks that had manipulated Haku when Mizuki asked him to steal the Forbidden Scroll.

"Don't talk about that crap anymore! You don't have to do anything you don't want to! You're a person, not a tool, don't give me that crap!" shouted Naruto, flaring a little bit more of the demonic chakra already in his system.

"Perhaps…but it seems like my usefulness is over…" said Haku as he pointed into the mist, towards the end of the bridge. Naruto looked over in the direction Haku was pointing. For some reason, he could sense that something was there, something with the intent to kill. Naruto delivered a punch to Haku, enough to knock him unconscious but not enough to kill him as Naruto stormed off towards the source of killing intent.

Kakashi was facing Zabuza, who was now immobilized by Kakashi's dogs. Suddenly, he felt a burst of demonic chakra coming from the direction of Naruto. Both he and Zabuza felt it and Kakashi knew what it was. He was afraid that the Kyuubi had broken through the seal. However, Kakashi realized that the seal had not broken on only some of the chakra had managed to leak out. He knew he had to end it.

"I have copied 1000 jutsu Zabuza, but now you will see my one original jutsu" Kakashi said, making a few hand seals. Suddenly, amass of lightning appeared in Kakashi's hand. "Raiton: Raikiri!" Kakashi said as he dashed towards Zabuza, intending to kill him with his lightning blade.

As Kakashi thrust his hand towards Zabuza, it was intercepted by the most unexpected turn of events. Some man had come flying out of nowhere, crashing into Kakashi's charged hand, taking the Raikiri to his gut. Zabuza looked over at his stroke of just pure dumb luck and realized that man was one of Gato's.

"Kakashi, release me so I can dispel the mist and we can get a better look at what is going on" said Zabuza. Of course, Kakashi didn't buy it.

"And why should I?" Kakashi asked. "The minute I do that, you're either going to resume attacking me or try and kill Tazuna."

"That man is one of Gato's. Haku and I suspected Gato would try to double cross us and we were planning on killing him after we were done here. If one of his men are here, then that only means that there are more of him here. I just need my arms to get rid of the mist" explained Zabuza.

Kakashi thought. "Fine, but try anything and the next Raikiri will be going straight through your head" threatened Kakashi. He ordered the dogs restraining Zabuza's arms to let go and Zabuza did as he said he would, release the mist. Once the mist cleared, Kakashi could see what was going on. There was a group of roughly 50-60 thugs on the far end of the bridge and Naruto beating up one who was unfortunate enough to get too far ahead.

"Sasuke!" shouted Sakura as she ran to where Sasuke was lying on the ground. There was a faint pulse and she began carefully removing the senbon from the Uchiha pincushion.

Zabuza looked over at the battered Haku on the ground and his cold exterior began to melt.

Now realizing that the rest of Gato's men could see him, Naruto retreated back to where the rest of the team was. He could feel the demonic chakra drain from him as he did so.

"So they are not dead yet, how disappointing" Gato called out, looking at the exhausted ninja standing in front of him.

"Why are you here?" Zabuza asked.

"It's simple. I actually planned to do this from the start. I'm here to kill you" Gato claimed. "It's what I do. I hire missing ninja to do my work. They are done, I kill them so that I don't have to pay them. Nice plan don't you think? The only problem is you. Pfft, Zabuza the Demon of the Hidden Mist. You can barely stand."

"Kakashi, this fight is over. I have no more reason to fight you or go after Tazuna" Zabuza said as Kakashi agreed.

Gato walked over to Haku, who was lying unconscious on the ground just in front of the rest of the ninja and began beating on the unconscious body. "Yeah, take this you little punk. This is what you get for breaking my arm!" shouted Gato. He then pulled out a blade from his side. "Phft. This is what happens to a worthless tool of mine."

Naruto tried to rush to save Haku, only to be held back by Zabuza himself. "What are you doing?!" shouted Naruto. "Can't you see that he's going to kill Haku? Don't you even care just a little bit? He's done everything for you and you've done nothing but look at him as a tool! He's more than just that, you kn…"

"Stop kid" said Zabuza, tears rolling down his face. "I know what I need to do. Can I borrow a kunai?" Naruto nodded and handed Zabuza one of his knives. Zabuza instantly disappeared and repapered behind Gato, driving the kunai into the back of Gato's skull.

"You sick disgusting man. Get away from him!" said Zabuza as Gato dropped to the ground, dead. He then picked up the battered Haku and retreated back to where Kakashi and Team 7 were.

"Hey! You killed our meal ticket!" the group of thugs said as they charged the ninja. "Kill them!"

Suddenly, arrows came flying out of some still lingering mist and killed most of the bandits.

"If you come any further, the citizens of this island will kill you!" Inari shouted with all the villagers standing behind him.

"Inari!" Naruto called out.

"A hero shows up at the last second, right?" Inari said, returning a smile to Naruto. To give the thugs one last push to flee, Naruto made about three dozen clones while Kakashi did the same, although Kakashi's weren't all shadow clones. The thugs fled the island, the villagers had won their village back.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted out in delight as Sasuke opened his eyes.

"Uhg. Sakura, you're heavy" Sasuke responded weakly. Sakura began to cry and soon gave Sasuke a big hug.

"Sakura, that hurts" Sasuke said. He still had a few needles in him. "What about Naruto and that masked kid?" Sakura pointed to them and Sasuke saw Zabuza supporting a weak Haku. "Why are they not fighting?"

"Gato broke his deal and they are no longer enemies" Sakura said. Naruto turned around and realized that Sasuke was alright. Kakashi then turned to Zabuza.

"So what are you going to do now?" Kakashi asked Zabuza.

"Right now, I don't really know" Zabuza responded. Naruto then came up to them and began acting like the idiot everyone knew and loved.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, can they come back to the village with us?" Naruto asked. He then turned to Zabuza. "You guys could stop running and start a new life again. Hell, you could even become ninja of our village."

"You really are an idiot kid" said Zabuza. However, there was something about that that appealed to Zabuza. He never imagined himself settling down again after leaving Kiri, but Haku…perhaps the boy could use some rest. "To be honest, I would actually like that, but I am a missing-nin and an A-rank criminal. I would just go back to either imprisonment or death."

"Kakashi-sensei, can't you do anything about that? You're pretty high up" Naruto said. Kakashi figured he would regret this later.

"For your good work, I can send a message to the Hokage about this" Kakashi said, turning to a surprised Zabuza. "Based on the condition of everyone, we will be here at least another week. I will send word to the Hokage, telling him of your intentions. Do realize that if you are given a chance, you will have to undergo extensive analysis to ensure that you mean no harm to the village."

Zabuza thought to himself for a moment. "Welll, if there seems to be a chance; it would be a nice change."

Even Sasuke was happy with this. If they come to the village, then that will give him an opportunity for a rematch with Haku.

With that, everyone returned to the village to recover. Haku regained conscious, but was groggy and Sasuke was still sore from being a human pincushion. As Kakashi said, they would be there for at least another week and a week's worth of rest was much needed.

The following day, Naruto found a quiet place out in the forest to sit down, there was still something he had to do after yesterday. He began meditating, hoping to get into contact with the Kyuubi inside him.

* * *

"**Well, it seems as if you still want to talk" **the Fox said.

"I figured I would at least hear you out. So what is it you want?" Naruto responded.

"**I want to make an offer with you, Kit."** The Fox said. **"And I suggest you listen before you go blowing your mouth off like you normally do."**

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, trying to restrain himself from the Fox's obvious taunt.

"**To understand where I'm going with this, you need to understand my past"** explained the Kyuubi. **"I am one of the 9 Tailed Beasts that came into existence over 1000 years ago. During that time, you humans have attempted to gain control of our powers and use us as tools. We, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with you and minded our own business. Slowly, you humans managed to seal us inside yourselves, inventing the idea of a jinchuriki…"**

"Uhh…What's a Tailed Beast? And what's a jinchuriki?"asked Naruto. Sadly, the Kyuubi knew the kid was going to start asking questions like that. However, he couldn't help but drop his head.

"**As I said, I am a Tailed Beast. There are 9 of us in existence. We are demons who are classified by the number of tails we have, starting from the Ichibi **(one-tails)** and ending at myself, the Kyuubi **(nine-tails)**. Demons usually have some sort of defining feature that distinguishes their power amongst one another. For tailed beasts, it is the number of tails we have. Since I am the Kyuubi, I am the most powerful of the tailed beasts. You with me so far?"** Naruto nodded, indicating that he understood what a Tailed Beast was, at least to an extent. **"Now, as for jinchuriki. Let's just say that is what you are."**

"What are you talking about? I'm a ninja and a person, not a jinchuriki, whatever that is" replied Naruto.

"**It doesn't matter if you are a puny human. A jinchuriki is a human who has a demon sealed inside them"** explained the Kyuubi.

"So that means you are sealed inside me?" realized Naruto.

"**Hmm, you're starting to catch on Kit. Now don't interrupt me for a bit and listen to the next part of my story"** said the Kyuubi.** "Now, being the most powerful of the Tailed Beasts, I was able to remain free from being sealed the longest. Humans had attempted to capture me, like that pair of weaklings that I ate, but failed. It wasn't until THAT man came along and used his accursed Sharingan to trap me in some sort of genjutsu which he used to control my actions."**

"Sharingan? You mean like Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke?" asked Naruto, interrupting the Fox's story.

The Fox growled at Naruto for interrupting him. **"Yes, like the eyes your teacher and that other brat you're with have. However, this man's eyes were much colder and much more powerful. He used them to manipulate me into attacking your village almost 100 years ago. With my power, he fought against your Hokage and lost. As a result, I was finally sealed into a human. For the next 88 years, I was sealed inside a jinchuriki, trying my hardest to escape, but no luck."**

"Escape? But why?" asked Naruto.

"**What can I say, I don't like being trapped in a cage"** responded the Fox. **"It was almost twelve years ago that I finally escaped. However, HE was there, waiting. I thought he was dead, but that insolent cockroach came crawling back to me…"**

"_Hold on…"_ said Naruto. His interruptions were irritating the Fox even more. "Who is 'HE'?"

The Kyuubi growled a bit, letting out some of his killing intent. **"Madara Uchiha!"**

"Madara Uchiha? I've heard that name before…but where?"asked Naruto. The Kyuubi explained to Naruto that he probably heard it during class as the battle between Harishima Senju, the Shodaime Hokage, and Madara Uchiha was one of the biggest pieces of Konoha history. Naruto nodded his head and told the Fox that was probably the one lecture that he had not slept through."But wait…Uchiha? Does that mean Sasuke is…"

"**Yes, that little Uchiha brat on your team is most likely a descendant of Madara Uchiha, however, Madara abandoned his clan in search of power…me. He was bitter at the fact that his rival, the Shodaime Hokage, had received the position of Hokage instead of him, so he left the village. A few years later, he returned to destroy the village using my power. After that, I thought he was dead and I was finally done with that insolent bastard. However, I was wrong. Like I told you, he was the one who freed me from my jinchuriki vessel 12 years ago. Before I could even take a free breath, he had me under his control. By the time his control ended and I had a free mind again, I was already being sealed into you by that other bastard the Yondaime Hokage!"**

"Hey! Don't insult the Yondaime like that!" said Naruto. However, there was something he wanted to know. "But, why me? Why did he seal you into me?"

"**All I can tell you is that with the seal that he used, I needed to be sealed inside a newborn infant with undeveloped chakra coils, otherwise I would destroy my host upon sealing. I guess you just happened to be the only newborn around."** The Kyuubi laughed at Naruto's misfortune, but quickly resumed the remaining portion of his story. **"For the past 12 years, I have been trapped inside you. We haven't talked until now because you haven't been truly aware of my presence until just yesterday."**

"So if you hate humans so much for sealing you? Then why did you help me?" asked Naruto. He wanted to know why the Fox had helped him and even gave him the power to save Sasuke, despite an Uchiha being the source of his problems.

"**Because, that is where I am trying to get at. I want to make a deal with you. Although I don't like the idea of working with you, my attempts at freedom these past 100 years have not been that successful."**

"Wait…did you say work with me?"asked Naruto, who was becoming increasingly excited by the thought of a demon fox at his command.

"**Don't get the wrong idea Kit. I said I would work with you, not submit myself to you" **explained the Fox. Naruto was now slightly depressed.

"So what does that mean?" he asked.

"**Simple, I will help you and I will even give you the ability to use my chakra, unopposed in certain situations. However…I expect something in return."**

Naruto knew this was too good to be true. _"_Okay…so what is it you want?" he asked.

"**You should know from hearing my story…Actually, it's two things I want. I want my freedom from being sealed again after you die, and yes that day will come in time. I also want you to help me kill that cockroach of an Uchiha."**

"Wait, but if you want your freedom, then what's to stop you from destroying the village?" asked Naruto, now concerned with what the Fox was asking.

"**This…"** The Fox rolled a contract out in front of Naruto, revealing his agreement. **"This is a blood contract. Even to demons, this is binding. Basically, it states that I will lend you my chakra should you find yourself in a situation when it is required. With my help, you could become as strong as or even stronger than the Hokage. What I am trying to say is that I will help you along your journey to become Hokage. But, when you do, you will make sure that I am granted my freedom upon your death. I even promise to leave your village alone once I'm free so long as they don't try to imprison me. Furthermore, I will do whatever is within my power to ensure that you die of old age and not battle, although that will still be a possibility if you get too far in over your head."**

"Wait…what do you mean? How can you help me survive till I'm an old man?" Naruto asked.

"**Have you noticed that you heal extremely fast compared to most people?"** asked the Fox.

"No. I thought that was normal" the Fox nearly face planted at the kids cluelessness.

"**Baka, when a human breaks a bone, it takes them weeks to recover; yet you can fully heal in a matter of hours."** Naruto just gasped at this. This only served to inflate his already big head. **"Anyways, you already have an increase healing factor just by the normal flow of my chakra from your seal. If the flow were to be increased, it is possible that you could heal wounds that would kill you."**

Now Naruto was wondering what the Fox meant by a 'normal chakra flow' from the seal.

"**This seal on me allows for a small amount of my chakra to mix with yours, giving you that increased healing factor of yours and even that massive chakra reserve that you've developed."** Naruto had already been informed that he had a massive reserve of chakra after he proved that he was able to create thousands of shadow clones on the night of the Mizuki incident. **"However, this seal does pose a problem. Although it is weakening slowly, allowing me to safely flow some more chakra into your system, it was initially designed to keep the two of us separate. I can't just give you all of my power at the moment because that would break the seal, killing both of us. In fact, the most I can give you right now is just a little more than I gave you yesterday."**

"What?! But I thought you had a ton of chakra to give!"shouted Naruto.

"**I do. The amount of chakra that I possess is so large, that it is considered infinite by your human standards, but this seal prevents me from releasing it all at once. If I try to force more chakra through the seal than it can take at the time, then I run the risk of breaking it, effectively killing the two of us. The more chakra that flows through the seal, the more stress it puts on your body. I have noticed that the seal weakens over time, which will allow you to use even more of my chakra in the future. I also believe that there is a key that can safely open this seal, allowing us to merge our chakra completely and you will have full access to my powers and I will have the power to kill that bastard."**

Naruto thought about what the Kyuubi had said, looking over the contract in front of him. The terms on the contract were exactly the same as what they had discussed. However, he saw a name on the contract that he didn't quite recognize. _"_Whose this 'Kurama' listed on the contract?" asked Naruto.

"**That would be me. Kurama is my true name. So what do you say Kit, do we have an agreement?"** Naruto took a few more moments to think about what they had discussed. Finally, he figured that everything was okay and signed his part of the contract as Kurama did the same.

* * *

Author Notes

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry if it is still pretty similar to cannon, but I made the necessary changes to it to do what I wanted to do. So these are the two BIG changes I wanted to make this early in the story: Haku and Zabuza survives and Naruto and the Kyuubi actually make a deal with one another.

Please Review/Comment


	6. Chapter 6 (revised)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

Revised: 12/30/12

* * *

**Chapter 6: Trials**

It was late in the afternoon in Konoha. Team 8 was finishing up their D-rank missions for the day. Being an Inuzuka, Kiba naturally hated cats. However, after today Kiba was ready to wipe out every cat from the face of the planet. Once again, Tora had managed to escape and as such, the Capture Tora mission was reinstated. This time it was assigned to Team 8. The first time it was assigned to Team 7, the past three times went to Team 10, and it was about time Team 8 got to experience firsthand one of the most frustrating missions in all the five great nations. Kiba had received most of the injuries, with multiple scratch marks all over his face and 'other places'. Unfortunately, Hinata had a mark on the left side of her face from trying to pry the cat off of Kiba before Kurenai could put it under a genjutsu.

Hinata arrived back at the Huyga compound. Like always, her father greeted her with the usual emotionless question of asking how her missions went. However, after seeing the scratch mark on the side of her face, it became obvious exactly which mission she was assigned. Hiashi recalled the time when he was just starting out as a genin. There was always a mission that required a team to capture a renegade cat that belonged to the Fire Lord's wife. The cat's name was Tori, the mother of Tora. If there was any true 'demon spawn' in the village it was that damn cat. Like it was for Hiashi, this mission was considered a rite of passage for newly graduated genin as almost everyone in the village has had to catch Tora or one of her predecessors.

"Hello father" Hinata said, giving her father a quick bow.

"Welcome home Hinata. I would ask you how your missions went today, but I think I already know" Hiashi said to his daughter.

Hinata quickly explained the other mission that they had. Afterwards, Hiashi took Hinata and her sister, Hanabi, into the family dojo for a quick sparring session. Like always, Hanabi had bested Hinata, much to Hiashi's disappointment.

* * *

At the Hokage's tower, the Third had just received the mission report from Team 7's most recent C-rank mission. He opened it and began reading. He nearly had a heart attack from what he read:

_Lord Hokage,_

_I am reporting in on the mission 'Escort to the Land of Waves'. The mission was originally assigned a C-rank mission, but was quickly upgraded to a B-rank mission after two Kiri chunin attacked our group. Their target was Tazuna. Despite the encounter, everyone was unharmed and we decided to continue with the mission. I regret to inform you that this was a mistake and we should have canceled the mission. It was then decided to upgrade the mission to an A-rank after we were attacked by the missing ninja Zabuza Momochi and an accomplice disguised as a Kiri hunter ninja. Naruto and Sasuke proved to be invaluable in that attack as Zabuza and his accomplice was forced to retreat. For the next week, my team was stationed on guard duty. The following day, Zabuza and his accomplice reappeared. Our team engaged them and fought until the fight was interrupted by Gato and his subordinates. Gato has been controlling the shipping and economy of the nation, effectively controlling it and its people through oppression and fear. As a result, they revealed their intentions to kill all of us, including Zabuza and his accomplice, Haku. However, with the help of Zabuza and Haku, Gato was quickly killed and his subordinates scattered. By the time you read this, the bridge that Tazuna was charged to build should be completed or within a day of completion. I have been informed that a representative of the Land of Waves will be traveling to Konoha and the Land of Fire capitol to arrange trade agreements as an attempt to repair the economy of the Land of Waves and thank us for our intervention._

_I also have a rather odd request coming from Zabuza and Haku. It appears as if the two of them have experienced a change of heart, thanks to their encounter with Naruto. The two of them are requesting an opportunity to join Konoha as ninja. While I normally would disregard such a request, I have reason to believe that they are sincere with their words. Haku also possesses a rare bloodline, the Hyoton, which may prove an invaluable addition for the village. Zabuza has informed me that he is willing to undergo any mental interrogation or trials that would be required for him to prove his intentions to join the village._

_Kakashi Hatake, Jonin_

"Sir, are you alright?" the Hokage's assistant asked, seeing his facial expression after reading the report.

"Please summon the village counsel along with Ibiki, Anko, and Inoichi for an emergency meeting in 30 minutes" the Hokage said.

* * *

Naruto had just come out of his conversation with the Kyuubi before returning to Tazuna's house. He was happy that he would now have the ability to use the Kyuubi's chakra, unimpeded, even if it was only a fraction of the Kyuubi's power at this point in time. With it, he would be as strong as the Hokage in no time. Kurama had explained one last detail about using the Kyuubi chakra, and that was the presence of a chakra cloak if he tapped into enough of the chakra. However, it was explained that given the current state of Naruto's seal, the most he could safely use would be one-tail of the cloak for the time being. After using said demonic chakra, it would be common for Naruto to experience extreme exhaustion.

Naruto returned to the bridge-builder's house. Haku was set up in the guest room, trying to rest the injuries that Naruto had inflicted on him. Naruto had apologized to the boy, which was graciously returned.

The day of their fight, everyone, Haku especially, had pretty much spent the entire day resting. Haku and Sasuke were pretty much told to rest for the rest of the week while their injuries healed.

The day after the fight, Tazuna wanted to get started on the bridge again. As such, the remnants of Team 7 continued with guard duty. There were a few incidents with some of Gato's men trying to take revenge on the ninja or trying to reclaim the island that they had once controlled; however, they were quickly dispatched.

Zabuza had tried to apologize to Tazuna for trying to kill him, resulting in the Demon of the Hidden Mist working on the bridge as well, as Tazuna needed the labor to complete the bridge by the end of the week like he had intended. However, there were two things he had on his side now. One was that the workers were not scared of Gato and they wouldn't quit when it got too late in the day, allowing construction to continue for longer. Second, he fully underestimated Naruto. Kakashi had suggested that Naruto use his clones to help Tazuna out and the help of a hundred extra hands really worked, even if they did disappear whenever one clone missed a nail with a hammer and accidentally hammered his own finger.

* * *

The Third entered the council hall to see that the village council had assembled, although rather hastily. A few of the elder members were nagging the aging Hokage as to why this meeting was called so late at night.

"The reason I called you all is regarding a report I received from Team Kakashi, who was assigned on a C-rank mission to escort Tazuna, the bridge builder, to the Land of Waves" the Third announced. "After reading the mission report, it was upgraded to an A-rank mission." This sent stirs through the chamber.

"A-rank? Why was it upgraded to an A-rank mission?" Homaru, one of Hiruzen's councilors asked.

"The team encountered and battled the missing ninja Zabuza Momochi." The Third's words once again sent stirs throughout the council.

"Zabuza Momochi? Are they alright? Is Sasuke Uchiha alright?" asked a member of the council who ranked right up there with Sasuke's fan girls. The Hokage nodded, reassuring the council member.

"So I assume you have sent a more qualified team to replace Team Kakashi?" asked Koharu, the Hokage's other advisor.

"No" once again, there was talk amongst the council. "This is the reason I have summoned you here. They have been involved in the death of Gato, business tycoon. However, it has been revealed that Gato was a crime lord who has been oppressing the people of the Land of Waves for the past few years. He hired Zabuza and an accomplice to assassinate Tazuna before his bridge was completed. Tazuna's bridge was the one thing that could weaken Gato's grasp on the island's economy." A few of the council who were more versed in economics agreed. "However, it appears that Zabuza turned on Gato with the intention of aiding Team Kakashi after he had a change of heart. I received a request that Hatake Kakashi has forwarded from Zabuza Momochi that is asking us to accept Zabuza and his accomplice, Haku, as a member of this village."

"Why should we do that? Zabuza is listed as a missing ninja by the Hidden Mist Village. There could be political implications as to this" one of the councilors stated.

"I am well aware that, while we are considered neutral with Kirigakure no Sato, the taking in of Zabuza Momoichi could result in some unwanted political implications" the Sandaime pointed out. "However, it is not uncommon for villages to take the missing ninja of other villages. Afterall, that was the reason hunter ninja were commissioned, am I correct, Inuzuka-san?"

Tsume Inuzuka stood up. "That is correct. My clan contains some of the best hunter ninja in the village and it is the job of said hunter ninja to track down and capture or eliminate a missing ninja before they can sell any secrets to a village. However, should a village be fortunate enough to obtain a high-ranked missing ninja, the secrets they can obtain are substantial. It only further the reasons as to why we a village would take a missing ninja in."

"I agree with you on that, Inuzuka-san. Now the question is, what can Zabuza Momoichi provide for us? He has been missing from his village for atleast 6 years now and some of his secrets would be considered outdated" said a bandaged man.

"Danzo, you of all people know that even old secrets can be considered useful" said the Sandaime. "Besides, Kakashi included a few preliminary reports on Zabuza Momoichi and his accomplice, Haku Yukie. The report on Haku stated that the boy possessed a rare bloodline."

Hiruzen did it, he pulled the bloodline card. The councilors looked on at him with all interests set on this bloodline. Konoha loved bloodlines, as seen with how they treated the Hyuga and Uchiha, when the clan was still around. "Hokage-sama, is there any mention as to which bloodline this child possesses?" asked another member of the council.

"Yes, Kakashi mentioned the boy using Hyoton jutsu in during their encounter" said the Sandaime. This stirred conversations in the room immediately. The Hyoton was believed lost when Kirigakure no Sato initiated their bloodline purges, something Konoha saw as a travesty.

"Are you sure it is the true Hyoton?" asked the same councilor.

"I am fairly certain that it is the true Hyoton. Kakashi mentioned the boy's ability to form ice out of thin air, not just simply manipulating preexisting ice like the ninja in Snow County do. I do believe that this is truly the Hyoton" said the Sandaime. A few of the councilors couldn't help but praise their luck. They were so close to obtaining another bloodline, something they felt Konoha had been lacking for the past decade or so. A little more discussion ensured until a final vote was called for on whether or not to extend a preliminary invitation to Zabuza Momoichi and Haku Yukie. The vote was strongly in favor of extending the invitation after a trial had been conducted to determine Zabuza's true intentions.

* * *

Four days had passed since Gato's defeat and the bridge was now complete, thanks to the help of a particular one-man, blonde army. That night, the village held a rather large celebration to celebrate the liberation of the Wave from Gato a future of economic prosperity. Every ninja there was seen as a hero who helped to overthrow Gato, even Zabuza. But the one who really got most of the credit was Naruto for inspiring the villagers to stand up against the tyranny of people like Gato. Sasuke had healed almost completely to the point where he would be ready to train again the next day. They would still remain in the Wave for another two days as Haku wasn't quite ready for long traveling yet. Even then, he wouldn't be able to travel at a high pace, but it would be faster than the pace Team 7 made to get Tazuna there.

While Team 7 was rather friendly that night, it still consisted of a few attempts by Naruto to get Sakura to go out with him, and a few attempts by Sakura to get Sasuke to go out with her. Neither Naruto nor Sakura had much success.

The remaining two days, Kakashi gave to his team to rest and take a small vacation, something Sakura welcomed with open arms. Sasuke, on the other hand, used that day to get in some more training. He was ecstatic, even if it didn't show, that he had unlocked the Sharingan, his clan's bloodline. While it was still in the early stages, it was the Sharingan none the less. Kakashi had also offered to give help Sasuke get adjusted to his newly found dojutusu. The training offer was extended to the rest of the Team 7 with Naruto taking up the offer and Sakura deciding she would rather get some rest. Kakashi would balance his time between training Sasuke with the Sharingan and working on fixing Naruto's taijutsu. While Naruto had been considered passable back in the academy and his taijutsu had made a lot of progress in the last few months, it still needed some work to make it acceptable.

The next morning, the six of them headed off towards Konoha. It was about two day's travel with only ninja traveling this time. They arrived at the village gate early in the afternoon to find a few ANBU waiting for them.

"Zabuza Momochi. You are to come with us for an investigation into your intentions on joining us" the bear masked ANBU said. Zabuza complied and he and Haku left with the ANBU.

"Kakashi-sensei, how long will it take before we know if they can join?" Naruto asked. Sakura and Sasuke also wanted to know.

"Their trial is scheduled for 3:00 two days from now. It is then that we will know their fate in Konoha" Kakashi responded. "To be honest, I don't think Haku will have much of a problem seeing as he has never had 'official ninja training' and because of his bloodline, but Zabuza could be a different story."

After reporting into the Hokage, Team 7 was dismissed. Despite still being a rookie, Naruto had just survived and completed an A-rank mission, something that was reserved for high-chunin and jonin. He was ecstatic and decided to celebrate with Iruka at Ichiraku.

* * *

Much to Naruto's dismay, Team 7 was stuck doing D-rank missions the following two days. Kakashi figured that it would be better for them to get a few short missions before Zabuza's trial. Not to mention, they practically had an entire month's worth of training in a three week mission.

It was getting close to 3 and they proceeded to the academy auditorium, where Zabuza's trial was to be held. When they got there, they found the room to be rather packed. Apparently word that the Demon of the Hidden Mist wanting to join the village had spread. They managed to find a set of seats next to Team 8, with Naruto ending up to a poor Hinata who would be turning redder and redder throughout the entire thing. Next thing that happened, Maito Gai, the jonin in the village with a shiny black bowl haircut who was wearing green spandex, came in and started going on about their 'eternal rivalry'. Gai was being a little too energetic and Gai-like for the rest of Team 7, who were trying to inch their way away from the Mighty Green Beast. This in turn, pushed Naruto closer to Hinata until he was virtually on top of her. The close proximity of her crush caused the poor girl to faint in her chair. She wouldn't wake up for a while.

As the trial started, the Third Hokage entered, along with some of the more prominent members of the village council. He announced to everyone the reason why they were there, although everyone pretty much knew why. Soon after, Zabuza and Haku entered the auditorium, escorted by a few ANBU.

"Zazbuza Momochi, Haku Yuki, you are here today to justify your intent to join this village as ninja of Konoha. Is that correct?" the Third began reading from the paper he was holding. "Why don't we get straight to the point. Inoichi, Ibiki, what are the results of your interrogation sessions with Zabuza Momochi?"

"Lord Hokage" Inoichi said, standing up. "I will be honest; I was not expecting much to warrant admission of this missing-nin into the village, especially given his record." Zabuza gave a slight 'tsk' under his own breath. Inoichi then proceeded to present his report on the mental findings of Zabuza's mental stability. "I do find that he is sincere in his request to join and serve the village of Konoha though. I have found the same to be true with Haku Yukie here as well."

"Very well Inoichi" the Hokage said. "Ibiki?"

"Hokage-sama. Like Inoichi, I had high doubts about these two. While I do feel that Zabuza here is not lying, his previous record of instating a coup in Kirigakure no Sato must be taken into account" said Ibiki.

Zabuza sighed as the Hokage began to speak again. "Zabuza, do you have anything to say about your actions?" asked the Hokage.

"I do. I believe you have received reports on the state of the Mist under the rule of the Sandaime Mizukage" said Zabuza. Hiruzen nodded. "One such measure he instigated was the bloodlimit purges. During that time, I encountered Haku, who I could not allow to suffer under the Mizukage's wrath. The village was not healthy under the Mizukage's oppression. However, even just a few glances of Konoha have told me that Konohagakure no Sato is nothing like Kirigakure no Sato. It is a village that I would rather serve over Kirigakure no Sato."

Very well. I have already discussed with the council about these two joining the village and it appears that they have passed Inoichi and Ibiki's examination" the Hokage stated.

Homaru stood up and addressed the two in question. "Zabuza Momochi, Haku Yuki, it was decided the other day that should we determine that your intentions are good for Konoha, that you be granted a chance earn citizenship. However, one thing that has intrigued us is Haku's bloodline. Haku, if you don't mind, there are some of us here who would like a demonstration of your abilities."

Haku obliged and the chakra suppressing cuffs were removed. He made a quick hand sigh. "Hyoton: Demonic Ice Mirrors!" With that, a mirror in front of Haku formed out of ice and so did one on the other side of the room. The elders were impressed that the Yuki bloodline, the Hyoton, still existed. He performed a few more movements, jumping quickly from mirror to mirror, and showing off his accuracy with senbon.

"_So the Hyoton still exists"_ Danzo thought to himself. Hiruzen shot him a look, indication to Danzo not to try anything funny with this boy. It was known to a few of the higher ups that Danzo was the leader of a secret ANBU organization known as ROOT. Over the past years, Hiruzen had managed to loosen Danzo's grip on village power, but he was still aware that Danzo would try to recruit some ninja with potential, Haku in particular, into his forces. Koharu then stood up to address Haku.

"Haku Yuki. You have demonstrated a rather advanced blood limit. Our records show that you are 13 years of age. By law of this village, if someone possesses a blood limit, they will be allowed to start a clan when they are of age" Koharu said. Kakashi knew this was going to happen with Haku and he had mentioned to Zabuza beforehand. Granting Haku clan status was a way for them to further cement the bloodline into the village.

The Hokage took the floor once again. "Zabuza Momoichi, Haku Yukie. You will be allowed to serve under this village so long as you comply with our laws and regulations. Zabuza, you will be assigned the rank of chunin. You will also be placed on prohbation for the next two months along with supervised mission duty for the following four months. Should I find no issues with you being allowed to serve Konoha, you will be eligible to participate in the jonin examinations at the end of the year to regain your previous rank of jonin. If you do anything that endangers the village, the ANBU have orders to execute you. Do you understand and accept these terms?"

"I accept them, Lord Hokage" Zabuza said, offering a respectable gesture and trying to get on the Hokage's good side already.

"Haku Yuki. Seeing as you have no 'official ninja training' I must give you the rank of genin and assign you to a team. I will find a team to place you on and you will begin once your placement is confirmed" said the Hokage. "Do you accept these terms?"

"I accept them, Lord Hokage" Haku said, following in Zabuza's stead.

Naruto was ecstatic upon hearing this. He ended up hugging the nearest person around him out of joy, which just so happened to be Hinata who was just waking up. Needless to say, she fainted, again.

"If there are no other objections, then I call this meeting closed. You are dismissed" the Hokage announced.

* * *

Following the trial, Kakashi was called into the Hokage's office.

"Kakashi, I want you to take Haku on your team" said the Hokage.

"But sir, I've already got three students. You can't expect me to take on a fourth. What will happen to the three-man squad?" argued Kakashi.

"I am aware, but I am also aware of the paperwork that this little stunt will result in. If I'm going to have to deal with extra paperwork and possible fallout with Kiri, then the least you can do to help me is make finding Haku a team easy. Besides, your students are the only people in Konoha he knows and it will be good for him. If my suspicions are correct though, the council will try to have him promoted as soon as they can. They are like that when it comes to new bloodlines" said the Hokage. "Do I make myself clear that you will take Haku on your team?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I will incorporate him right away" said Kakashi, not wanting to argue with his leader.

Kakashi caught his team meeting up with Haku and Zabuza outside the trial. It was there that he announced that HAku would be joining Team 7 for the time being. He then stated that the rest of the week would be dedicated to integrating Haku into the team. He then invited the new team and Zabuza to Barbe-Q for dinner to get to know each other better. This also served as a little introduction to the team for Haku. They also managed to meet up with Team 10 and Asuma, who was intrigued by the fact that the Demon of the Hidden Mist would be joining them. It was also a little weird for him to be seeing one of the Seven Swordsman wearing a Konoha headband.

* * *

Author Notes

So here is my revised chapter 6. Hope you enjoyed.

I know with Haku joining Team 7, I am breaking the traditional 3-man team, but I felt that this was best as Haku would be considered a genin and that Team 7 was the closest thing he had to friends in Konoha. Also, it was a bit of a punishment from the Hokage for the paper work that would follow.

Please review/comment.


	7. Chapter 7 (revised)

******Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

Revised on: 12/30/12

**Chapter 7: The New Team 7**

Team 7 met up early the next morning at training ground 7. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and their new teammate, Haku, arrived at the normal 9:00 am time. Like always, Kakashi was a few hours late, showing up around 11:00am.

"You're Late!" the older members of team 7 shouted in unison.

"Sorry, but you see a black cat crossed my path and I felt that I should take the long way to avoid any…unfortunate happenings" Kakashi said. No one believed him. "Anyways, the main thing I want to do is get the four of you used to working together. Also, I want to see what Haku is capable of."

Haku agreed to show the team some of his techniques. They already knew about his Hyoton: Demonic Ice Mirrors, so he decided to move onto his other main ice technique, Hyoton: Ice Dome. That jutsu turned out to be a defensive jutsu that created a dome around Haku. Kakashi decided to test out the ice dome's strength. Much to his surprise it withstood a good beating, requiring some of Kakashi's more powerful techniques to break the defense. Even though the team already knew about Haku's accuracy, they were still impressed at just how accurate he was using senbon. Although Kakashi tried to convince him to use a more powerful weapon, Haku stuck by using the senbon as he had the skill required to effectively use them. The only other techniques that Haku was able to use were the Suiton: Sharp Water Needles and another low level water type technique. Still, Kakashi was impressed that someone so young could already make use of two elements. At the same time, this worried him because he could see Naruto and Sasuke becoming more and more jealous of Haku's abilities. The two of them finally cracked.

"Kakashi-sensei! Teach us a cool jutsu or something!" Naurto said. "We've already passed the water walking exercise and now it's time you teach us something useful." For once, both Sasuke and Sakura actually agreed with him.

Kakashi closed his eyes and began thinking for a moment. "Alright. I suppose the three of you have shown me that you are ready to begin some ninjutsu training. Let's call it an early day. I'll go to the jutsu library and pick out a jutsu for each of you that I feel best suits you. Now here's the deal, I'll give you the entire morning to work on them, but you will be doing whatever missions we get in the afternoon without complaining. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes!" Naruto shouted out. Sasuke and Sakura quickly responded as well. "Oh man! This is great! Finally, a new jutsu!"

* * *

Later that evening, the team met up for dinner as was suggested by Kakashi. "So Haku, tell us a little about yourself" Sakura asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?" the new member said.

"Well, you didn't live in Konoha and it sounds like you were traveling a lot. I'm sure you must have some interesting stories" the pink-haired kunoichi explained.

"Well, I guess I could tell you about me" Haku said as the rest of the team listened in. Haku began to tell his story.

"I was born in a small village in the northern part of the Land of Water. It got cold enough there that it would snow a lot, which I guess could be why I can use ice style. It was a peaceful village despite the fact that our nation was at war. My father was a normal man, no shinobi training. He preferred to live a simple life as a farmer. One day, he met my mother and they fell in love. My mother seemed like a normal woman, although she used to be a shinobi. She was able to keep her abilities hidden due to the fact that the people of my village hated ninja. They saw them as responsible for the recent civil war and wanted nothing to do with them. To be with my father, my mother gave up her life as a ninja and settled down. Shortly after, I was born. At first, my father wasn't sure if I was a boy or girl because of my appearance, but my mother quickly explained that it was a common trait amongst her family that even the males had a feminine look to them. Everything was fine until I was five. One day, I showed my mother something that I thought was cool and amazing. It was my Hyton abilities. I thought I saw a little bit of happiness in her eyes, but I was scolded for doing so. I guess she didn't want me using it fearing that it would cause problems within our family…"

Haku trailed off into silence. Sakura could tell something was wrong and told Haku that he didn't have to say anything else. However, Haku shortly resumed the story, saying that it would be best for the team if they knew everything about his past.

"Despite her efforts to conceal my newfound abilities, my father had already witnessed what had happened. I don't know what drove him to so what he did next, but I think it was because he was afraid I would become a ninja or that the villagers were afraid of the powers I possessed."

Haku took a short pause before continuing on.

"He gathered a mob of villagers and…killed my mother. He then turned to me. I could see sadness in his eyes, but at the same time I could see fear. I could feel that he didn't want to do what he was doing, but the fear drove him. Looking over at my mother, lying dead next to me, I lost control of my power and encased the entire mob in ice, effectively killing them."

Naruto stared wide eyed at Haku. To his surprise, what Haku had experienced was similar to his childhood. He was certain that the villagers did not hate him, but they feared what was sealed inside him, the Kyuubi. "Haku, I'm sorry that happened to you. Believe me, I know how you feel" the blonde haired ninja said. "I cannot explain why, but for some reason the villagers wanted nothing to do with me. Even now, they harass me." The rest of Team 7 had no idea what Naruto's childhood was truly like. I suppose the only one who could relate the best with Naruto was Sasuke, but even then it wasn't quite the same. Naruto told a few things about his own childhood, how the village hated him, how a mob was formed on his birthday each year, and how most of the village wished he was either gone or dead. He didn't reveal the reason for it, but he knew why they hated him. He had first realized the night when Mizuki had him steal the Forbidden Scroll. After that, the Sandaime had told Naruto a few more details on the secret that Mizuki had spilled.

"I'm sorry you had it like that. What are you going to do? " Haku asked.

"I'm going to show them the real me. Even though they treat me like shit sometimes, I know that they are good people and I just need to show them that I will protect them" Naruto said. Haku was inspired by the boy's resolve. "It's my dream. I will become Hokage and with that, the entire village will recognize me."

"I see. It seems like me, you have found some precious people that have already saved you from the hell that is loneliness" said Haku.

Yeah, I found a few people willing to recognize my, like the old man Hokage, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, and even the Teme over there. He doesn't admit it, but I see the way he looks at me when we train together. He acknowledges that I am there and we use each other to push ourselves further" Naruto explained. Kakashi and Sakura thought what he was saying was sweet. Sasuke just shrugged it off, but the idiot was right.

"I am glad, because I also found someone who saw me as something more" Haku said.

"Zabuza?" Sakura responded.

"Yes" and with that, Haku resumed his story.

"I was orphaned for about a few months. Even though it was cold outside due to the snow, my blood line protected me. Then one day, I met Zabuza. At first, he just looked at me with pity, but then I saw in his eyes, that he felt the same loneliness that I did. After that meeting, I joined him in his quest. After some time, he asked me to become his 'weapon', to serve as a shinobi with him. Before I met him, I lost my purpose in life. However, when he asked me to become a shinobi, it's as if he gave me a new purpose to live. I gladly accepted. Over the next couple of years, he trained me in the way of the shinobi and I eventually became his weapon. However, I will admit that I never liked the killing that came with it."

"That explains why you didn't kill Naruto and Sasuke back in the Land of Waves" Kakashi realized. He had a few other questions regarding that battle, but decided to hold them off for a better day. Sasuke wasn't happy by the fact that Haku had been holding back against them. He made a promise to himself to defeat Haku in their next rematch. Haku had a little more of his story to tell.

"We traveled together, picking up jobs like the one we had in the Land of Waves. During our journey, I remember meeting a man by the name Kimimaro. I remember him because I felt the same loneliness and sadness inside him that I once felt. I even offered for him to come along with us, but he refused claiming he had to find his own way. I haven't seen him since, but I would sure like to know how he's been. Shortly after, we were given a job by Gato and that leaves us where we currently are, in Konoha becoming a team."

"Wow. It seems like you've lived a rough and confusing life" Sakura said.

"Yes, I guess you could say so, but everything is now. Before these past few days, I even felt that Zabuza was looking for a purpose in life; however your village appears to have given him another chance to start over. He will never admit it, but I think he is truly grateful. Although he is already mad that there are ANBU following him everywhere" Kakashi just smiled at Haku's last comment.

* * *

The next morning, the new Team 7 awaited Kakashi at the training ground. He had promised them cool new jutsu and they were going to get it. The only question now was how late would Kakashi be?

Surprisingly, he was only about 45 minutes late this morning, a new record for him.

"Alright, as promised I went to the library this morning while you were doing your mission and I picked out some jutsu that I think you all should find useful" Kakashi said. He then handed a scroll to Naruto. "Seeing as you can already use the Shadow Clone Jutsu, I thought this would be perfect for you."

Naruto opened the scroll and saw a jutsu. He read: 'Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu', A-rank. He was ecstatic at the jutsu Kakashi picked out, seeing that it was an A-rank technique. But he was a little curious as to what it did. "Kakashi-sensei, what does this jutsu do and why is it considered an A-rank?" Naruto asked.

"Good of you to ask Naruto. The reason it's A-rank is because of the requirement of knowing the Shadow Clone Jutsu, a B-rank technique typically taught to jonin ninja. What it does, is it makes shadow clones of your shuriken" Kakashi explained. Naruto was a little deflated upon hearing this.

"That's it?!" he shouted. "I thought you were going to give me something useful. If I wanted shadow clones of my shuriken, I would just make shadow clones and have them throw their shuriken!"

Kakashi sighed. "It's not like that. Imagine the difference between one shuriken coming at you and dozens, even hundreds of shuriken coming at you." Naruto thought about what Kakashi said.

"Well, one shuriken isn't much and it can be easily blocked, but a lot of shuiriken, well…" Naruto said.

"With a lot of shuriken, your first thought is to get out of the way as the more there are, the more difficult it is to block them. Now imagine if you could throw one shuriken at your enemy, but hit them with over 30" with that, Kakashi pulled out a few shuriken and threw it a training post. "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he shouted. Just before the shuriken hit the post, they copied itself into about 100 shuriken. Now the post was filled with metal shuriken impaled in it. Naruto's jaw dropped and Kakashi just smiled. "If timed correctly, it is a very useful and deadly move."

Kakashi then handed a scroll to Sasuke. "Hmm, Katon: Dragon Fire Breath." Sasuke said, reading the description. "B-rank."

"Unlike your great fireball jutsu, this attack utilizes a constant stream of flames. Also, the range is greater, about double of your jutsu and the flame is hotter" Kakashi said. "Haku, if you could make a mirror." With that, Haku made an ice mirror. Kakashi used the great fireball jutsu on it. The fireball made contact and burst into flames. Afterwards, the mirror was still intact and only a few drops of water rolled down. "The problem with your jutsu is that it's not powerful enough and it isn't sustained."

"Alright, so this jutsu is more powerful?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes. It's at least 3-4x more powerful of a fire than your Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu, now watch" Kakashi said, forming the hand seals for the Katon: Dragon Fire Breath. He sent a stream of flames towards the mirror. Unlike the fireball, this attack was sustained for many seconds and when Kakashi was finished, most of the mirror had melted. Sasuke just stared at the mirror and smiled. Now this is what he was had wanted.

Kakashi handed a scroll to Haku. "Now this technique is a water style jutsu, but I'm sure you can find some way to make an ice style jutsu from it."

Haku read the scroll 'Suiton: Water-whip, C-rank' it read. Kakashi thought on the jutsu and performed it after a few minutes. A whip of water extended towards the training post, wrapping it up.

"It's not that powerful of a jutsu, but even I can see some potential for it to be greatly improved if you can incorporate your ice style into it. Haku gratefully accepted the task. Kakashi turned to Sakura.

"You were a little more difficult, but after analyzing your strengths, I think you would be better off learning a type of genjutsu" Kakashi said handing her a scroll. "And this technique reminded me a lot about you."

Sakura opened the scroll and read 'Cherry Blossom Blizzard'. She now knew what Kakashi was talking about.

"Kakashi-sensei, what exactly is the point of genjutsu?" Naruto asked.

"Well, if an opponent uses a genjutsu on you, he/she basically takes control of your chakra, disrupting their senses, unlike ninjutsu and taijutsu which focuses on dealing physical harm to your opponent. Now genjutsu can either be illusionary or offensive. This one happens to be illusionary, but an offensive genjutsu has the potential to do some major mental damage" Kakashi said. "Don't panic. I am now going to use this genjutsu on you."

Kakashi activated the genjutsu and suddenly the four genin were enveloped in a blizzard of cherry blossoms. Soon, they all began to feel something tapping them on their back, but when they turned, there was nothing there but more cherry blossoms. Kakashi then came up behind Sakura and put a blunt knife to her neck and canceled the genjutsu. "Don't worry Sakura, the knife wasn't sharp" Kakashi said as Sakura was rubbing her neck where the knife was. "If you noticed, I tapped you all multiple times but when you looked, you saw nothing, correct?" The four genin nodded. "Now imagine if every time I tapped you, I was actually stabbing you with a knife." They soon got what Kakashi was talking about. "The strength of a genjutsu depends on two things: the actual strength of the technique and the ability of the caster. A genjutsu master can make the weakest genjutsu stronger than the most powerful genjutsu if it were used by a novice. While I am proficient in genjutsu, if you need some expert advice, Sakura, I suggest you ask Kurenai Yuhi, sensei of Team 8."

The four of them nodded at their sensei for the techniques that he gave them. "Kakashi-sensei, speaking of genjutsu, there is a way to counter genjutsu. Are you going to show us how?" Sasuke asked.

"I will, but why don't you work on these jutsu and I'll teach you how to counter genjutsu next week" Kakashi said. Inside his head, he was laughing at his brilliance. _"This should keep Naruto and Sasuke quiet for a few weeks."_ Yes, he had purposefully given Naruto and Sasuke a high level jutsu so that they would stop pestering him, and this way, so long as they played along like good little genin, everything would run smoothly for a few weeks at least.

With Naruto, he heard a voice begin to speak inside his head.

"**Naruto" **Kurama said to him. **"Since we are on the topic of genjutsu, there is something I must tell you regarding the subject. I was able to be controlled by genjutsu, but now that you and I are working together, it should have little to no effect on us."**

"_Why is that?"_ Naruto asked the demon in his head.

"**Basically, to disrupt a genjutsu, it requires a disruption in your chakra flow. If you are in a genjutsu, I can provide a small burst of chakra, which should dispel it. It's one of the few things I can help you out with, given the current condition of this seal."**

"_Alright, that sounds good_" Naruto responded. With that, Naruto returned to reality. The rest of the afternoon was spent practising their jutsu. As expected, this jutsu quickly turned into a rivalry match between Naruto and Sasuke and the two began diving head first into their new jutsu. The agreed conditions were that Naruto would have to produce a dozen shuriken from one shuriken, the equivalent of what Kakashi had done in the demonstration (and that wasn't the best Kakashi could do), and Sasuke had to be able to melt one of Haku's ice mirrors.

* * *

"Are you all in position?" called a voice over the wireless headset.

"I'm in position" called a feminine voice.

"I'm ready" called a slightly bored voice.

"I'm ready" called a new and kind of excited voice.

"Why the hell are we doing THIS mission again sensei!" shouted a very loud voice.

"Because, Naruto, these D-ranks build teamwork and we need to incorporate Haku into this team. Besides, don't you remember the deal we made?" reminded Kakashi.

"Fine. Let's just get this over with" said the now defeated Naruto.

"Alright, on three. 1…2…3…go" with that, the four genin of Team 7 dove onto their target, a certain cat wearing a red ribbon. Yes, unfortunately for every genin of the village, the Fire Damyio's Wife was in town. "Do you have the target?"

"OWOWOWOWOW!" screamed Naruto as the cat viciously clawed at his face. Sakura peeled the cat off and began stroking in the cat's sweet spot behind the ears that she had discovered the first time they had this mission, which instantly calmed the cat down. At the same time, Inner Sakura was contemplating how much this secret of calming Tora down could be sold for.

* * *

Author Notes

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

For those of you wondering, yes, the main reason Kakashi gave Naruto and Sasuke those jutsu was to preoccupy them for some time while they integrated Haku into the team. Basically, it was used to get them to shut up and stop complaining about the D-ranks for a few weeks. However, Kakashi still had to select jutsu that would make sense to Naruto and Sasuke.

Please Review/Comment


	8. Chapter 8 (revised)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto

Revised on: 1/4/13

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Rivalry Booms**

Three days passed since Kakashi had given his genin their new jutsu. For Team 7, the daily schedule consisted of Naruto and Sasuke would usually arrive at the training ground sometime between 7-8, Haku would show up not too much longer after and Sakura would show up by 9, after she finished fixing her hair and everything else that she felt she had to do to get Sasuke's attention. Kakashi said he would show up around 8:30 to help them, which meant he would normally show up around 10-10:30. At 12:00, Team 7 would get a lunch break and then reconvene for a series of missions in the afternoon.

This morning, Kakashi was sitting underneath a tree reading a book. He had just given Naruto and Sasuke some advice on their jutsu and the two had gone straight to work figuring it out. _"Silly genin"_ Kakashi said to himself. _"It'll take weeks, maybe even months for them to get those jutsu down. But, that means a good amount of time without them complaining about missions."_

"Yeah! I've got it!" shouted Naruto as Kakashi nearly choked on his words. Kakashi looked over at Naruto's training stump and saw two shuriken lodged in the post.

"_Damn it" _swore Sasuke to himself. _"I won't let you get ahead of me, Naruto."_ While Naruto had just gotten his shuriken to duplicate, Sasuke had yet to turn his fireball into a flamethrower. That is until he did the jutsu again. Sasuke concentrated the chakra in his lungs, building up as much as he could. He made the necessary hand seals and took a deep breath, mixing the molten fire chakra with the air in his lungs. _"Katon: Dragon Fire Breath Jutsu!" _

Sasuke unleashed the fire in his lungs and a stream of flames were unleashed. This wasn't the previous fireball, this was a sustained stream of flames. Sasuke smirked at his progress, even if he didn't melt the ice.

Kakashi stared on in amazement. _"They've already got the basics down?"_ he thought. _"It should be atleast another two weeks until Naruto could even make a single shuriken clone or Sasuke could generate a constant stream of flames. Of course, Naruto only made one shuriken and Sasuke's fire wasn't strong enough, but still. Now all that's left is for them to figure out how to pump more power into the jutsu."_

Sasuke was panting hard, having used up a lot of chakra with that last attempt and Naruto wasn't looking too much better.

"Alright, I think you all have deserved a break" said Kakashi, standing up. "You're all coming much farther than I initially expected. Why don't you grab lunch and I'll see you for missions later this afternoon."

"Sasuke, do you want to get lunch?" Sakura asked. Like every other day, she was hoping Sasuke would say yes.

"I'd rather not" responded Sasuke. "If you've got time to be bothering me, then you have time to be working on that jutsu Kakashi-sensei gave you."

Sasuke left a deflated Sakura behind to go do whatever he did for lunch. "Umm Sakura, if you want you could come get some ramen with me" Naruto asked, trying to cheer his crush up.

"And why would I want to do that?" growled Sakura. Like every other day, Naruto had been rejected as well.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Team 7 received their mission. It was a simple D-rank again. While they wanted to complain, Naruto and Sasuke kept their mouth shut. There would be plenty of time for complaining when they got their jutsus down. However, Naruto was steadily getting tired of the D-rank. After the mission in the waves he had been hoping for at least another C-rank, even if he felt he was ready for a B-rank or something more.

"Umm, Kakashi-sensei, I know we promised not to complain and everything, but I don't suppose we could do something different than a D-rank. I know we are ready for another one" asked Naruto after they had reported in.

"Yeah, come on sensei. Naruto's right. Right, Sasuke?" replied Sakura. Even she was getting tired of the D-ranks again. Today they had to help out on a farm and Sakura was probably dirtier than she had ever been, a feeling she was not enjoying all that well.

"The dobe's right. I know we promised not to say anything, but we've completed the equivalent of an A-rank mission. These D-ranks are just starting to get old again" responded Sasuke.

Kakashi sighed. So much for the jutsus staving off their desire for something a little more. He looked over at Haku, who had just been smiling. Kakashi figured that Haku had just been putting a mask on and taking the D-ranks. "Perhaps. How about this, I'll reserve a C-rank for a few days from now. I want to get Haku to 10 missions before we take on some longer mission and I suspect a few more days of D-ranks will get him there."

"Umm…why does Haku need to get to 10 missions?" asked Sakura.

"It was just part of the requirement that Hokage-sama gave me when he assigned Haku to this team" said Kakashi. In reality, he needed to get Haku to the 10 mission minimum for the chunin exams that were coming up in a few weeks. The council had requested that Sasuke and Haku specifically be able to compete in these exams. In reality, they were most likely trying to kiss up to the last two bearers of a rare bloodline.

"Fine, I suppose that will work" said Naruto.

"Good. Now the four of you are done for today, I'll go and reserve our mission for a few days. Just remember that you have tomorrow off. I'll be around sometime around noon to help you, if you wish to train a little, as there is something I need to do in the morning."

* * *

Today was their day off and Naruto and Sasuke were hard at work competing against one another to complete their jutsu. Thankfully for them, they had the entire day to work. They both had the basic forms of the jutsu down. They just had to increase the power now.

Although Sakura enjoyed her days off, she had decided to use this day to train as well, especially after what Sasuke had said to her. She had tried to talk to Sasuke after their mission, but he made a comment that was basically translated as she was below Naruto. Naruto was now pulling his own weight in the team and his abilities were rapidly growing to a point where they were easily above hers.

Sadly, she realized Sasuke was correct. During the Wave mission, she had done nothing more than stand in front of Tazuna while Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei did all the fighting. Also, Naruto and Sasuke were constantly training, pushing each other while she would do nothing but sit around and fantasize over Sasuke. Not to mention, she was smart and it wasn't long before she was beginning to realize that Sasuke didn't care for her fan girl attitude. From the sounds of it, he wanted her to not be a burden. Perhaps if she were to be the one to get her jutsu down.

Sakura remembered that Kakashi told her to go and see Kurenai, Team 8's sensei, if she needed help on the genjutsu. Thankfully, today was one of Team 8's training days and they weren't out on missions.

* * *

"Hey guys!" Sakura shouted to Sasuke, Haku, and Naruto, but mostly to Sasuke.

"Sakura?" Naruto asked, wondering what she was doing at the training ground on their day off.

"I thought this was your DAY OFF? It's okay Sakura, you don't have to come out here if you don't want to" Sasuke said smugly.

"Well, if you must know. I was talking to Kurenai-sensei about the genjutsu, and I think I have it" Sakura said, trying to impress Sasuke. She actually managed to get a little smile out of him.

"Alright then, go ahead and let's see" Sasuke said, challenging what she was saying. Sakura went through the necessary preparations for the genjutsu and cast it on her three teammates. Just like Kakashi, cherry blossoms swirled around them, greatly obscuring their vision. Sakura then proceeded to tap Sasuke repeatedly as Kakashi had done. After she canceled the jutsu, she was congratulated by Naruto. She was hoping that it would have been Sasuke saying that, although she did get a nod of approval from him. Considering that this was Sasuke, she would take that for now.

They proceeded to continue training. Although Sakura truly wanted to go home, she knew that she would never get closer to Sasuke this way, so she stayed and trained with her team.

A few more days passed with Naruto and Sasuke making some progress on their jutsu. Tomorrow would be the day that Kakashi said that they would be getting a C-rank mission and they knew that today would be the best day to get their jutsu down.

It was getting late and Naruto and Sasuke were running low on chakra. They were either going to get their jutsu now with this last attempt or they wouldn't have enough chakra for another attempt. Naruto and Sasuke took one look at each other, which basically said 'watch this, I'm going to complete my jutsu with this last go.' Haku nodded and made an ice mirror while Naruto pulled out a shuriken. Both of them focused, gathering their chakra for the upcoming jutsu. At the same time Sasuke unleashed his fine, Naruto let his shuriken go. After everything happened, Sasuke inspected the ice mirror that was no longer there and Naruto went to count the number of shuriken in the stump. As Sasuke had completed his goal, Naruto counted 14 shuriken in the stump, meaning he had accomplished his goal as well. Up until now, Sasuke had always been beating Naruto, even if just barely, but now, they had tied. Naruto was gaining on him. Sasuke didn't like it and he had to push himself so that the 'dobe' wouldn't beat him.

Sasuke had to admit though, he probably would not have gotten his jutsu, his first B-rank jutsu, completed in the time that he did if it wasn't for Naruto pushing him. Even Kakashi had mentioned that he had expected that it should have taken them at least two weeks to get the first part of the jutsu, which was the fire stream. For Naruto, the first part was getting the first shuriken clone. However, he had the jutsu complete in just over a week, something Kakashi didn't even think was possible. He still didn't want to admit it, but perhaps he had found a worthwhile rival.

* * *

Kakashi appeared the next morning outside the mission hall holding the C-rank that he had promised his students. It was a delivery mission. A lord by the name of Fujiko Kazaka had purchased a sword from a local weapon shop in Konoha. The sword was an older katana, crafted by the legendary sword smith Masamune a few centuries ago. The age and maker of the sword made it an incredibly valuable piece of work and both the seller and client were certain that there would be a few bandits along the delivery route. While the sword was valuable to a lord, it wasn't special in a shinobi sense, making it very unlikely that the sword would be targeted by a shinobi. As such, a C-rank mission was requested to deliver the sword and a team of genin who had survived a face-to-face encounter with Zabuza Momoichi, let alone one who studied under Zabuza, was expected to be more than enough protection for said mission.

"Kakashi-sensei, so what sort of cool mission are we doing today?" asked Naruto.

"It's a delivery mission, Naruto" responded Kakshi.

"What? A delivery mission? But you promised us a cool C-rank mission. All the delivery missions so far have been nothing but boring D-ranks" complained Naruto. Kakashi just chuckled.

"This one's a little different. We have been assigned to deliver a valuable sword to Fujiko Kazaka, a lord in the northwestern part of the Land of Fire. While I don't expect any shinobi activity on this mission, the sword is valuable, and as such attractive to thieves and bandits. Now, go pack for about three days and meet me at the gates in an hour" said Kakashi.

Team 7 accepted the mission without any more complaints. A few thieves was much better than catching a cat or milking a cow.

A few hours after they left the village, any boredom Naruto may have accumulated was soon ridded from him as they encountered their first bandit attack. A group of bandits, roughly half a dozen, emerged from the forest and demanded that the traveling ninja hand over any valuables they were carrying.

When Kakashi denied their request, the bandits followed through on their threat and charged at the genin. Within about 20 seconds, all 6 of the bandits were incapacitated. Kakashi was glad to see that one of his students had put their new jutsu to good use. Sakura had used her genjutsu on the bandit she was facing to distract the man while she delivered a strong punch to the bandits cheek, knocking him against a tree and unconscious. Naruto and Sasuke had both beaten their bandits pretty good, although they had not used the jutsu Kakashi had given them, which was understandable as their jutsus carried the potential to kill. It was hard distinguishing Haku's bandit from the porcupine that had just run out of the bushes a second ago. Kakashi's two were handled with ease, even more so than he had done with the demon brothers.

The team continued on with their mission and the following day, they wandered upon the remainder of the bandits had shown up. This time, it was roughly two dozen bandits that had descended upon them. Sasuke and Naruto took one look at each other before the action started, this was most definitely a competition between the two of them now.

Naruto ducked underneath one attack, responding by nailing the bandit in the stomach with a strong punch. This gave him a little breathing room as he summoned a few shadow clones to aid him. The clones soon went to work overpowering most of the bandits that had decided to take on, as they saw it, the 'short and stupid looking one'. Boy were they mistaking when they were hit by the wave of orange.

After he was finished with his bandits, Naruto looked over to see Sasuke sitting on top of a pile of battered, beaten, and burned bandits.

"Seven!" declared Naruto.

Sasuke growled, having only beaten 6. That was before he noticed a forgotten bandit sneaking up behind him. Sasuke swung his foot at high speed around, catching the bandit in the side of the head, knocking him into a tree. "There, seven."

Naruto and Sasuke smirked at each other, satisfied that the other wasn't giving up so easily.

* * *

A few days passed and Team 7 had returned to Konoha by that time. Today was designated as a training day for the team as Kakashi said that he had something to do. After lunch, Team 7 had met in an alleyway, waiting for Naruto, who had apparently forgotten something. Sakura was stuck waiting for Naruto as Sasuke and Haku had left to go train.

When Naruto came back, he noticed something…out of place.

"_Is that supposed to be a rock?"_ Naruto thought to himself. He took a few steps forward, only for the 'rock' to follow him. Even the Fox inside Naruto's head was confused at the 'rock'.

"**What the hell is that?"** said Kurama.

"Don't even ask" Naruto said to his inner demon, dropping his head. Coming back to reality, he turned to face the 'rock'. "What kind of rock is square with two holes?! I can see right through that!"

"Just what I would expect from my rival" the rock said as it exploded, revealing Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon.

"Oh, it's just you Konohamaru. So what do you want now?" Naruto asked, trying to get away from the kids so he could train and not let Sasuke get so far ahead of him.

"Leader, are you free?" Moegi asked, trying to make herself cute and irresistible, which really doesn't work to well on Naruto.

"Nope, I'm training!" Naruto said. Meanwhile, Sakura was standing slightly behind him, watching the whole endeavor.

"What?! But you promised that you would play ninja with us today!" Konohamaru shouted out.

"Um…why would a ninja want to play ninja?" Sakura asked, staring at the three kids with a look of annoyance.

"Hey bro, who is this girl?" Konohamaru asked Naruto. _'She's starting at him like she wants to eat him alive'_ he thought. Konohamaru got an idea in your head.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, wondering what the kid was thinking.

"Not bad bro. She's your…" he leaned closer to Naruto to whisper in his ear. "Girlfriend?"

"Hehe, you brats are very perceptive…" Naruto said, just as a fist made contact with his face, sending him flying back into a fence.

Konohamaru turned to Sakura, who was now looked like she was ready to kill the three kids. "How dare you, you ugly bitch!" Konohamaru said, pushing his luck to far. Sakura smacked him, leaving just as many lumps on his head as Naruto had gotten. Once the two regained consciousness, Konohamaru still didn't learn his lesson. "Damn it. That ugly huge foreheaded…is that really a girl?" Naruto got a signal from the fox in his head to run as they turned around to see Sakura charging full steam towards them.

"Ouch, that hurt!" Konohamaru said, running into something solid. When he looked up, he saw a ninja in black pants and a black shirt, with a bandaged bundle on his back, and paint on his face. Standing next to him was a girl in her mid-teens with blonde hair tied into four ponytails. On her back was what looked like a rather large collapsed fan. "That hurt you little brat!" the man with the painted face said.

* * *

Author Notes

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

I know it was a bit on the shorter side, but I really just wanted to build upon Naruto and Sasuke's rivalry a little.

Now, I know it sounds like it took Naruto so long to get the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu down when it only took him hours to get the Shadow Clone Jutsu down, but it has to do with chakra control. While he is somewhat proficient at controlling chakra in himself, channeling it into a weapon and still controlling it is a different story, not to mention applying the equivalent of the Shadow Clone Jutsu to a weapon that is not himself.

Please review/comment.


	9. Chapter 9 (revised)

******Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

Revised: 1/4/13

**Chapter 9: Strangers in Konoha**

All around Konoha, the jonin were busy training with their teams. As they heard a bird call in the air, they looked up to see a bird summoning them to the Hokage. They all knew what it was for, but they were surprised that it was this soon that they were being summoned by the Hokage. Any jonin in charge of a genin team, assembled in front of the Hokage for his announcement.

"You've been assembled for only one reason" the Third said. "As most of you have probably realized, it should be obvious by the people here."

"It's already that time." Kakashi said.

"It's already been reported to the other villages. I have seen them enter the village" Genma, a ninja wearing a Leaf bandana with a senbon in his mouth said. "So when is it?"

"Well, I will announce it properly then" Hiruzen said, standing up. "Seven days from now, the chunin selection exams will begin. First we will hear from those supervising the new genin. Asuma, Kakashi, Kurenai, do you recommend any of your team for the chunin selection exams?"

Kakashi stepped forward. "The Kakashi led Team 7, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Haku Yuki…under the name of Hatake Kakashi, I nominate them for the chunin selection exams" Kakashi announced.

"What?!" Iruka called out. He didn't see his former students as ready for this exam.

"The Kurenai Team 8, Hinata Huyga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame…I Kurenai Yuuhi nominate all three of them for the exam" the genjutsu mistress said.

"The Asuma led Team 10, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yaminaka, and Chouji Akamichi…I Asuma Sarutobi nominate all of them for this exam" Asuma announced.

"Hmm, how rare. All of them" the Hokage said to himself.

"Hold on!" Iruka shouted out. "Hokage-sama, please let me have a word. 9 of these 10 individuals were just recently my students. I know their skills are exceptional, but it is still too early for them to take the exam. They need more experience."

Kakashi stepped forward to defend the nominations. "Iruka, I was a chunin when I was six years younger than Naruto."

"Naruto is different than you" Iruka rebuted. "Are you trying to crush these kids?"

"Crushing them could be fun" Kakashi said. "They are always complaining about missions. I highly doubt that they will even make chunin this time around, but this will still be a good experience for them."

"What?!" Iruka said. "You think this is some game for your entertainment?"

Kakashi laughed a little. "That was just a joke, but stay out of this. They are no longer your students. They are my subordinates." Iruka was shut up.

* * *

The ninja with the face paint grabbed Konohamaru by the collar and lifted him up to face-height as Naruto, Sakura, Moegi, and Udon arrived on scene. "Let go of me!" Konohamaru screamed out as Naruto tried to come to his rescue, only to be held back by Sakura.

"Hey, you're almost as annoying as this little brat" the ninja said to Naruto. "I hate midgets. Especially younger ones that are rude. It makes me want to kill them." Naruto and Sakura looked on in shock.

As the ninja wound up for a punch, Naruto ran to save Konohamaru. Before the punch could make contact, the ninja was hit in the face with a rock and a senbon found his hand. Naruto looked up to see Sasuke and Haku on opposite sides of the ally. The ninja dropped Konohamaru.

"What are you bastards doing in our village?" Sasuke called out.

'_Hmm, he's kind of handsome'_ the blonde kunoichi said.

'_Wow, she's pretty hot'_ the other foreign ninja said looking at Haku. He then turned his attention to Sasuke. "Another brat who pisses me off."

Naruto was now getting angry because Sasuke had just shown him up. The foreign ninja called Sasuke out, pulling the wrapped bundle off of his back.

"Kankuro, stop it" a voice called out. The ninja stood down as everyone's attention turned to the voice. It was a boy with red hair and a large gourd on his back. "You're an embarasement to our village."

"Ga-Gaara" Kankuro called out, trying to explain himself.

"Losing yourself like that, how pathetic. Why do you even think we came to this village?" Gaara said. Kankuro tried to open his mouth, but was shut up instantly. "Shut up, or I'll kill you."

Sasuke looked over at their 'leader' and tried to analyze the newcomer. Before he could, the Gaara disappeared in a cloud of sand and reappeared next to Kankuro. "Sorry to you guys" Gaara said, apologizing for Kankuro. "I guess we got here too early."

"Hey wait. You're from Sunagakaru. You may be allies, but it is forbidden for foreign ninja to enter other villages without permission. Why are you here?" Sakura asked.

"Heh, talk about clueless" the blonde ninja said. "See my pass? We are here for the upcoming chunin exams."

"Chunin exams?" Naruto said as everyone's sweat dropped.

"Wow, you really are clueless" the blonde kunoichi said. "The chunin exam is where outstanding genin ninja from all over assemble to take an exam to become a chunin. The main purpose is to maintain power and balance, but countries just use them to show off to one another."

Sasuke jumped down from his perch. "Hey, what's your name?" he asked.

"Who me?" the blonde kunoichi asked.

"No, you with the gourd" Sasuke said.

"Gaara of the Desert. I am also interested in you" Gaara said.

"Sasuke Uchiha" Sasuke said. Naruto butted in only to be ignored.

"**Naruto, something feels strange yet familiar about that kid with the gourd. I can't quite put my paw on it, but I feel like I've felt his energy before"** Kurama said to Naruto. Naruto didn't say anything but heeded the demon's advice.

"How about you. I'm sure a lovely lady like yourself has to have a pretty name" Kankuro said, trying to flirt with Haku. The rest of Team 7 almost face-planted into the ground.

"I'm Haku, and I'm a boy" he said as Kankuro suddenly lost all his words and even received a disturbing glance from the sand kunoichi.

* * *

"So what do you think" a figure in the trees said.

"Well, nothing serious, but that black-haired kid, the boy with the gourd, and that boy that looks like a girl. Let's keep an eye on them" another figure said.

* * *

"Hey did you hear?" Tenten said, tossing another knife into a target. "For the first time in ten years, there are going to be rookies in these chunin exams."

"That sounds interesting" Lee said, sitting directly underneath Tenten's target. "Rumor is that four of them are students of Kakashi."

"I almost feel sorry for them" Neji said.

* * *

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura yelled at Kakashi, who just appeared on the bridge that he had asked his team to meet on.

"Sorry, but I got caught up registering you guys for the chunin exams" Kakashi responded, seding his usual smile to them.

"What kind of lame excuse…oh wait, that actually sounds reasonable" Sakura said.

"Here are our applications. If you are going to take the exams, then come to room 301 at the academy six days from now" Kakashi explained. Naruto jumped on top of Kakashi, hugging him for nominating them for the exams. "Again, this is just a nomination. Whether or not you want to take them is up to you. Those forms need to be turned in by 4pm tomorrow to the Hokage's tower if you are going to take them. I'll give you the rest of today and tomorrow to decide. Based on your response we'll go from there."

With that, Kakashi left the four genin to their thoughts. "Hmm, chunin exams. There are going to be a lot of strong people in that. Like Gaara and those guys from yesterday" Sasuke said. _"I might be able to fight them."_

"_If I win, then I'll be one step closer to Hokage"_ Naruto thought to himself, imagining himself on a winner's pedestal and wearing the Hokage's hat.

* * *

"**Things could get interesting, Naruto" **Kurama said to his host.

"_Yeah, I know. It's about time something exciting happens around here"_ Naruto responded to the Fox.

"**Not exactly what I meant, but yes, thing will get interesting." **

"_Ok, so what did you mean?"_ Naruto asked the demon.

"**That Suna boy isn't the only one with chakra that I've felt before. I can't tell you who, but I've felt at least one other familiar chakra source enter this village recently."**

"_So what does that mean?"_ Naruto asked. "Are there more of your kind here?"

"**Maybe. I can't say for sure, but let's just say it's possible."**

"_Then what do you think about entering? I want to, as it will put me closer to Hokage" _Naruto said, giving the Fox a big smile.

"**Like I said, it will be interesting. I say do it as there are a few of the Tailed Beasts I wouldn't mind seeing again. But then again, there are others I would rather not."**

* * *

"So what do you think Naruto, Haku, Sakura?" Sasuke asked his team.

"I'm definitely in!" Naruto exclaimed, giving Sasuke a slight grin.

"I'll come. If the team needs me, I'm more than happy to help them" Haku said.

"_I don't want to…I can't even keep up with Naruto" _Sakura thought to herself, still depressed that Sasuke had told her that her abilities are probably below Naruto. _"But if I back out, what will Sasuke think of me?"_

"Sakura?" Sasuke asked, trying to snap his teammate out of it.

"Huh? Oh, yeah I'll come" Sakura said, a tone of doubt still in her voice.

* * *

Team 7 had just turned in their exam forms for the chunin exams and it was now about three days before the exams would actually start. Already, Naruto had seen ninja from many different villages besides Suna. Currently in the village were also ninja from Kumo, Kusa, Taki, and even some new village known as Otogakure no Sato.

Naruto had just left Ichiraku's after his typical early afternoon ramen run when he spotted a few Kumo shinobi walking away from him. He immediately felt the Kyuubi flare up inside inside.

"_What's wrong?"_ he asked.

"**I think there is a jinchuriki amongst those Kumo shinobi as well. I can't quite tell which one or which biju it is, but I'm certain that one of them is a jinchuriki"** said the Kyuubi.

"_So that makes what? 2 others?"_ asked Naruto.

"**Yeah. Like I said, this could get interesting"** said the Fox.

"_Hey, so who are these other biju? I know there's you, but you said there are nine others, right?"_ asked Naruto.

"**There are eight others, nine if you include me. Each of us is distinguished by the number of tails we have. I'll start from the beginning. The Ichibi, Shukaku, is probably my least favorite of all the biju. He's fucking insane and does nothing but kill kill kill. He's also the weakest of all of us, as he only has one tail. The Nibi, Matatabi, is also known as the Ghost Cat. She's actually one of the few biju that I actually don't mind and she actually is pretty respectful. The Sanbi, Isobu, looks just like a giant turtle. I don't really care much for him, but I can tolerate him if it wasn't for his incompetence. The Yonbi, Son Goku, is known as the Great Sage Monkey. I don't really like him that much because he keeps thinking he's smarter and better than me, phft. The Gobi, Kokuo, is well…we don't really know" ** said Kurama.

"_What do you mean, don't really know?"_ asked Naruto.

"**Exactly what I said. All of us resemble some sort of animal, but the Gobi is a mixture of a horse and a dolphin, I think. Anyway, the Rokubi, Saiken, looks like a giant slug. She's almost as bad as the Ichibi when it comes to mindless killing. The Nanabi, Chomei, resembles a large beetle and keeps referring to herself as the Lucky Seven Chomei. For me, she's tolerable. Then we have the Hachibi, Gyuki. He looks like a cross between a giant ox and octopus. He can be rather stubborn and bashful and the two of us have never seen eye to eye. Lastly you have me, the Kyuubi, and the strongest of all the Biju."**

"_Wow, that's amazing!"_ replied Naruto.

* * *

Later that night, Naruto was walking through the village, on his way home when a figure attacked him out of nowhere. Naruto jumped to the side, just in time to avoid being pelted by a few kunai. The man that attacked him wore a headband indicating that he was part of Amegakure no Sato.

"What the hell do you want?!" shouted Naruto.

"Heh, aren't you funny" laughed the Ame ninja. "The chunin exams have no room for a little brat like you. You're better off giving up now."

"And why would I take advice from the likes of you? You're talking to Konoha's future Hokage!" declared Naruto as he pulled out a kunai and threw it at the attaching ninja. The Ame ninja took his own umbrella from his back and threw it at Naruto, when the kunai and umbrella met, the umbrella turned into dozens of kunai and impaled Naruto.

"Heh, see you little punk? There's no room in the chunin exams for you…huh?" The Naruto that he had attacked disappeared, revealing itself to be nothing more than a shadow clone. While the Ame ninja was busy looking around to see where Naruto was, he didn't notice the blonde tackle him from above.

"Heh, you are you calling a little punk? You're the one who can't handle the exams" replied Naruto. The Ame ninja disappeared, replacing himself with a rock.

"Huh? What? Where?" said Naruto, looking franticly for the attacker, who was nowhere to be found.

* * *

Sakura was walking along praising her luck. Sasuke had actually invited her to take a walk with him. She was busy fawning over Sasuke when Sasuke called out some random Ame ninja. Sasuke attacked the ninja, only to be pelted by a barrage of kunai.

Sakura looked on in horror as her precious Sasuke was killed in front of her. "Sasuke!" she shouted out as she ran to the lifeless body of Sasuke, dropped to her knees and began crying.

A few moments passed and her crying turned to laughter. "You can stop with the elementary genjutsu know, I've known this was all an illusion" said Sakura, standing up and facing the Ame ninja. "Since when would Sasuke ever invite me to take a walk with him. Besides, I also know that you're just an illusion as well."

"You think I'm just a mere illusion?" asked a ticked off Ame ninja as he threw the umbrella at Sakura. Sakura simply walked straight through the illusion and the Ame ninja merely laughed. "I see, but if you continue on with the chunin exams, this will become a reality. I wonder if you can endure that?" With that the Ame ninja disappeared and the illusion was dispelled.

"Cha, I'm not scared! I'll take them on anytime!" shouted Sakura. "Sigh…I'm still not sure if I can do it…"

* * *

Sasuke was also having trouble with the same random Ame ninja. Well, it wasn't so much of trouble as he had easily defeated his attacker, more like a nuisance.

* * *

"So how was it?" Kakashi asked said troublesome Ame ninja. However, the Ame ninja dispelled his transformation to reveal Iruka

"We went through the trouble of having a special preliminary exam for the rookies, and they all passed with ease" said Iruka. "As you said, their skills have shown drastic improvement."

"Well, the actual chunin exams won't just end at this, but…" said Kakashi.

* * *

Author Notes

There's the next chapter, hope you enjoyed.

Please Review/comment


	10. Chapter 10 (revised)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Revised on 1/4/13

* * *

**Chapter 10: The chunin Exams: Round 1**

Finally, the day came for the chunin exams.

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto shouted, coming to the gate o the academy. The poor girl began to turn red, like normal when Naruto expectantly appeared. "Are you here for the exams too?"

"Y-yes, I-I am" Hinata managed to get out.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out for him, across the academy courtyard.

"Oh, sorry Hinata, but it looks like my team is here" Naruto said.

"I-it's okay, I-I think I s-see my t-team coming as well" the shy girl said, trying to hide herself from her crush.

"Good luck. I know you will do great" Naruto said as he ran off to join the rest of his team.

"_He thinks I will do great?"_ Hinata thought to herself_. "If Naruto thinks I can do it, then I will surely try my best"._ The truth is that Sakura wasn't the only one doubting her entrance into the exam. Hinata was also questioning why she was there, coming to the conclusion that her team really wanted to take the exam and they needed a third member. Because of that, she decided to join so that they could participate, but if Naruto thought she could do it, then she would do her best.

Team 7 arrived to a mass of people standing in front of a door with the room number 301 above it. Two ninja were guarding the door, preventing anyone from getting through. They then looked at Lee, the kid in the green spandex suit, trying to force his way through, only to get shoved back by the guards. After his teammates picked him up, Lee turned and looked at the four rookies that were staring at him.

"Why don't you just release the genjutsu and let us all pass" Sasuke said to the guards at the door. The two were actually impressed that a genin, not to mention a rookie, would figure out their little trick. As Team 7 proceeded to the proper floor, Lee quickly followed.

"You are Sasuke Uchiha, am I correct?" Lee said to Sasuke.

"I am what of it?" Sasuke responded.

"I wish to challenge you. I wish to test my skills against the offspring of the powerful Uchiha" Lee said. He then winked at Sakura. "You are an angel; I wish to take you out on a date."

"Eew, never!" Sakura said as she bent backwards to avoid Lee's kiss that he had blown towards her, hitting her head against the ground in the process.

"Frankly, you're a fool, thinking you can challenge me" Sasuke replied to Lee's challenge. "You're about to learn what this name means, thick brows."

"_Finally, I will get to test my skills against the #1 rookie and Gai-sensei will be proud of me"_ Lee thought to himself. Naruto charged at Lee, thinking that he will take down this guy and show Sasuke his true skills. Lee easily sidestepped Naruto's attack and retaliated with a kick of his own, sending Naruto into the opposing wall. "I will say this again, you cannot defeat me."

Inside Naruto, the Fox was laughing at him for what had just happened.

"Hmph, this might actually be fun" Sasuke said, realizing that Lee was actually strong. With that, Sasuke attacked Lee. Lee quickly dodged and kicked back at Sasuke. He could not evade the attack and had to resort to blocking the attack. As Lee made a quick hand sign, Sasuke braced himself for some sort of ninjutsu, only to be hit in the stomach by a second kick. 'What sort of ninjutsu or genjutsu was that?' Sasuke thought.

"That's…" Lee said, looking into Sasuke's eyes. "The Sharingan."

Sasuke charged at Lee, thinking that he would use his eyes to reveal what type of ninjutsu or genjutsu Lee was using.

"_Eee. Sasuke is getting stronger and stronger!"_ Sakura squealed. At that moment, Sasuke go kicked upside the chin by Lee. _"! H-he hit Sasuke?! L-like it was no-nothing?!"_

"What?! The Sharingan couldn't read that?" Sasuke said in a bit of pain.

"Yes, my techniques are neither ninjutsu nor genjutsu" Lee stated. "Shadow Leaf Dance!" Lee appeared behind Sasuke, who was still mid-air. "Yes Sasuke, my techniques are simply taijutsu. They say the Sharingan can read all sorts of nin, gen, and taijutsu. It is true that you get the advantage in a nin and genjutsu battle by reading and copying your opponent's hand seals, but a taijutsu battle is different."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"Even if you can read my movements, if your body can't move, then it's useless." Lee stated, unwrapping the bandages on his arm. "Do you know that amongst strong ninjas, there are two types; the genius and the hard working types. You are the genius and I am the hardworking type, having mastered only taijutsu. And with this technique, I'll prove that hard work surpasses genius."

Out of the corner of his eyes, Lee saw a kunai fly past him with a green cloth attached to it. He stopped his technique, knowing that the fight was now over.

"That's enough Lee" a turtle said, appearing in the room. As Sasuke was falling to the ground, Sakura caught him, saving him from a dangerous position that Sasuke had not even bothered recovering from. Looking at him, she saw that Sasuke was shaken with the battle. The turtle spoke again as everyone watched. "Lee, that technique is forbidden."

"What?! That turtle can talk?" Naruto shouted out as Sakura knocked him over the head. While the turtle was scolding Lee, a man that appeared to be an older replica of Lee appeared on top of the turtle. Team 7 almost passed out, disgusted at the resemblance. They had seen this man once before at Haku and Zabuza's hearing, but they never noticed the creepy resemblance until now.

"Gai-sensei!" Lee called out. Gai punched Lee in the face, probably as punishment for disobeying him. The two 'clones' then proceeded to do something that would leave Team 7 traumatized for a few months.

"LEE!" Gai called out.

"GAI-sensei!" Lee responded.

With that, the two hugged, creating an ocean sunset in the background. Being a thousand year old demon, Kurama had seen some pretty disturbing things, but this ranked right up there.

"I am sorry sensei. For that, I will do 1000 laps around the village after the exam" Lee said.

"Is that even possible?" Sakura whispered to her team. Gai turned to the four of them.

"Hey guys, how is Kakashi doing?" Gai asked, winking and giving them a creepy smile.

"How do you know Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"People refer to us as, eternal rivals" Gai said. Lee took another look at the group of Kakashi's students, his attention focused to Haku.

"You look just as lovely as the beautiful Sakura, may I ask you on a date instead?" Lee said to Haku, only to make the rest of Team 7 nearly throw up.

"You do realize I am a boy, don't you? I thought I made that clear when I first came to the village" Haku responded to Lee, whose world was now shattered.

Naruto made a mention to Sasuke that Lee must have trained extremely hard, every day after catching a glimpse of his hand and seeing the scars. This only made Sasuke smile. "Sounds like this is going to be a fun chunin exam."

* * *

Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Haku stepped into room 301, only to find about 200 ninja from various villages, including their own. Out of the ninja in the room, a particular blonde-haired kunoichi that Sakura knew all too well lashed her arms around Sasuke. "Oh Sasuke, you're late" Ino said, blushing and smiling.

"Get away from Sasuke, Ino-pig!" Sakura shouted as Naruto and Haku tried to get out of the way of the incoming cat fight. Looking around, Naruto quickly noticed Teams 8 and 10. The entire rookie 9 was here. Then the 9 noticed a grey-haired ninja who introduced himself as Kabuto. "Hey you guys, quiet down. The last thing you want is to cause a scene" Kabuto told the rookies. "Although, I can't blame you. I remember how I was when I was a rookie."

"So you've taken this test before?" Sakura asked the newcomer.

"Actually, this is my seventh time, since the exam is held twice a year" Kabuto bragged.

"Wow, so you must know a lot about these exams" Sakura said.

"Yep. I'll even share some of my info with you, using the nin-cards" Kabut said, whipping out a deck of cards. "Is there anyone you want information on?"

"How about, Gaara of the Desert and Rock Lee of the Hidden Leaf" Sasuke said, getting in on the action.

"Hmm, let's see. Rock Lee. He's a year older than you and has completed 20 D-ranks and 12 C-ranks. His specialty is in taijutsu with his nin and genjutsu being weak, if not non-existent. This is his first time taking the exams. On his team are Neji Huyga and Tenten" Kabuto read off. "Now Gaara. 8 C-ranks and wow, a B-rank mission. Since he's a new comer, I don't have much information on him, but it looks like he has returned from all his missions without even a single scratch." Kabuto then explained that the top genins from the Leaf, Sand, Sound, Grass, Waterfall, and Cloud were here. This wasn't going to be an easy exam. Sakura could see that even Naruto was getting nervous. However, nerves work differently with Naruto.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I won't lose to any of you bastards!" the blonde haired genin shouted out, effectively challenging anyone who heard him. Kakashi, who was standing outside the room, heard his student and just smiled, figuring it was about time Naruto did something stupid.

Suddenly, a trio of sound ninja jumped out of the crowd and attacked Kabuto. He easily dodges the fist, but was soon hit by another force. As the fight started to escalate, there was a large puff of smoke in the front of the room. "Quiet down you worthless bastards!" the new ninja said as the smoke dissipated. Behind him stood a few dozen chinun. The man wore a long black trench coat with a Leaf bandanna. He had a few scars on his face. Most of the Leaf ninja knew him as Ibiki, torture and interrogation specialist. "I am Ibiki Morino, the proctor for the first exam. Take your seats now before I decide to start failing people."

No body doubted him and suddenly, order was brought back to the room. Ibiki started handing out the tests as Naruto realized that this was a paper test. He was doomed to begin with.

"N-Naruto, let's do our best, ok?" Hinata said, who was assigned a seat next to Naruto.

"Now, I will explain the rules. Questions will not be allowed. Ibiki said as he began to write on the board. "The first rule is that you will start off with 10 points. The test is made up of 10 questions and each question is worth a point. For every question you get wrong, you lose a point. The second rule is that this is a team test. Your entire team will pass or fail based on a combined score of your team." Everyone on Team 7 knew what this meant. They would be pulling Naruto's dead weight. "Now, the third rule is that every time you are caught cheating, you will lose two points. If you are caught 5 times, your entire team fails. The last rule is that those who lose all their points and those who don't answer any questions correctly, will automatically fail their entire team."

Naruto suddenly felt a wave of killing intent directed towards him as the Fox began cracking up.

"_Hey, quiet down in there"_ Naruto said to the demon. _"Unless you are trying to help"._

"**Nope, you're on your own for this one, kit" **Kurama responded, trying to contain his laughter at Naruto's misfortune.

"Alright, begin!" Ibiki announce. The entire room started on the exam, soon realizing it to contain some extremely difficult questions. Sakura, Sasuke, and Haku already turned to look towards Naruto, who was already freaking out. Sakura took a look at the question and realized that she could answer them, although most people in the room probably didn't have the experience or intelligence to do so.

Naruto was really freaking out, realizing that the last question would be given 15 minutes prior to the end of the exam and that he couldn't answer any of these questions. Hinata, who had been assigned the seat next to Naruto, couldn't help but worry about him.

On the other side of the room, Sasuke, Sakura, and Haku were beginning to understand the true meaning for the test. Due to the difficulty of the test and the presence of the coordinators, it was almost as if they were encouraging cheating. _"I see, this is a test to see how well we can gather information by using our skills without getting caught"_ Sasuke thought to himself. Suddenly, Sasuke saw a mirror of ice form beneath him on the ground. In it he was a hand writing on a piece of paper, the message was pretty clear. "Don't worry about Naruto, I will help him out. -Haku" The message read. Sasuke grinned at what Haku was telling him.

All around the room, the people who were realizing the objective of this test began to make their move. Shino had released his insects to gather information while Akamaru was being a look out on Kiba's head and giving him the correct answers. Neji had activated his Byakugan, giving him the ability to see through anyone and look at any test in the room. Hinata was doing the same as her cousin. Sasuke had activated his Sharingan and began copying the movements of someone who looked like they knew what they were doing. Sakura, on the other hand, had the intelligence to solve the questions on her own.

As Hinata saw Naruto was panicking, she decided offering him her test so that he may have a chance to pass. However, a kunai passed by their heads, just missing them. "Number 64, you are out. Your team, numbers 21 and 82 are also disqualified" Ibiki said, startling most of the other takers. After that, more and more genin began to fall victim to the test. After seeing that display, Naruto denied Hinata's help even after she mentioned to him that she didn't want him to fail. However, Naruto was not willing to let Hinata get in trouble for him.

As Naruto began to start freaking out, he soon felt a chilling sensation around his feet. He looked down to see his feet on top of a sheet of ice. He soon saw Haku's reflection, which disappeared to reveal a message. "This test is meant to test your information gathering skills. You are encouraged to cheat. However, you don't have any skills that will be of use for this test, but I do. Just copy the answers that appear on this mirror. I have also been keeping eyes on the proctors to see who has marks and who doesn't. I have not gotten any and neither have you, so we should be fine doing this. –Haku" Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as even he began to write stuff down on the exam. Sasuke took a look at Naruto and saw his teammate get to work. Thanks to Haku, they were going to be just fine.

"Alright, time's up" Ibiki announced. "Now for the tenth question." By the time Ibiki stopped the clock, only about 120 of 200 chunin candidate remained.

Everyone who remained looked at Ibiki in anticipation. "Now, for the tenth question, there are a few special rules. First, you must decide whether or not you will take it."

"What do you mean choose?" Temari asked. "What happens if we chose not to?"

"If you chose not to take it, your points will be reduced to zero and your team will fail" Ibiki explained.

"What does that mean? Of course we will take it then!" another test taker stated.

"If you choose to take the tenth question and answer incorrectly, then you will be banned from ever taking the chunin selection exams ever again" Ibiki said, silencing everyone in the room.

"What is up with that stupid rule, there are people in here who have taken this exam before!" Kiba said as Akamaru barked along with him.

"Hehe. You guys were unlucky that I'm the proctor this year. My test, my rules" Ibiki said.

"**Hehe, I actually kind of like this guy. Any chance he has room for me inside his head?" **Kurama said jokingly.

"_What the hell is that supposed to mean, you stupid fox?!"_ Naruto thought to the Fox, only making him laugh harder.

"However, I will give you a way out. You can choose not to take it and try again next year if you are not confident." Ibiki sent an evil glare to the chunin candidates. "Now, those of you who do not wish to take it, put your hand up and wait for your number to be called. Then you and your team may leave."

All around the room, people were thinking on what to do_. "What do I do? If I fail, I'll be stuck an eternal genin, but if I don't take it, I'm sure Sakura and Sasuke would never forgive me"_ Naruto thought to himself.

"I won't take it" a leaf ninja said, standing up. He and his team were immediately escorted out of the room. Over the next five minutes, a total of 30 more opted out, leaving 91 genin remaining.

Naruto raised his hand, much to the rookie 9's shock. Then he proceeded to slam it down on his desk as he stood up, a look of determination in his face. "Don't underestimate me! I will not run! I will take the question, even if I'm stuck to be a genin forever!" he declared. "I'll will myself to become Hokage anyways, I don't care if I fail anyways!"

"Hehe, I'll give you all one last chance to back out. Your life is riding on this decision" Ibiki said, casting one more wave of fear into the genin. However, Naruto had managed to inspire the entire room.

"**Hmm, that is an interesting kid" **a voice said inside a blonde Kumo kunoichi's head. **"Why do I feel like I know him from somewhere?"**

"_I've seen that stubbornness before. I've seen it many times from Master Bee"_ the Kunoichi thought back to the voice. _"We'll have to be sure to find him in the second stage of the test and see what's so interesting about him."_

"**Hmm, I always like a good game of cat and mouse."**

"_That's because you are a cat"_ the kunoichi thought back.

"Heh, no one else? Alright then, good decision. You all pass the first exam!" Ibiki announced to the room, shocking most of them. "I congratulate the 91 of you, the 30 teams that pass."

"WHAT?!" erupted from all over the room.

"What do you mean we pass? What about the 10th question?" Sakura asked, now confused.

Ibiki let out a rare smile. "You could say that your choice was the 10th question."

"Then what was the point of this entire test?" Temari asked, being the second hot-headed kunoichi to lash out.

"They were not pointless. The first 9 questions already served their purpose to test your information gathering skills." Ibiki explained. "This test was designed to put pressure on the entire team as each member would have to not mess it up for their team. However, the questions on this test were much too difficult for most genin to answer alone, so everyone came up to the same conclusion….you would have to cheat to score. This test was designed to make you cheat, but in order to pass, you could not get caught."

A few of the candidates got the purpose right away. "Now, mixed into the group were a few chunin who had already taken this exam and knew the answers. This was to help you guys out and to give you accurate information. This is because…" Ibiki said, removing his bandana, only revealing a bunch of scars covering his entire head. "Sometimes, information is more important that life, and on the battlefield people give their lives to acquire such information."

Everyone saw the scars and screw holes on Ibiki's head and cringed a little at the image.

"If the enemy notices you, there is no guarantee the information you obtain will be accurate" Ibiki stated. "Remember this as accurate information can be a powerful weapon for you and your comrades. This is why we had you gather information through cheating. This clearly separated those who did and did not have the right abilities."

"Wait, then what about the 10th question?" Temari asked.

"Ah, but the tenth question is the true purpose of this test. The 'take it' or 'not take it' decision" Ibiki paused momentarily. "Let's say you become chunin and your mission is to steal an important enemy document. You don't know the number or skill of the enemy. Do you accept the mission? Because you don't want to die…Because you don't want your comrades hurt? Can you avoid this dangerous mission? The answer is NO!"

Ibiki let out a slight grin. "Those who aren't willing to put their lives on the line. Those who cling to the uncertain future of 'there is always next year', and then walk away from their chance. Those pieces of trash who can only make cowardly choices, don't deserve the right to become chunin. That's how I feel!" Ibiki said. "You have made it through the entrance of the first test, I wish you guys luck."

"Hell yeah!" Naruto shouted out.

"_Hmm, he's an interesting one alright"_ Ibiki thought to himself. Suddenly, a black bundle came crashing through the window and a black poster was unraveled on the back wall. Out of the bundle crawled a lady with short purple hair in a ponytail and a mesh shirt underneath her jacket.

"This is no time to be celebrating. It is now time for the second test. I am Anko Mitarashi, the proctor. Now, follow me!" Anko said as Ibiki face palmed himself repeatedly.

"_This one is almost Naruto-ish"_ Sakura thought to herself.

"Wow, 91. Ibiki, you're getting soft. The test was way too easy." Anko said to Ibiki.

"Heh, there are a lot of outstanding ones in this batch" Ibiki said.

"Bah, that's fine" Anko said. "I'll cut them at least in half by the time I'm done with them. Now I'm getting excited. I'll explain everything once we change places."

* * *

Author Notes

Hope you enjoyed.

Please Review/Comment


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Round 2, Welcome to the Forest of Death!**

'Danger! Stay out!' a sign red as the group of remaining candidates stared at the dark forest in front of them.

"Welcome to the stage of the second round of the chunin exams, practice area 44, also known as the 'Forest of Death'" Anko said as a bunch of gulps were heard from the crowd. "Heh, and you'll soon find out why it's called the forest of death."

"Meh, and you'll soon find out why it's called the forest of death" Naruto said, mocking Anko. Responding to the kid's insult, Anko pulled out a kunai and threw it at Naruto so that it made a small cut along his cheek.

"Kids like you are quickly killed in here, spraying that red blood that I love soo much" Anko said, licking the blood off Naruto's cheek. She pulled another knife, feeling as if something was approaching her from behind.

"Here's your kunai" a mysterious grass ninja said, handing Anko her knife with his tongue.

"Why thank you" Anko smiled. "But don't creep up behind me like that, unless you want to die." Everyone was a bit creped out at the examiner and the grass ninja. "Hmm, looks like we have a lot of blood thirst ones in this test, this will be fun. Now, before we start, you must fill out these waivers."

"What? Why?" Naruto asked.

"Because there WILL be deaths in this exam" Anko let loose a cheerful smile, creeping out even more participants. "And we can't have your deaths starting wars and everything. Now, I'm going to explain the rules to this test. Each team will check into that booth behind me. Your team will then receive one scroll. It will either be a Heaven Scroll or an Earth Scroll. Since there are 30 teams here, 15 will get an Earth scroll and 15 will get a Heaven Scroll. In the middle of this area, there is a tower. You are to bring both a Heaven and an Earth scroll to the tower."

"So that's why you said you will cut the group in half" Sasuke said.

"Yes. Now, this area is a dense forest with a river running through the middle. A tower is located at the middle of the area, about 10km from each side" Anko said, holding up a map of the area. "Around this perimeter, there are 44 locked gates. This will be considered a survival exercise. You may use any weapons or jutsu to complete the task. The only rule is that you cannot open the scrolls until you enter the tower with both scrolls. Other than that, there are no rules and killing is allowed. Also, there is a time limit. The test lasts 120 hours, or 5 days. If you are not at the tower at the end of the time limit, your team is disqualified."

"What? Five days?" Naruto yelled out. "But what about dinner?"

"The forest is full of food. Just make sure you're not on anything's menu" Anko said. "Now, 15 teams passing is very unlikely as there are poisonous snakes, insects, and beasts, along with enemy ninja. So, not only will some teams fail from losing their scrolls, but some will also die from the harshness of the course. Also, there is no quitting. You will be in the forest for the entire 5 days, unless of course you make it to the tower early."

All the teams proceeded to collect their scrolls and went to their designated gates. Team 7 had an obvious advantage having an extra person, but at the same time they were at a disadvantage as everyone would be coming for them. This was because they were rookies. Sasuke didn't mind this as that would mean he got to fight more people.

A lot of teams, especially those containing experienced veterans, were now glad that they could actually kill from now on, as that would make things easier for them.

The test began at 4:00pm, giving everyone until 4:00 five days from then to complete the test. "Begin!" was heard as the gates of the forest were unlocked and the genin were let loose.

* * *

"So basically everyone is heading to the tower" Kiba said as his team was taking a leisurely walk through the Forest of Death. It was then that an enemy team in the trees spotted them. However, Team 8 was considered tracking specialists and Akamaru's nose picked them up instantly. "Hey, already?" Kiba sounded excited, while Hinata was still rather nervous. Shino was indifferent, as usual.

"Kids standing in the open" one of the observers said. "Do they want to be found? Although it looks like they have sensed us, but they don't know our exact location."

Suddenly, another or the observers felt something drop onto his shoulder and latch onto the back of his neck. "What the hell is that?!" the third screamed out. That thing had turned out to be a giant leech that was sucking the ninja dry. Before the other two had a chance to pull the leech off of their teammate, they two were attacked. All three ninja now had multiple leeches sucking on them and were unconscious in a matter of minutes.

"Leaf jumping leaches will sense the nearest life sources and attack in groups. After 5 minutes of sucking, you will be dead" Shino said, revealing his knowledge of insects and other insect-like beasts. Kiba approached the unconscious ninja and searched them for a scroll.

"Yes! We got luck Akamaru. They had a Heaven Scroll" Kiba said out of excitement. "Alright guys, now let's get to that tower before trouble comes."

* * *

"AHHHGGG!" various screams echoed from around the forest. Anko was sitting at the starting booth enjoying her dango and those delightful screams of pain and terror.

"Sounds like it's started" she said, letting out a creepy yet happy smile.

* * *

"Was that a human scream?" Naruto asked out. He could see Sakura getting nervous. "Don't work Sakura, this is nothing."

Naruto turned around needing to relieve himself, only to be smacked by Sakura. "Not in front of a lady! You idiot!" She screamed as Haku sighed.

Suddenly, Sasuke punched Naruto hard as he came back from relieving himself. "Where's the real Naruto?"

"Wait, what are you talking about Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

"No Sakura, he's right. That Naruto doesn't have the scratch on his cheek from earlier" Haku said. Suddenly, the real Naruto came out of the bushes from behind them as Haku pointed towards him. "See?"

"Oh, yeah I do" Sakura said, noticing the scratch on a now confused Naruto's face. Haku threw a senbon into the fake Naruto's neck; dispelling the transformation and leaving an unconscious Rain ninja in its place, just as two more Rain ninja came leaping out of the trees. They had hoped to take the group by surprise while they were 'arguing' with the fake Naruto, but Haku had put an end to it. By the time they started their attack, it was too late. The four of them split up, leaving Sasuke and Naruto to fight one of the Rain ninja and Haku and Sakura to fight the other two.

One ninja found an opening in Sasuke and threw a few knives with exploding tags towards Sasuke, forcing him to jump off the tree that he had taken post on. Naruto threw a few shuriken at the ninja and a kunai towards Sasuke. As the ninja was distracted with fending off Naruto's attack, Sasuke grabbed the knife with chakra coming out of his foot and flung it towards the ninja, striking him in the shoulder. Naruto used the opening to test out his new jutsu in combat. He threw a single shuriken at the injured ninja. "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" For the ninja, even injured, one shuriken was nothing, but 40 was a different story. Out of desperation, the Rain ninja used his arms and legs to defend his torso and chest, but resulted in the shuriken tearing up his arms and legs, effectively leaving him immobilized from the damage done.

The last remaining Rain ninja was engaging in a taijutsu battle with Sakura. As Sakura began to go on the offensive, the Rain ninja started backing up. He had a lot of room to move and figured he would gain some distance before countering with his own set of blows. However, his plan was cut short when a mirror of ice appeared behind him, stopping him. All he could do now, was try to block Sakura's blows and look for a way out. "Hyoton: Demonic Ice Mirrors!" Haku shouted out as a dome of ice mirrors formed around Sakura and the ninja. The Rain ninja looked on in surprise at Haku's jutsu. They had never seen an ice jutsu and the fact that a leaf kid could do something like this, stunned him long enough for Sakura to get in a few blows. "Sakura, get out" Haku called as Sakura backed off her assault. The Rain ninja thought he was finally free until he saw Haku's image in each mirror. Suddenly, he was pelted by numerous senbon. After Haku's attack was complete, the Rain ninja was unconscious and would not be moving for some time. Haku looked over to Sasuke and Naruto's opponent, who had just been hit my about 40 shuriken to the arms and legs. He threw a senbon to that ninja's neck, knocking him unconscious.

"Well, that was easy" Sasuke said. "Now, let's see what kind of scroll they have." The team searched the unconscious Rain ninja, revealing that they had an Earth scroll on them. "Damn."

"What should we do with it?" Sakura said.

"Keep it. It's worthless to them now, seeing as it will take about a week to recover from those wounds" Sasuke said. "Plus it might come in handy if we can find someone to bargain with it." The team agreed.

"Alright, but to avoid something like that again, we need to come up with something so that we know that it is us" Sakura suggested. "Let's see, Haku is the only one I know of who can use Ice style and it can't be copied, and you have your Sharingan, Sasuke. But for me and Naruto…" They came up with the idea of using a codeword for Naruto and Sakura, as there was nothing special they could use to distinguish the two. Team 7 took off, trying to avoid any unnecessary attention; however, they were unknowingly being followed.

After about an hour, they stopped. "Sasuke…" Haku said.

"Yeah, I know" Sasuke said. "Jump!" He shouted as a barrage of needles sailed towards them. They turned to face their attackers. They were now scattered. When they regrouped, Haku and Sasuke revealed their blood limits and Sakura and Naruto recited the code. Sasuke attacked Naruto once again.

"Sasuke, why did you attack Naruto?" Sakura asked, shocked that she had to say that twice in the past hour. He had said the codeword, which at first put Sakura at ease. It was then that she realized this was Naruto they were dealing with…to them, he didn't have the mental capacity to remember such a long and complex code.

"Do you really think Naruto would be able to memorize the code?" Sasuke said, sarcastically as both Sakura and Haku nodded in agreement.

* * *

Not far from where the rest of Team 7 was, Naruto found himself facing a giant snake. "_What the hell is up with this forest?! I've never seen a snake so big!"_ Naruto thought to himself.

"**Kit, something is not right. That snake is not normal and I can feel an evil presence around here. Be on your guard" **warned the Fox.

The snake lunged towards Naruto, who just barely dodged it. However, he didn't notice the tail, which hit him and sent him flying into a nearby tree. Soon after, the snake lunged at him again, catching Naruto in the mouth and swallowing him.

"_Damn it! It swallowed me"_ Naruto thought. _"What to do? What to do?"_

"**Hmm, this might work" **Kurama had obviously thought of something. **"Remember those times when you ate too much ramen and felt like you were going to burst?"**

Naruto suddenly got what the Fox was talking about. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he called out as roughly 400 Narutos appeared in the snake's rapidly expanding stomach. Unfortunately for the snake, it wasn't big enough to handle that many Narutos and it burst apart, leaving Naruto covered in snake guts. Naruto bolted off towards where his team was.

* * *

When the fake Naruto recovered, he undid the transformation, revealing himself to be that Grass ninja from before. "You want my Heaven Scroll, right?" the ninja asked, holding out his scroll. He then proceeded to swallow the scroll, creeping out the three genin in front of him. "Now, let's begin the battle for each other's scroll with our lives on the line."

Sakura and Sasuke stood there frozen. Images of their own gruesome death flooded their minds. Haku was affected as well, but not to the same extent as his teammates, as he had experienced the effects of massive killing intent while traveling with Zabuza. Their enemy flicked a few kunai towards the three. Sakura and Sasuke were still frozen and would be unable to move unless something was done. Sasuke did the only think he could think of and stabbed his leg with his knife to break the hold of the terror, giving him the ability to move in time. Haku had also reacted and created a few ice mirrors to save himself and Sakura. Sasuke looked back at their attacker, revealing his Sharingan to their opponent, before disappearing into the trees.

"_Hmm, well it appears as if these kids have some interesting powers"_ the Grass ninja thought to himself. _"Time to have some fun."_

* * *

Anko felt as if something wasn't right. After investigating the area around the Forest of Death, her suspicions were confirmed when she came across three lifeless bodies of Grass ninja. Upon further examination, she found that they were missing their faces.

"What?! No, it can't be" she said, clutching the back of her neck in pain. "Why is he here?" Suddenly, a squadron of ANBU appeared behind her.

She briefed the squad on her findings and the person she believed to be responsible for the crime… Orochimaru.

* * *

Sakura could see that Sasuke was terrified and she tried to say something to calm him down, only for Sasuke to quickly cover her mouth.

"_We have to get out of here! That guy is like nothing we have ever seen before" _Sasuke thought to himself. Suddenly, a snake appeared in front of him. It struck at Sasuke, only to be pelted in the head by numerous senbon, pinning it against a tree and killing it. Saskue took a deep breath, trying to relax, but was quickly put back on alert when the grass ninja emerged from the corpse of the dead snake.

"You guys shouldn't relax even a little. Prey should always be looking for a way to run in the presence of a predator" their enemy said.

Out of nowhere, roughly 40 shuriken were sent at the ninja as he managed to snake his way around it. "Sorry I'm late!" Naruto said, appearing on scene. "Oh, and what was that code again? I forgot."

"Naruto!" Sakura said, relieved that he had arrived and was alive.

"I don't know what you're doing, trying to play hero. Just run away, this one's on a whole 'nother level" Sasuke shouted out. He then did the only thing he could think of. "If you leave us, I'll give you our scroll."

"What the hell are you talking about?! Why would you give the scroll to the enemy?" Naruto shouted out.

"I see…very smart" the mysterious ninja said. "Sometimes, the only way to escape a predator is to give it a different meal." Sasuke tossed the scroll towards their enemy, only for Naruto to grab it and punch Sasuke in the face.

"What was that all of the sudden, you bastard!" Sasuke screamed at Naruto.

"Even though you may have your Sharingan, I can still tell you are not the real Sasuke" Naruto responded.

"You total moron, I am the real Sasuke" Sasuke rebutted.

"There is no way such a stupid coward like you could be the real Sasuke" Naruto stated. "I don't know how strong this guy is, but what guarantee is there that he will go away if we give his the scroll. You're the one too freaked out by the situation."

"Hehe, you're right Naruto. I can just take your scroll and kill you" the ninja said, taking some blood and rubbing it on a seal on his arm. "Summoning jutsu!" the ninja said, summoning an even larger snake, which he was now standing on. The snake then proceeded to slam Naruto into the ground as the three genin screamed out his name.

"**This really is bad Kit"** Kurama said to Naruto.

"_You think?"_ Naruto responded. "_I keep getting smacked around by damn snakes"_.

"**There is something about that man that even gives me the chill. If you are going to survive this, you are going to need my help"**

"_Alright, then stop talking and start giving me your power"_ Naruto said to the Fox.

"**Just give me a few moments, I'm going to try and push as much power through the seal that I can without damaging your body. I've just got the feeling that you're going to need as much as you can get."**

Naruto was flung by the snake's head, who was trying to become the second snake to eat him today. As the snake lunged at him, Naruto's pupils began to take on a red color with narrow pupils. His teeth grew into small fangs and his fingers grew claws as the Kyuubi's power began to coarse through him. As Naruto's transformation completed, the snake slammed its tail into him, knocking him backwards through a few trees.

'_Hmm, there is no doubt about this kid' _the mysterious ninja thought. "This is getting fun, now what will you do Sasuke?" The giant snake lunged at Sasuke, who was to frozen to move. The snake stopped, feet from Sasuke. Naruto had jumped in the way and stopped it in its tracks.

"_No way…i-is t-that Naruto?"_ Sasuke thought, lapsing into almost Hinata-class stuttering. Something was different about this Nartuo. The power that he was emitting was immense and he had taken on a slightly feral appearance. It was almost…demonic in a sense.

"Hey, are you alright, scaredy cat?" Naruto said, questioning Sasuke. Sasuke just sat there, frozen by the turn of events.

* * *

Temari and Kankuro felt the blast of demonic chakra, making them tremble in fear. It was similar to the chakra that Gaara emitted when his killing instincts took over him, which was happening right now.

"That chakra. Mother's sand craves for it. I must see who it is and I must have its blood" Gaara said as he darted off towards the source of the demonic presence.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Round 2: The Forest of Jinchuriki**

Sasuke snapped back to reality. The sad part was that Naruto was right. The two of them were facing the snake master while Haku joined their side. "Fine, I'll show you I am no scaredy cat, Naruto" Sasuke said as he activated the Sharingan.

Naruto, Haku, and Sasuke all pulled out their shuriken, senbon for Haku, tossing them at the snake summoned. Naruto's were aimed left while Haku's were aimed right. As the Grass ninja tried to back up out of range of the weapons, he found himself against an ice mirror. Sasuke's shuriken were coming straight towards him, but broke off course at the last second.

"Hehe, can't seem to kill me? You will learn what a mistake you made, Sasuke" the snake ninja said as Sasuke smirked. With a flick of the wrist, he revealed the wire attached to the shuriken. Controlling and manipulating them, the shuriken wrapped back around, tying his opponent to Haku's ice. "Katon: Fire Dragon Bullet!" Sasuke called out, sending a stream of powerful flames sailing towards their enemy. When the smoke cleared, the mirror was practically completely melted, but their opponent remained. From the looks of it, his skin was burnt and peeling away.

A wave of killing intent struck the four genin as Sakura joined them at their side. This time, it was more intense than it had been before. The four genin looked on in horror as the man's skin peeled away to reveal an even more sinister face.

"**Kit, this is really bad. I am beginning to sense even some dark and evil power coming from this guy"** Kurama informed Naruto. **"You will most likely be unconscious for a few hours after this, but I'm going to push more power through the seal and try and get you into the one-tailed state"**

"Who the hell are you?" Sasuke called out, still paralyzed by fear.

"My name is Orochimaru" the snake man hissed. "If you want to see me again, then survive this exam. Of course that means defeating my men, the sound ninja trio."

"Why the hell would we ever want to see you again?!" Sakura called out.

"I'm going to give you a little going away present, Sasuke. In time, you will come seek me out." With that, Orochimaru extended his neck towards Sasuke, looking like he was ready to bite him. Naruto stepped in front of the snake man, catching his head in a head lock just before he was able to reach Sasuke. Red chakra began to bubble around him, forming a demonic chakra cloak.

"I won't let you touch him, you creepy bastard!" Naruto called out, punching Orochimaru in the face and sending him backwards as the chakra cloak fully enveloped Naruto, taking on an almost animalistic appearance. Naruto's team looked on in shock at the transformation that was taking place. Slowly, the cloak began to look more fox-like, with a tail and ears emerging.

"What did you do to him?!" Sakura called out, thinking this was Orochimaru's doing.

"Hehe, why don't you ask him yourself" Orochimaru responded. "Sasuke, you are too valuable for me to let you escape without giving you some of my power first. But first, I know how to take care of your fox-brat friend."

"Sakura, I don't think that is Orochimaru. I've felt this chakra from Naruto before" Haku said. "Back in the Land of Waves, that's where I've felt that power of his before." Sakura took back her words and watched in astonishment as Naruto engaged Orochimaru, cloaked in this mysterious red chakra.

Orochimaru lunged straight at Naruto. "Five-point sea…huh?" Orochimaru was stopped dead in his tracks. Something was snaking up his legs, working its way closer to the rest of his body. He looked around to see sand. It was then that he realized he would be in trouble if he stuck around much longer.

"Mother wants their blood" Gaara said, appearing on scene and unleashing his own wave of killing intent. "I will be the one to kill them, and I'll kill you as well."

Orochimaru managed to snake his way out of Gaara's sand claws. He was shocked. A couple of genin were forcing him to retreat, although two of them had demon-infused chakra coursing through their veins. _'Damn, I'm not going to be able to get to Sasuke now. Oh well, I'm sure I can think of a way to get him'_. With that, Orochimaru left as Gaara turned his attention to Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Haku.

"Mother wants your blood" Gaara said as his sand crept towards them. Naruto didn't know what to think, but the killing intent radiating from Gaara told his teammates to back away.

"**Damn" **the Fox swore to Naruto. **"Why did it have to be him?"**

"_Who?"_ Naruto asked in confusion.

"**I'm almost positive of it now. It's the Ichibi, Shukaku. He's the weakest of us, but he's seriously annoying, not to mention insane. I'd recognize the bloodlust of that badger coming from that kid anywhere" **Kurama informed Naruto. **"Kit, work on getting your team out of here. You might not have noticed, but I can't keep up the cloak for much longer. Once the cloak dissipates, you will most likely lose consciousness."**

Naruto turned to his teammates. "Guys, let's get out of here. I've got a bad feeling about this guy."

"What do you mean get out of here?! You were the one who suggested we stay and fight!" Sasuke argued with his demon cloaked teammate. "And care explaining that red chakra around you?"

"I will, but just trust me on this we need to get out of here" Naruto said.

"He's right" a blonde Kumo kunoichi said, jumping down next to Naruto. "This is one opponent you guys don't want to fight, given the condition you are in."

"Who are you?" Sakura asked as the five of them were now dodging Gaara's sand.

"Yugito Nii" the cloud kunoichi said. "But now is not the time for introductions." With that, Yugito made a few hand seals. "Katon: Hellcat Flames!" She shouted as three flaming tigers roared towards Gaara, enveloping him in flames. "That will distract him for a little, now let's go."

The five of them took off, away from Gaara. As they were moving, Naruto's demon cloak began to fade and he slowly lost consciousness. Realizing that Naruto was fading, Sasuke went to catch his falling teammate and regrouped with the rest of his team.

* * *

Temari and Kankuro arrived to see Gaara wrapped in flaming tigers. Once the flames ceased, Gaara was unharmed, due to a cocoon of sand encasing him.

"G-gaara?" Kankuro said, cautiously approaching his teammate.

"Kankuro, Temari, let's go. Mother needs blood and lots of it" Gaara called out, letting some killing intent flow from him.

Kankuro and Temari wanted to object, but knew that Gaara would just kill them as well. _'What caused Gaara to become so bloodthirsty all of the sudden?'_ they both thought, leaving to go satisfy Gaara's bloodlust.

* * *

Team 7 plus Yugito came to rest near the river. They set Naruto underneath the roots of a large tree, hiding him from sight of any enemies.

"Yugito, do you know what's going on?" Sakura asked. Everyone else wanted to know. They had caught a slight glimpse of Yugito's reaction to Naruto's condition upon arrival and realized that there was something she knew.

"I do" the Kumo kunoichi said. "But I think your friend should be the one to tell you. As for that Suna kid, let's just say he has a serious mental problem. Now, I don't want to do anything to hurt you, so please don't attack me and I won't kill you."

"What makes you think you can kill us?" Sasuke responded, taking that as a challenge.

"First, you are in no condition fight. You need to rest. And second, let's just say that kid of yours and I have something in common." They were unsure as to what Yugito was talking about. She risked herself even further by telling them that she was familiar with the kind of power that Naruto had displayed; only making Team 7 want to know more.

"Why should we believe you? You could just be here for our scroll?" Sakura said. Yugito pulled out a scroll, revealing it to be an Earth Scroll.

"We have the same scrolls from what I saw back there, and I have no need for a third Earth Scroll" Yugito responded. Team 7 was in the same situation with two Earth Scrolls and no desire for a third as well. "If you think I am going to harm you, then attack me now and I will flee." After a short hesitation, Team 7 decided to accept Yugito's company for the time being

"_What do you think?"_ Yugito thought to herself.

"**It's definitely one of us" **a voice within Yugito said. **"His cloak features seemed rather fox-like…Wait! It couldn't be Kurama, could it?"**

"_Kurama?"_ Yugito responded.

"**The Kyuubi. Yes, I am pretty sure that Kurama is within that kid. It's been over a hundred years and I've actually been looking forward to seeing him. Oh, do I look okay? I hope he's still not bitter like he was 100 years ago and wants to talk. I really do want to talk to him."**

Yugito let out a little laugh, catching the attention of Haku.

* * *

"_It's almost nightfall"_ Anko thought to herself, darting through the trees of the forest. _"I must find him before it's too late. I must stop him even if it costs my life. Even if I can't I must slow him down enough for the ANBU to arrive."_

"I must stop you, isn't that right? Orochimaru" Anko said, turning to the snake man camouflaging himself with a tree. "Why are you here?" Anko threw a few poisoned needles at Orochimaru, who snaked his way around them. He lashed out his tongue, binding Anko's wrists. "You won't get me this time, Shadow Snake Fangs!" Suddenly, snakes erupted out of Anko's wrists and bit Orohchimaru's tongue, forcing him to recall it.

"If you really must know, I'm doing some body shopping. I've picked out a fresh young Uchiha that will work out nicely" the snake let out an evil laugh. Anko knew what that meant…Orochimaru had given Sasuke Uchiha the curse mark. Anko charged into him, forcing Orochimaru back into a tree and pinning him there with a kunai.

"Heh, caught you" she said, letting out a little smirk. "Now let me borrow your left hand." Anko made a seal between her right hand and his left hand.

"_That seal!"_ Orochimaru thought, a little bit of fear coursing through him.

"Yes" Anko said with an evil smirk. "You and I will both die. Double Snake Assassination!" Suddenly, Orochimaru disappeared in a puff of smoke, revealing himself to be nothing more than a shadow clone. Anko cursed under her breath as Orochimaru had escaped her grasp once again.

Suddenly, the real Orochimaru came up behind her, ripping the burnt skin and revealing his true face. Anko clutched her shoulder as the pain of her curse mark flared up. "Please don't end this exam. There are some things I want to enjoy, including three from my own village" the snake ninja said. "If you stop this exam prematurely, I will destroy your precious village." With that, Orochimaru disappeared, leaving Anko lying on the tree branch to deal with the pain of her curse mark.

* * *

Surprisingly, Team 7 managed to get a good sleep, with everyone, except Naruto, taking 3 hour shifts for guard duty. After about 9 hours of resting, Naruto still had yet to wake.

"Like Orochimaru-sama said, we attack at daybreak" a sound ninja hiding in the bushes said. "Our target is Sasuke Uchiha. If the others get in our way, we just kill them, including that Kumo girl."

As morning broke, Sakura was the one on guard. She noticed a ruffling in the bushes and threw a kunai towards it, revealing nothing more than a squirrel. As she let out a sigh of relief, another animal came running towards her out of the bushes. She threw another knife at the animal, noticing that it was carrying something…an explosive tag. This put her on guard as she proceeded to wake Sasuke, Haku, Yugito, and attempted to wake Naruto, to no avail.

Just as she was going to wake Sasuke, there was a voice behind the trees. "Don't wake Sasuke. We want to fight him, but you'll just get in the way."

"What are you here for? That Orochimaru creep sent you, didn't he?!" Sakura shouted, waking the others with the exception of Naruto.

Upon seeing Sasuke get up, the three sound ninja were in a slight state of shock. "H-how are you up?" the one with black Kakashi-like hair said. "I thought the mark Orochimaru gave you should have put you in too much discomfort to fight, if not killed you!"

"What mark?" said a confused Sasuke. Everyone else wanted to know about this mark the Sound ninja were talking about. After hearing that, he remembered Orochimaru's head traveling towards them, but Naruto stepping in the way to block it with that weird chakra cloak around him.

"What do you mean…what mark? The curse mark that should be on the back of your neck" the sound ninja said.

"There is no mark, your boss never gave me a curse mark, thanks to that exhausted idiot over there" Sasuke said pointing to Naruto.

"B-but, how did Orochimaru-sama fail?" the girl asked. Sasuke just shrugged.

"Now I suggest you leave before we have to kill you" Sasuke said as Haku, Sakura, and Yugito joined him. "Sakura, guard Naruto. I don't want him dying before I find out about that weird power of his. Haku, you take the girl, I'll take the one that stole Kakashi's ridiculous hair style, and Yugito you get the other one."

The three Sound ninja jumped at the four Leaf and Cloud ninja. Sakura smiling as they did. Using her knife, she cut a wire, sending two giant logs towards them.

"When did you do that?" Haku asked, surprised by the attack.

"This morning while everyone was sleeping" Sakura said letting loose a little grin. She even managed to get a smile out of Sasuke, who charged his target. Grant it, the rest of the fight wasn't exciting. Sasuke was hoping for a better fight from the sound guys, but all that happened is that the girl found herself a human pincushion; the Kakashi-looking guy broke one of his arms after Sasuke kicked him right into one of Sakura's traps, and the last sound ninja wound up being chased by flaming cats for a solid 15 minutes. After all was said and done, the Sound ninja had a damn Earth Scroll on them. The last thing they all needed was another Earth Scroll.

"Morning everyone" Naruto yawned. His attention turned to the defeated sound ninja. "Did I miss something?" Everyone's sweat dropped as they were wondering how anyone could sleep with a fight going on near them, considering that there was a Naruto-shaped outline made of shuriken and kunai on the tree directly behind where he was. Somehow, the lucky kid managed to avoid any projectile thrown his way. Seeing their opportunity, the Sound ninja escaped.

Sasuke now had the chance to ask the question that everyone wanted to know the answers to. "Naruto, about yesterday…what happened?" he asked as everyone's attention turned to Naruto.

"Well, I don't really want to talk about it" Naruto said, trying to avoid the subject, which he was really bad at to start with.

"And why not?" Sakura said, trying to be nice and play the opposite to Sasuke's forcefulness.

"Does it have something to do with that weird chakra?" Haku asked, remembering their battle on the bridge. Naruto nodded. For some reason though, he could see Yugito looking at him with a look of sadness and understanding. It was then that Naruto realized that the two of them were similar.

"Which one?" he asked Yugito.

"Two, you?" she responded to him. Now everyone wanted desperately to know what they were talking about.

"Nine" Naruto said.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Sakura said butting in.

"Sakura, can I ask you a question?" Naruto said. He was no longer the cheerful blonde-haired idiot that they all knew and loved. In his eyes, they could see a hint of pain and suffering.

"**So are you going to tell them?"** Kurama asked his host.

"_Yeah. They've already seen enough and I'm tired of keeping secrets. If I just hide from them, they will definitely hate me and I would rather have them hating me knowing why they were doing it"_ Naruto told his resident demon.

"What is it?" Sakura asked Naruto.

"Do you know why everyone in the village hated me?" Naruto asked as everyone went silent.

"Well, now that you mention it, I never really thought about it" Sakura responded. Naruto's questions brought back flashbacks from Haku's own childhood. He remembered the mob, formed by his own father out of fear, killing his mother. "I just stayed away from you because my parents didn't want me to be near you. I remember some people referring to you as a demon child, but what could that possibly mean?"

"Do you know about the Kyuubi attack on the village almost 13 years ago?" Naruto asked as Sakura and Sasuke nodded.

"The Kyuubi? Well, I was told it was an evil monster that attacked our village. However, the Fourth sacrificed himself to kill the demon and save the village" Sakura said. Inside, Kurama scuffed at the comment.

"What if I told you that story was made up" Naruto said.

"What do you mean by that?" Sasuke asked still not picking up on anything. Haku was slowly realizing that something was up, but was unsure due to his lack of Lea Village knowledge.

"For the past 12 years, the Third put a law into place to try and protect me; however, that ended up backfiring and the entire village ended up resenting me, seeing me as some remnant of that night" Naruto said, taking a deep breath. "On that night, the only way the Fourth could defeat the Kyuubi was to seal the Kyuubi inside a newborn infant."

"No!" gasped Sakura, suddenly realizing what Naruto was trying to say.

"Yes Sakura, that infant was me" Naruto said as he saw her eyes tear up. Sasuke stood in shock at the revelation, Haku understood all too well what it was like to be feared and cast aside, but was still in shock that this kid had an actual demon inside of him. However, Yugito was the only one who truly understood his pain. "Before you go freaking out and try to hate me like the rest of the village, please understand that I am not the Kyuubi. It's not like I had a choice in the matter and it just happened. I'm still Naruto, it's just that I have the Kyuubi inside me." Naruto looked up at his team, who just stared at him in shock. There was no way their little knuckleheaded teammate could have a demon.

"Sakura?" Naruto asked.

Sakura was trying her best to suppress her regret for treating Naruto like a piece of crap in the past. "I…I never knew…" her voice trailed off. "That's why everyone hated you?" Naruto nodded. Sakura was at a loss for words. Naruto looked at Sasuke who was just looking at him with his usual demeanor.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked. "Is something wrong?"

Sasuke shook his head. "It's just hard to believe that someone like you could have a demon inside of him. You've always been so positive, despite everything that you've gone through. I know the feeling of loneliness, it tears at you. Having to bear that for 12 years, how did you do it? Don't you hate the villagers for doing what they did to you?"

Naruto smiled. "No, I don't hate them. I just see it as I need to prove them wrong and show them who I really am."

"You mean a blonde-haired, mischief making idiot?" Sasuke let that joke slip, enraging Naruto a little. But Naruto soon realized that was just how Sasuke is and he realized that his team wasn't going to abandon him like the rest of the village. "After what you did yesterday. It sounds like that creep was going to give me some sort of curse and you were able to stop him and save us, Naruto. We talked about what all the possibilities for that weird chakra you had were, but we came up to the same conclusion…"

"Huh?" Naruto said, a little confused.

"We decided that regardless of what it was, you just wanted to protects us, so we wouldn't hate you for whatever it was that you said" Sakura said, reassuring Naruto. Naruto just gave his team a big smile. Somehow, his team had managed to look past the demon inside him after his actions yesterday saved them from that creepy snake dude.

"**Hey Kurama, can you hear me at all?" **another voice inside Naruto's head called out.

"**Barely, is that you Matatabi? This connection is shaky, probably because of this damn seal"** Kurama said.

"Ahg!" Naruto began freaking out, hearing a second voice inside his head. "Why are there two voices inside my head? The damn fox was enough, but now there is another one?" Everyone looked at him as if he were going insane. Yugito just laughed.

"It's probably the Nibi. She's been wanting to talk to your friend ever since we realized that you were his jinchuriki" Yugito said.

"Wait, does that mean?" Sakura said, pointing at Yugito.

"Yes. Like Naruto, I am a jinchuriki as well" Yugito explained. "While our Tailed Beasts can normally only talk to us, sometimes they can generate links between other jinchuriki to talk to other Tailed Beast."

"Wait, so that means you can talk to that evil demon, Naruto?" Sasuke sent him a suspicious look.

"Yeah, oh and speaking of which, he's not really evil, just misunderstood" Naruto said as the rest of his team looked on with utter confusion. Naruto explained to them everything that Kurama had told him and Team 7 did the only thing they could do regarding the matter, they accepted what Naruto was saying.

"So what you're saying is that you can access the Fox's power any time?" Sasuke asked, hoping that was not the case. If Naruto had access to that power all the time, he would never be able to beat his teammate.

"No. I can only use it in emergency situations, like back there" Naruto said. Sakura asked him why and Naruto explained that by using the Kyuubi's power with the seal still intact, it would put a major strain on his body, which could also respond in him going unconscious like he did before or even going insane. Plus, if the seal was stressed for too long, it would begin to crack. If the seal broke, then both Naruto and the Kyuubi would die. The only way to safely release the seal was with some sort of key.

Most of the conversation between Kurama and Matatabi was just regular chit-chat; however, they did get onto an interesting topic. **"What do you think of that Sand kid? Do you think he's…?" **Matatabi said.

"**Uhg, I really hope not, but unfortunately I think so."** Kurama responded.

"Huh? Now they are talking about that Gaara kid" Naruto said to Yugito.

"What about Gaara?" Sasuke asked, trying to get as much info on one of the more powerful competitors as he could.

"Both of our inhabitants have some to the conclusion that he may also be a jinchuriki for the Ichibi" Yugito stated as a wave of shock was sent through the Leaf ninja. "They don't really know much more, but they said to watch out for him."

Of course, this only made Sasuke want to fight him more. The aspect of going up against something with power similar to that of what Naruto had just displayed was rather invigoration.

Now the team turned to Yugito, as their curiosity was directed towards the Kumo jinchuriki. "So why did you come and find us if you are not after our scroll or anything?" Sakura asked, wanting to know why she found them and helped them escape from Gaara's sand.

"To be honest, I needed to get away from my team. Karui and Omoi are two you never want to be around when they start arguing. Especially when Karui starts shooting her head off" Yugito explained as Sakura was reminded of how Naruto and Sasuke act sometimes. "Also, Matatabi and I wanted to confirm our suspicions about Naruto."

Suddenly, they all heard screaming and yelling coming from behind them. "Well, looks like my team is here. I had better go before they cause you trouble." Yugito said, leaving the group of Konoha ninja.

* * *

It was getting late on the third day and the four of them had decided to make their way closer to the tower, with the hoped of picking up some opponents camping out to ambush competitors. Their luck paid off and the soon found themselves facing another group of Rain ninja, who apparently wanted revenge for what Team 7 did to their comrades earlier on. However, they really weren't much of a match for Team 7, who already outnumbered them before Naruto used his shadow clones.

"Haha. About time!" Sakura cheered as she searched the defeated ninja to find a Heaven Scroll. The four made their way to the tower, leaving just over a day left in the competition. Shortly after, they arrived at the tower and proceeded into their designated rooms. The entered a room to discover no one there, but they found a poster with some sort of saying on it. After seeing that there were missing words, Sakura figured that they would be on the scrolls. The time had come for Team 7 to open their scrolls. As they did, a cloud of smoke appeared in front of them. Team 7 expected one final enemy.

"Hey, long time no see" the figure in the smoke said. Suddenly, the person was tacked by a small blonde-haired boy who seemed excited to see him

"Iruka-sensei?!" the rest called out. "What are you doing here?" Sakura asked.

"I'm here to congratulate you four for completing the second part of the exam" Iruka explained. "At the end of the exam, its set up so that we chunin are able to meet up with the test takers, and it just so happens that I got summoned to meet you four. And it looks like you made it with just over a day to spare." The four of them were happy to complete the second exam. "Now, you guys can use the tower to rest up and to see if any other groups arrive."

"Did anyone else arrive?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, I believe I saw Kiba, Hinata, and Shino earlier. A group of cloud ninja arrived about an hour before you four, and there is one last group of Leaf ninja here, although I don't really know them" Iruka said.

With that, Team 7 entered the tower to go join the rest of them.

**A/N: Alright, so that is pretty much it for the second round in the chunin exams. There will be prelims in the next few chapters. Lets see if I can get a few reviews and comments before posting them.**

**A/N: And for those of you wondering, No Sasuke does not have the curse mark and Team 7 knows about the Kyuubi.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Preliminaries, The Purpose for the Tests**

"**Damn it"** Kurama swore as Team 7 entered the living areas in the tower, only to see Gaara and his team. **"Why did he have to make it?"**

"_Oh just stop it already. If he becomes a problem, then we will just have to beat him up a little"_ Naruto said to Kurama.

Team 7 passed Gaara and the Suna ninja, receiving an evil glare as they did so. They proceeded deeper into the tower, hoping to find Team 8. "About time you guys made it" Kiba said, coming to meet them. "I was afraid we would have to spend all day with that sand guy. Hey speaking of which, have you guys noticed something seriously wrong with that guy's head?" The four of them nodded in agreement. Following that, they explained their encounter to Kiba.

"Woah! You mean you guys ran into him in the forest?" Kiba said. "And you got out alive?"

"Do you mean you saw him to?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, we did. Akamaru noticed him, but then began trembling like I've never seen before. I tell you, something is not right about that guy. We watched him mercilessly kill another team using his sand. We thought we were next on his kill list, but something caught his attention and he left" Kiba explained. Team 7 knew all too well what caught Gaara's attention and looked at Naruto. Apparently the Fox had managed to save a few more of their friends. At that time Shino and Hinata emerged into the room.

"Hello" Shino said, greeting his comrades with as few words as possible. He walked into the common area with Hinata following closely behind him.

"N-naruto, y-you made it" the shy girl said, letting out a blush and trying to avoid eye contact.

"Yep, we sure did!" Naruto said. He had returned completely to his normal self since his team found out about the Fox. "And you made it too! See, I told you Hinata. You would do great. I even understand that you guys were the first ones here?"

"You bet! Guess that makes us the best" Kiba bragged. Sasuke shot him a look, effectively shutting him up. "Geez, can't take a joke can you, Uchiha?"

"There are still a lot of powerful ninja here, so you shouldn't go shooting your mouth off like an idiot. That something I thought only Naruto is dense enough to do" Sasuke said as Naruto yelled back at him. "But seriously, don't underestimate anyone here. Especially that Gaara of the Desert. I heard that the last test is single combat and if anyone here has to face him, you had better be careful." Everyone took Sasuke's warning.

As it got closer to the end of the exam, a few more teams arrived. Amongst them was the trio of Sound ninja, a team of Waterfall ninja, Kabuto's team, Lee's team, and Team 10. As the end of the exam neared, everyone in the tower proceeded to the main hall in the tower, as instructed to meet with the proctors of the exam.

The timer stopped, the second portion of the exam had concluded. All the candidates who passed the exam were now standing in a large room. On a stage in front of them, stood the Hokage, proctor, and the jonin senseis for each team.

"First off, congratulations on passing the second exam" the Hokage announced.

"_Wow, 22 participants out of 90. I was expecting to cut them in half, but I was expecting single digits"_ Anko thought to herself. _"I guess Ibiki was right, there are some outstanding ones in this group."_

The candidates looked around to see who else was there. Some, like Team 10 looked exhausted, beat up, and in Chouji's case, starving. Others, like Team 8, who had 4 days of rest, looked refreshed and ready to go.

"Hmm, your team looks pretty good, Kakashi" Gai said to his 'eternal rival'. "But as long as my team is around, don't expect them to get any farther. Now, it's all about REAL ability. Well, with youth, there are sweet times and there are sour times, eh Kakashi?"

"Huh?" said Kakashi, completely ignoring anything Gai had just said. "Oh Gai? You say something?"

Gai turned away and tensed up, clutching a fist. "Not bad Kakashi. You're cool in that way and it really gets on my nerves."

The jonin took a look at their students. Baki looked at his team of Sand ninja and noticed that Gaara was unscathed, but there was something unsettling about him. Something had happened in the forest that had Gaara uneased. Kurenai noted that her team looked shaken by something. Gai admired the youthfulness of his team. Kakashi on the other hand, just gave his team the usual smile and wave. To be honest, he had never imagined that his team you make it this far. He had entered them in hopes that they would mature from this experience; however, it seems as if they were well above his expectations.

"_No wonder they nominated them" _the Hokage thought to himself, looking over the rookies_. "For all of them to make it is surprising to say the least."_

"Hokage-sama will now explain the third test" Anko announced to everyone. "Please listen carefully."

"I will, but first there is something I would like you to know. It's about the true purpose of these exams" the Hokage said. "Think about it, why do we have many different countries here if each village could hold their own chunin exams for their own ninja?"

Everyone took a few moments to think about what the Hokage was saying. "To promote friendship between countries?" the Hokage asked. "I don't want you to be confused by these exams' true meaning. In reality, this is a replacement for war amongst countries." He received many startled looks from the crowd.

"War?! What does that mean?" Tenten said to her team.

"If you go back in time, current allies were once enemies who fought each other for control" the Hokage explained. In order to prevent fighting, this is the stage these countries chose to do battle on…That is the purpose of these exams."

"What?!" Naruto blurted out. "Isn't this thing for deciding who becomes chunin?"

"It is a fact that this exam decides who has what it takes to become chunin" the Hokage explained. "But this exam has another side…Where each country's shinobi risk their own life to protect their land's prestige. There will be leaders and influential individuals watching the third exam, many of them come from countries that are clients of shinobi. If the strength of a country is clear, that country will receive more clients, and if seen week, they will lose clients. Not to mention, it will send a message to other villages that 'our village has much power'. The strength of a country is the strength of the village. The strength of the village is the strength of the shinobi. And a shinobi's true strength is born only through life-risking battles."

"But why do you say stuff about being for friendship?" Tenten asked.

"I said in the beginning, I don't want you to confuse the purpose of this. By losing life and establishing balance, this is the shape of friendship in the world of shinobi" the Hokage stated. "Before we begin the third test, I will tell you one more thing…This is not just a test. This is a life-risking battle, with your dreams and country's prestige on the line. I'd like to explain the third test but…"

"(cough) actually, I apologize Hokage-sama. From here on, as referee, will you please allow me, Gekkou Hayate" a sickly looking ninja said, appearing before the Hokage. The Hokage agreed. "Hello everyone, I'm Hayate. Before we begin, there is something I would like you to do. It's a preliminary for the third test. To decide who gets to participate in the main event."

"Preliminary?!" many people questioned in unison. "What do you mean? Why aren't all the people here allowed to participate?" Sakura asked.

"Because the first and second tests may have been too easy this yeay, and we have too many people remaining" Hayate said. "According to the rules, we may have a preliminary to reduce the number of participants for the third test. As Hokage-sama said, there are many important individuals and time is important. Now that that is said, if there is anyone who feels like they cannot participate in a preliminary match now, please step forward now and you will be removed."

"I'm going to quit" Kabuto said. Zaku, who's arm was broken, and one of Kabuto's teammates opted to so the same. One of the Taigakaru ninja did as well. From the Waterfall village, there remained one guy and a girl with mint-green hair.

"What Orochimaru said, should we remove Uchiha due to the curse mark?" Anko whispered to the Hokage.

"I don't think that will be possible" Kakashi said, joining the conversation. "He is an Uchiha after all."

"Besides, I don't exactly want to have to deal with Orochimaru's threats. If the mark does not flare up, then let him compete" the Hokage said, much to Anko's disliking.

Sasuke turned to his team. "I am not backing out. There are too many strong people here that I want to fight" he said. "Naruto, I also want to fight you." Naruto stared at his teammate and smiled.

"Fine, then I want to fight you as well" he responded as their rivalry heated up.

Neji turned to his cousin. "Hinata, you should also back out. I must admit that I am impressed you made it this far, but if you continue, something bad will surely happen to you" said Neji. Naruto, who was within hearing distance of this was a little enraged by Neji's unexplained behavior towards Hinata.

"Bah! What do you know about Hinata? She's strong and she doesn't need to listen to you" responded Naruto.

"_Naruto thinks I am strong?"_ Hinata thought to herself. This gave her the courage to defy her cousin's warnings and remain in the competition.

"Now (cough), if there is no one else, we are going to begin the preliminaries" Hayate announced. "Since there are 22 entries now, we will have 11 matches. Each match will be a one-on-one battle with the match ending when one fighter is dead, unconscious, or admits defeat."

Anko said something into her headset and a screen appeared on the wall behind them. "This electronic scoreboard will show two randomly selected people, who will do battle" she said as names began to flash on the screen. After it stopped, two names remained: Sasuke Uchiha and Yori Akado.

"Hmm, so soon?" Sasuke said, trying to sound surprised.

"Now, these two entrants come forward while the rest of you, please proceed to the balconies above to watch the matches" Hayate announced.

"Sasuke, you better not lose if you want to fight me" Naruto said to his teammate. Sasuke gave him his usual look, indicating that he was planning on winning this quick. Kakashi also walked past Sasuke.

"Sasuke" Kakashi whispered. "Don't use the Sharingan. If that mark acts up, I will have to step in and stop the fight."

"What mark?" Sasuke asked, sending a surprised Kakashi a smile and wondering what was up with everyone thinking he had some sort of mark. Kakashi looked at the back of Sasuke's neck to find that the speculations going around the jonin were false and that Orochimaru had not given Sasuke a curse mark.

"Hmm, we'll talk about this later then. I guess just forget about what I said then" Kakashi responded as he went up to the stairs.

With that, the match began. Yori started off by making a quick hand seal, and a blue chakra aura surrounded his hands. Sasuke activated his Sharingan as Yori sent a few shuriken sailing towards Sasuke, who easily dodged them. Sasuke charged at Yoru, engaging in a quick taijutsu battle. Sasuke had Yori pinned to the ground, but Yori reached and gripped Sasuke's chest, the blue aura appearing around his hand. Sasuke soon felt some chakra being drained from him as he disengaged from Yori. Shocked at Yori's ability to absorb chakra, he knew he would have to fight this battle from ranged, or his movements would have to be quick and precise.

"_Hehe, how's that curse mark feeling, Sasuke?"_ Yori thought to himself. _"You are going to have to engage me in close combat."_ It was then that Yori noticed the Sharingan. _"What?! How does he have the Sharingan activated? He shouldn't be able to without the curse mark flaring up?"_ Apparently Orochimaru never mentioned that he had failed to give Sasuke the curse mark, thanks to the demon-powered Naruto. Sasuke hated to admit it, but he owed Naruto big time for saving him back there.

Yori knew he was in trouble if Sasuke could use his Sharningan. He made a desperate attempt to end the fight by charging at Sasuke with his jutsu active. Suddenly, he felt a foot make contact with the bottom of his haw, knocking him into the air. Copying Lee's technique, Sasuke appeared behind Yori in his shadow. Sasuke kicked Yori a few times, making him fall faster towards the ground with each blow. Finally, Sasuke flipped around so that he was on top of Yori and drove his knee into his opponent's gut as Yori and the ground met. "Lion's Barrage!" Sasuke called out as his final strike knocked Yori unconscious and out of the exam.

"_Ah, Sasuke. You may have avoided me in the forest, but you will become mine soon enough"_ Orochimaru said, disguised as the Sound team's sensei_. "However, I need to make sure that next time the demon brat won't be in my way."_

Kakashi appeared next to the Hokage and Anko. "I looked at Sasuke's neck before the match and there doesn't appear to be a curse mark. I'm going to take him for a further examination to be sure, but it appears that Sasuke has avoided that fate for the time being." Anko looked at Kakashi out of surprise and the Hokage nodded in agreement.

"Winner, Sasuke Uchiha" Hayate announced as medics came to collect Yori.

Kakashi went to meet Sasuke. "Come with me, the Hokage just wants to be sure" he said to Sasuke as the Uchiha victor followed him out of the room.

"Where's Sasuke going?" Sakura asked out of curiosity. Naruto and Haku shrugged.

"Next match, Chouji Akamichi vs Dosu Kinta" Hayate announced.

Chouji stepped forward, revealing some of his nerves to his opponent. "Heh, I have to fight this nervous fatty?" Dosu taunted his opponent.

"What did you just say?!" Chouji growled in anger. Dosu had just said the taboo word for Chouji. "I AM NOT FAT! Human Boulder!" Chouji did one of his family's jutsu, inflating himself into a large ball and rolling at high speeds towards Dosu. Dosu sidestepped Chouji as the human boulder slammed into the wall. Wanting to end it quick, Dosu revealed some apparatus on his forearm and slammed it into Chouji. With a flick of his finger, he sent a shockwave of sound through Chouji's body, effectively knocking him out.

"Winner, Dosu Kinta" Hayate announced as Team 10 let their spirits drop. "Next match, Haku Yuki vs. Tenten."

"Hmm, this will be an interesting fight" Tenten said as she faced Haku. The battle between the weapons expert and senbon specialist was about to begin.

"Begin!" Hayate announced as Tenten took a step backwards, throwing a few shuriken to test the waters. Haku quickly knocked them out of the way with his senbon and sent a few more towards Tenten, who dodged them rather easily.

"You're not going to beat me with senbon. I know about all types of weapons and yours is not powerful enough." Tenten stated.

"Tenten! Show him the power of your youth!" Lee said, cheering for his teammates from the stands. Not caring about anyone else's ears, Lee did so, deafening anyone standing within 10 feet of him.

"Lee! Cheer harder!" Gai instructed.

"Yes Gai-sensei! I will pour all of my youth into this cheer!" shouted Lee. Now, no one was safe from Lee's shouts.

"Hmm, this match is practically over" Sasuke said, returning to the stands.

"Is Kakashi-sensei with you?" Naruto asked.

"No, he stayed behind, saying he had something to check up on, typical." Sasuke shrugged.

* * *

"Hehe, long time no see, Kakashi" the Sound sensei said to Kakashi. "You should consider your student lucky. However, he won't escape me next time."

"Orochimaru" Kakashi growled out. "Why are you here? Why are you after Sasuke?"

"Heh, you're lucky. You've already got your hands on it" Orochimaru hissed. Kakashi realized what Orochimaru was referring to. "Yes, it's the Sharingan. Just like the one in your left eye. I want it!"

"Hmm, what are your goals?" Kakashi said, trying to squeeze as much out of the snake before it slithered away.

"The newly created Sound village…that's MY village. You should be able to figure out just from that" Orochimaru said. "For that purpose, I need a lot of pieces."

Kakashi activated his Raikiri, ready to take down Orochimaru if he must. However, Orochimaru just turned and left into the darkness. "I will get my hands on Sasuke and there is nothing you can do to stop me." Orochimaru let out a sinister laugh as he faded from view.

* * *

"What do you mean over?!" Lee shouted at Sasuke. "Tenten's youthful powers far succeed your team mate's!"

"Just watch the match and you'll see" Sasuke said as everyone turned their attention back to the match.

Tenten and Haku were engaged in an equal battle of throwing weapons at one another. Realizing that she needed something different, Tenten took out the two scrolls on her side. "Ninja art: Twin Rising Dragons!" Suddenly, the two scrolls unfurled and rose into the air. Tenten jumped up and began summoning weapons, bombarding Haku with a rain of sharp pointy objects.

With her attack finished, Tenten landed on the ground to see the results. All she saw was Haku encased in a dome of ice.

"What?!" most of the people in the stands said. Team 7 didn't look so surprised.

"Gai-sensei, what is up with that ice surrounding Haku" Lee asked. Everyone else was shocked by Haku's mysterious ability.

"Like I said, this match is over" Sasuke repeated himself. "Haku has a rare bloodlimit called the Hyoton. Watch a little more and you shall see its true powers."

"Hyoton: Demonic Ice Mirrors!" Haku said as a dome of ice mirrors formed around Tenten.

"Tenten!" Lee shouted out as the rest of Team Gai looked on at Haku's abilities.

"Please surrender now. I do not wish to harm you" Haku said, his reflection appearing in every mirror.

"Hah, like you could keep me trapped in here is mere ice?" Tenten replied. She threw a few kunai with explosive tags at one of the mirrors, only for it to be unfazed, much to her surprise. Haku went on the offensive, hitting the joints on her arms and legs with senbon, effectively immobilizing Tenten. "What did you do? I can't move" she called out as she collapsed to the ground.

"I hit the nerve clusters in your arms and legs. You won't be able to move them for about an hour, but I made sure not to damage them. You should be able to regain full control after some rest" Haku explained. Neji looked on in shock at the skills Haku possessed. The boy's precision appeared to rival even his own.

The proctor took a look at Tenten and she noted that what Haku said was correct. "Alright, I declare Haku Yuki the winner."

"Next up, Ino Yamanaka vs. Sakura Haruno." Everyone in the stands braced for the cat fight of the century.

**A/N: Alright, so there are the first few fights in the preliminaries. I have decided to keep some matches the same, but others I have changed. Also, there will be a few additional matches as I have to include a few new players (the Cloud and Waterfall for example). **

**A/N: About Orochimaru and the curse mark. The main reasons everyone believes Sasuke had the curse mark was because of Anko misinterpreting Orochimaru's words and the fact that Orochimaru never said anything to his subordinates. I also find it in Orochimaru's character to send some confusion around every now and then.**

**Comments and Reviews are much appreciated.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Preliminaries: The Leaf Kunoichi Blossom**

"Next match: Ino Yamanaka vs. Sakura Haruno" Hayate announced. The two shocked kunoichi proceeded to the floor.

"I never thought that I would have to fight you, Sakura" Ino said to her opponent. To Ino's surprise, Sakura removed her headband that she had been using to hold back her hair, and tied it properly around her forehead.

"Those two. This could get troublesome" Shikamaru sighed, leaning on the railing.

'_Hmm, it may not look like it, but Ino is an exceptional shinobi'_ Asuma thought about his student. _'But will she be able to go all out against Sakura?'_

*Flashback*

"As a female ninja, we must not only be skilled in the arts of the shinobi, but also culture and knowledge" an academy instructor lectured. "If you cannot sneak into enemy territory and act as a normal woman, then being a spy will be pointless. Today's lesson will be flower arrangement, now go and pick some flowers."

The little girls ran off to complete their assignment.

"Ino, wait up" a little Sakura said, calling out for her friend. Before reaching a small Ino, she tripped and fell to the ground.

"I'm bad at this stuff, how about you?" Sakura asked her friend.

What?" Ino asked, trying to see if Sakura was serious. "But you're named after a flower. Hehe, there is a trick to this."

"What? Really?" Sakura said.

"Yeah. What you do is find a main flower, and then find smaller flowers that compliment it" Ino explained. "Look over there." Ino pointed at a few flowers. "If this 'Cosmos' is the main flower, then you can use that 'Fujibakama' as a compliment. Like the Sakura flower in the spring, the Cosmos flower is the most beautiful flower in the fall. And in flower language, it means harmony as it goes along great with any other autumn flower." Ino then held the flower up to her head and gave a cute smile. "Look? Does this go as nice with me as it does the Cosmos? Aren't I a cutie?"

"Y..yeah" Sakura responded.

"What was with that pause" Ino asked. Suddenly three larger girls appeared behind Sakura.

"Well, well, if it isn't miss gigantic forehead" their leader said. "Trying to make yourself look better recently? Who do you think you are?"

Ino then proceeded to deck the girl upside the head, sending her flying back and leaving a few flowers sticking out of her mouth. "I'm sorry, I must have mistaken that opening for a vase" Ino said as the rest of the girl's group gathered around their unconscious leader. "It may be weak, but that flower is poisonous. You had better spit it out." With that, the three older girls were running away from Ino.

'_Ino is so incredible. She's so smart and fashionable and cute. And her ninjutsu skills are great as well'_ Sakura thought. _'But compared to her, I'm just…'_

Sakura looked down at the flowers she was holding and got a saddened look on her face. "If Ino is a Cosmos, then I'm just a Fujibakama" Sakura said quietly, although Ino picked up on what she was saying.

"What are you talking about? If you ask me, you aren't even a flower, you are a bud" Ino said, only worsening Sakura's depression.

*End Flashback*

"Right now, I have no intention of fighting you over Sasuke" Sakura said, facing her opponent as she recalled some of her childhood memories with Ino.

"What?!" Ino shouted out.

"You and Sasuke don't even go together" Sakura stated. "Plus I am stronger than you. I don't even have to worry about you."

"Sakura, who the hell do you think you are?!" Ino replied. "Don't get ahead of yourself, cry-baby Sakura!"

"What are they doing?" Naruto asked Kakashi.

"Well, it looks like Sakura doesn't want Ino to not take her seriously or show her mercy" Kakashi explained.

*Flashback*

"Hey Ino, why did you give me the ribbon?" Sakura asked, sitting next to her friend.

"Hehe, that's because it would be a waste if you ended up as a bud" Ino said. "A flower is meaningless unless to blooms, right? And it could grow into an even more beautiful flower."

'_Thank you, Ino'_ Sakura said to herself as the two went off to pick some more flowers.

*End Flashback*

"I have always believed those words that you told me" Sakura said to her opponent and rival. "I had always believed them to be true. I wanted to be like you. You were my goal. Thanks to you I am here now. That's why, Ino, I want this to be an all-out fight. Unless I really surpass you, it's meaningless."

"Why are they acting like that?!" Naruto said, hoping they would get to the fight.

'_He doesn't even understand. He's the same way with Sasuke'_ Kakashi thought, looking over to Sasuke, who was also starting to get a little impatient at the talking.

On the floor, Ino moved her headband from her waist to her forehead, indicating that she acknowledged Sakura as an opponent. The fight was ready to begin. Sakura ran at Ino, creating three clones in the process. Ino saw right through them, but Sakura had just focused all of her chakra to her feet, causing her to lunge at Ino with increased speed. Her fist made contact with Ino, sending her back.

"Wow! Sakura rules!" Naruto shouted out.

"Her basic chakra control is perfect, even for a rookie" Kakashi said. "In that respect, she's even better than you and Sasuke." This caught both of their attention as Kakashi tried to redirect it back to the fight.

'_Wow, Sakura is even more beautiful now than she ever was.'_ Lee thought to himself. Sakura and Ino both engaged one another, then backing off to throw shuriken at each other. Their shuriken hit one another, cancelling the attack completely_. 'But her opponent it great to, this could be a long match.'_

'_Since when did she become so strong?'_ Ino thought.

'_I can do this!'_ Sakura thought. Both of their fists collided with each other's faced, sending them both to the ground. By this point in time, the battle had gone on over 10 minutes and even the proctor was starting to get impatient.

"There's no way you could be even with me!" Ino shouted.

"Of course, how could I be even with someone who only worries about growing her hair!" Sakura replied. Like Sakura had done back in the forest, Ino took a knife and cut her long ponytail off, much to her team's surprise. She then threw the cut hair on the ground, scattering it over.

"Yikes!" Shikamaru said. "She's snapped!"

"I'm going to end this right now. I'm going to make 'I give up' come directly from your mouth" Ino said, making her family's signature hand seal.

"I understand your desperation, but that is useless, seeing as all I have to do is avoid it, which will be easy" Sakura said. "You then wouldn't be able to return to your body for a few minutes and Hayate would be forced to call the fight." Sakura prepared to run, only to get tangled in Ino's hair that lined the ground.

"Ninja art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!" Ino called out as her body went limp. At the same time, so did Sakura's.

"Wait, which one is it?" Shikamaru called out, not sure if her jutsu hit.

"Too bad, Sakura" Ino said, from Sakura's body.

"Sakura!" both Lee and Naruto called out. "Now's your chance, finish Ino off!"

"Idiots, it's useless now" Shikamaru explained. "Ino transferred her mind into Sakura. She's now in control of Sakura."

"Proctor, I Sakura Haruno, would like to..." Ino/Sakura said.

"SAKURA DON'T DO IT!" Naruto shouted out. "If you lose to that Sasuke fan-girl, you're not a woman!"

'_Damn, he's so annoying'_ Ino thought. Suddenly, Ino felt something inside Sakura's head, like Sakura was fighting back for control. She clutched her head.

Inside Sakura's head, the 'Inner Sakura' began beating up Ino, forcing her out of Sakura's body.

"Two minds? What are you?" Ino said with her own voice again.

"Heh, don't you know women have to be tough to survive?" Sakura said, finally regaining control of herself.

'_Hmm, once you are caught by that jutsu, it's difficult to repel'_ Kakashi thought. _'But, what if Naruto's cheering awakened her inner desire to beat Ino and that's what gave her the strength'_

"Hmm, maybe she's not so weak after all" Saskue said to himself.

With one last burst of energy, the two kunoichi charged at each other, their punches making contact with each other's faces. The two fell to the ground unconscious. Their jonin senseis went to the floor to collect the unconscious girls as Hayate announced a double knockout.

"Man, that was troublesome. I hope I don't have to face a girl" Shikamaru said, receiving some glares from Tenten and Kurenai.

"Next match: Hinata Huyga vs. Kankuro" the board announced.

'_Heh, a little Leaf brat, this will be easy'_ Kankuro thought to himself.

Hinata recalled the encounter in the forest with the Sand ninja. She began to tremble a little. Although he had not been the one she was afraid of at that time, he couldn't be much better. Neji then turned to Hinata. "You should just give up" He said to her as she receded even more into herself. He had also managed to catch Naruto's attention. "You are too weak to face him. I can tell just from looking at you."

"What the hell are you talking about Neji?!" Naruto shouted at Neji, ready to knock him out.

"I am only speaking the truth" Neji said.

"Neji-niisan?" Hinata looked at her cousin.

"Niisan?!" most of the people responded, looking to Kakashi for answers.

"Neji and Hinata aren't necessarily siblings, more like cousins. They belong to the Huyga clan, one of the most prestigious families in Konoha" Kakashi explained. "Hinata is a member of the main family while Neji is a member of the branch family. However, things have happened over the years, distancing the branches and Neji is only searching for some form of weakness in Hinata."

"Hinata, I will say it again. You are not a good shinobi. You should just forfeit. You don't want to dishonor the clan, do you? Dishonor the main branch?" Neji taunted as Naruto's blood began to boil.

"Hinata! Don't listen to this ass!" He shouted out, waking Ino and Sakura.

"Even now, I can feel your sense of inferiority. You cannot win and you will only dishonor yourself and the main branch, now you don't want to do that. Oh wait, you already have. You cannot change and you will continue to be weak." Neji's words had a harsh sting to them as Hinata walked down the stairs to face her opponent.

"_I wanted to change my self. But, is it true that I cannot?"_ she said to herself. She remembered the training sessions with her father and how he would always degrade her. Eventually, he shoved her aside for her sister, Hanabi.

"Hinata" Neji had one more thing to say to her before her match began. "People cannot change themselves. I thought of you as a spoiled member of the main family, but the truth is that you are just an embarrassment!"

This really got Naruto's blood boiling as Kurama was debating whether or not to let a little of his chakra seep through the seal. He also wanted to shut this cynical man up badly.

"Hinata, I can see with my Byakugan that you do not want to fight. Deep down, you just want to run away and hide" Neji taunted more. Kankuro just smirked. This sibling rivalry was doing his work for him.

"Byakugan?" Sakura asked, directing her question to Kakashi.

Kakashi answered her question "It's the advanced bloodline of the Huyga. Kind of like Sasuke's Sharingan being the advanced bloodline of the Uchiha, although it surpasses the Sharingan in terms of visual insight alone."

Neji glared at her from the balcony, activating his Byakugan. He wasn't going to pass up this chance to embarrass and taunt a member of the main family. His only regret was that he wasn't the one facing her. "I can see you imagining your defeat" Neji said. "You cannot change that. You cannot change yourself…"

"Hinata! You can!" Naruto shouted out, having enough of Neji's bullshit. "He has no right to tell you what you are and aren't. Now kick this Sand guy's ass and stick it to Neji-bastard's face! I believe you can do it!"

'_Naruto is cheering for me?_' Hinata thought to herself. _"He…he thinks I can win?"_

'_Uhg, he really is annoying'_ Neji thought.

'_Naruto, thank you'_ Hinata though as her doubts suddenly disappeared. Kankuro noticed this as well.

"Heh, looks like this brat wants to play" Kankuro smirked.

"Byakugan!" Hinata said, activating her bloodlimit. _'Thank you Naruto. I will show you that I can change'._

"Begin!" Hayate announced.

Hinata made the first move, charging at Kankuro, who was just standing there. She had her Byakugan locked onto him, but noticed that something was off. The chakra inside Kankuro was not normal. In fact, there was no charka source inside him, only chakra lines that seemed to go to that bundle on his back. She took a gamble and decided to attack the bundle instead of Kankuro. After a few first strikes, Kankuro retreated as the bundle unfurled itself to reveal another Kankuro.

"Damn" He said. "How did she notice that?"

Up in the stands, everyone looked on in shock. "What just happened?" Sakura asked. Neji remained silent, but Lee spoke up.

"One of the specialties of the Byakugan is that it allows the user to see their opponent's chakra network" Lee said as Neji let out slight grin. "She must have seen something that caused her to attack the bundle instead of Kankuro."

"Fine, I'll play" Kankuro said, as the first Kankuro's skin began to peel away, revealing a puppet. He felt a slight pain in his shoulder, but shrugged it off. She charged at him again, only to be intercepted by the puppet, which was slashing at her with its blades. Thankfully, she managed to dodge. This dance between her and the puppet went on for a few minutes before Hinata noticed something. It was another puppet. Kankuro thought that he had her, but she dodged just in time. _"How?! I thought I was in her blind spot, there should have been no way she saw me."_

Up in the stands, Naruto smiled. Hinata was doing great and Neji had turned his back on the fight. "How did she see that? Even I think that should have gotten her" Sasuke questioned.

"Yes, but the Byakugan gives her the ability to see in a 360 degree arc around her" Lee explained.

"Wow, you know a lot about the Byakugan, Lee" Naruto explained.

"Yes, when your rival is also from the Huyga clan, you must know about their abilities. It's just like Gai-sensei and the Sharingan" Lee explained.

Hinata was now facing two puppets and Kankuro. She had to do something quick as she was rapidly losing stamina. Focusing her Byakugan on Kankuro, she saw thin chakra threads coming out of his hands and attaching to the puppets. Deciding to go for it, she made a dash for one of the puppets, lashing out at the threads. She managed to sever three of the threads on one of the puppets; however, the other puppet landed a blow, creating a deep, but not life threatening gash in her left arm and side.

"Hinata!" Naruto shouted from the stands, becoming increasingly concerned for her.

"You see now, she will not win this" Neji said as the puppets landed another blow on her, sending her back into the wall and leaving a medium-sized puncture wound in her right side.

"Bah! Shut up, Neji. What do you know?" Naruto said.

"More than you think" Neji said, getting Naruto's attention. "Although she may be the heir of the main house, she is weak. Her father even pushed her aside to train her younger sister, who is a much better candidate to lead the clan. If she doesn't prove herself to her father by her sixteenth birthday, he will officially instate Hanabi as the clan heir and she will be forced into a branch family, like me. That is her destiny and she must accept it."

"What sort of bull shit are you talking about?! What does destiny have to do with this?" Naruto asked.

"What do you mean by main and branch families?" Sakura asked. Neji remained silent, but Lee spoke up.

"The Huyga clan is composed of a main family that runs the clan. Hinata is a member of the main family. Neji on the other hand, is a member of the branch family" Lee explained as Neji remained silent. "However, from what I understand, the main family has made special rules in favor of them self and subjugating the branch families. Unfortunately, that has begun to create a rift in the family."

Their attention turned back to the fight. Hinata was trying desperately to evade the attacks, although she was beginning to tire. If something didn't happen soon, this fight would be over.

"Hinata!" Naruto shouted again. "Don't let these guys put you down. You're stronger than that!"

'_Does he really believe that?'_ she thought to herself. She then thought back to the rest of the exam as Naruto had done nothing but support her the entire way. The least she could do right now was not to let him down. She began calling on the last reserves of her energy and made a dart towards the puppets. Demonstrating chakra control that could rival Sakura, she increased her speed, flying past the puppets and towards Kankuro. Hinata landed two strikes on Kankuro's wrist, causing him to lose the ability to use chakra with his hands and also causing the chakra threads controlling his puppets to disappear. Two more strikes to the body caused his sides to go numb. Hinata made one last strike, aimed for his chest. After the final burst of chakra penetrated Kankuro, she disengaged, waiting to see the result of her attack.

Kankuro began coughing up blood, as her attack had managed to slightly damage the muscles around his heart. He collapsed to the ground, defeated. "Winner: Hinata Huyga!" Hayate announced.

"Yeah! You did it Hinata!" Naruto said, jumping down to give her a big hug. Hinata began to turn red, although it was not because of Naruto. As Naruto let go of her, wondering what was wrong, she fell to her knees, panting heavily.

"Hinata!" Kurenai said. She checked the girl's temperatures and heart rate quickly, determining them to be elevated. "Those weapons? Poison?! We need a medic over here quick. I think she's been poisoned!"

Two medical ninja came over and placed her on a stretcher. "It looks like it's poison" one of them said, repeating exactly what Kurenai had just said. Naruto looked down at Hinata on the stretcher. "Naruto, do you think I changed?" She asked weakly, letting out a non-poison induced blush. "Did I show I can be strong?"

Naruto smiled. "Yeah, you were great Hinata" the blonde said as the two medics carried her off to treat her wounds and poison. Naruto sent a glare up to Neji, basically saying _'I told you she could do it'_. Neji just shrugged it off.

"Yep. Girls can definitely be troublesome" Shikamaru said, looking up at the score board. "Damn."

"Next match: Shikamaru Nara vs. Kin Tsuchi" the board read.

"He can control the shadows, watch out for that" Kin's teammate Zaku said to her.

The two competitors proceeded to the floor. "Man, this is troublesome. I didn't want to have to fight a girl" Shikamaru said.

"Don't worry, I'll make it quick" Kin said.

"Begin!" Hayate announced.

"Hmm, I saw Dosu's ability, but I don't know what hers are" Shikamaru said. "Oh well, Shadow Possession Jutsu!" His shadow expanded out, towards Kin. She dodged his attack, flinging a few senbon towards her. Shikamaru dodged.

"Clink" bells attached to the senbon made, as they caught Shikamaru's attention.

"Heh. I know that trick. Next you'll throw one with a bell on it and one without a bell. My attention will be drawn to the bell, and you'll get me with the other needle" Shikamaru said, analyzing her strategy. 'I just need to avoid those needles'

"Clink."

"What?! Behind?" Shikamaru said, turning around to see the same bells making the sound. _'String?'_ Suddenly, Shikamaru saw Kin throwing two needles towards him. He couldn't dodge these, so he had to block.

Kin was about ready to throw a few more needles into Shikamaru, but found herself unable to move. "What?!" she said.

"Heh, shadow possession jutsu is finally a success" Shikamaru said, analyzing Kin's facial expression. "You haven't noticed it yet? A string at that height doesn't make a shadow." Kin looked down to see two shadows coming off of her string and connecting to her shadow. "I can change the shape of my shadow. So I made it real skinny to make it look like the shadow of your string." Shikamaru then pulled a shuriken out and aimed it at Kin. Because of the jutsu, she did the same thing to him.

"Are you crazy?!" she called out. "If you attack, we will both get hurt!"

"I know" Shikamaru said. "We'll just keep throwing shuriken to see how long we last. As the shuriken got really close to the competitors face, Shikamaru quickly bent backwards to dodge it, causing Kin to do the same. However, she slammed her head on the wall behind her, knocking her unconscious.

"Heh, one down" Shikamaru said, returning to an upright position. "If you're a shinobi, then you have to fight with knowledge of your surroundings. The distance to the wall behind you was what got you? I used the shuriken to keep you from noticing how close you were to it."

"Winner, Shikamaru!" Hayate announced.

"Yeah Shikamaru!" Ino cheered out. Kurenai returned to the stands.

"How is she?" Naruto asked, concerned for Hinata.

"She'll be fine. Thankfully the poison was a common type and they had the antidote here in the tower. They are just stitching her wounds up and she might even make it back to watch the final fights" Kurenai explained.

"Alrihgt. It's good that Hinata will be alright, and even better that she won" Kiba said quietly. "Now, that leaves Me, Shino, Naruto, Neji, Lee, those two Sand ninja, all three Kumo ninja, that one green-haired waterfall ninja and her teammate."

Naruto turned back to the arena to see the next match up. "Yeah! About time!" Naurto said.

"Akamaru! We got so lucky!" Kiba said.

"Next match: Kiba Inuzuka vs. Naruto Uzumaki" Hayate announced.

**A/N:** **Another change in the match ups. I made Ino and Sakura's match the same because I felt that it played too much into Sakura awakening her potential as a shinobi. Hinata and Neji don't face each other, but Neji still sees his chance to try and unnerve her. However, thanks to Naruto, she manages to regain her confidence and defeat Kankuro. As for Shikamaru's match...it would have been to troublesome to try and write a different match for him.**

**Reviews and Comments greatly appreciated.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Prelims: The Battles of the Jinchuriki**

Naruto and Kiba stepped to the floor. "Yeah Akamaru! It's like we have already won" Kiba cheered.

"Shut the hell up! And don't bring your puppy here. He'll only get in the way" Naruto responded.

"Idiot, Akamaru's fighting with me" Kiba explained.

"Umm, is that even allowed?" Naruto asked the proctor.

"Yes, animals and insects are the same as ninja tools. They are allowed" Hayate explained.

"Hmph. Fine, you need the help anyways" Naruto said.

"Akamaru, you stay out of this. I can take Naruto on my own" Kiba said.

"Naruto! Don't lose to him!" Sakura called out, returning the favor for him cheering for her.

'_Sorry Kakashi, but he can't beat Kiba'_ Kurenai thought.

"I feel bad for you, so I'll end it with one punch" Kiba said, remembering Naruto's failures back in the academy.

"Ah, is that so? Then me to" Naruto responded.

"Stop acting tough" Kiba said.

"**Hehe, this will be fun. I never was a fan of dogs anyways" **Kurama told Naruto.

'_Wait, are you going to help me?'_ Naruto asked the Fox.

"**Not physically. There are too many people here and you can beat him without me. I do know a trick or two that will help though. I'll tell you when the time is right."**

Naruto let out a little smirk. "Begin!" Hayate announced.

"Beast Mimicry Jutsu!" Kiba called out as he began to grow claws and his appearance began slightly more canine in appearance. He charged at Naruto with unbelievable speed, sending Naruto flying back. "Proctor, he won't be opening his eyes for a little."

'_Naruto?!'_ Ino and Chouji thought from the stands. Chouji had finally recovered from his battle with the sound ninja, although his hearing was still a little shaky.

Sakura glanced over at Kakashi and Sasuke, who gave her a smile, reassuring her that Naruto wouldn't be defeated so easily. Both Sakura and Sasuke knew Naruto could easily beat Kiba if he tapped into the Kyuubi's chakra. However, with the Hokage and a bunch of high ranking ninja present, only an idiot would do that. Though, in their eyes, Naruto was an idiot.

"Kiba…Never underestimate me!" Naruto said, standing up.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out. Although she normally wouldn't be so enthusiastic about Naruto, she wanted her teammate to win, plus she owed him for helping her face Ino. As for Sasuke, he wanted Naruto to win so that he might get a chance to fight him in the final round.

"Yosh, now that's the power of youth!" Lee called out as Gai nodded in agreement.

"Saying that as you bleed. I said to stop acting tough!" Kiba shouted out. Akamaru just barked along with Kiba.

"I let you hit me, to test your strength" Naruto said.

'_I'm going to need to teach him how to do that without getting beat to a bloody pulp'_ Kakashi said, thinking of Naruto's specialty jutsu.

"You should stop acting tough to. Use your dog, I'll beat both of you" Naruto grinned wiping the blood off his mouth.

"Grr, you'll regret that. Let's go Akamaru!" Kiba commanded as the two charged at Naruto. He threw a few smoke balls, making Naruto un able to see. As Naruto exited the cloud, Akamaru latched onto Naruto's arm.

"Yeah, way to go Akamaru!" Kiba said as he say Akamaru sitting next to an unconscious Naruto.

"Naruto?!" Sakura called out.

Akamaru returned to Kiba, but ended up biting his master's hand, surprising everyone. "A…Akamaru?" Kiba questioned, wondering why his best friend would suddenly do that to him.

"Grr…You fell for it" Akamaru said, disappearing in a puff of smoke, revealing that Naruto had used a transformation jutsu. The unconscious Naruto stood up, holding an immobilized and wining Akamaru.

"No…That can't be Naruto. He managed to combine a transformation jutsu AND a shadow clone?" Shikamaru said, shocked at Naruto surprisingly clever plan.

"Hmph, so you've gotten a little stronger. Well that doesn't matter. Time to get serious now" Kiba said, tossing a food pill to Akamaru. Suddenly, Akamaru's fur turned red and became a bit wilder. The re-energized Akamaru kicked the shadow clone, dispelling it and freeing himself. "Let's go Akamaru. Beast Clone Justu!" Akamaru jumped onto Kiba's back and turned into a copy of Kiba. Their face had a feral appearance, similar to when Naruto was using Kyuubi chakra.

Both of the Kibas charged at Naruto with great speed. Naruto was only just able to dodge it, by jumping in the air. "Now! Fang over Fang!" Kiba called out as he and Akamaru spun rapidly towards Naruto. Naruto landed, coughing up a bit of blood in the process.

"That's the difference in our abilities" Kiba said.

"I can't lose here. I will become Hokage!" Naruto exclaimed, forcing himself to his feet. Kiba laughed.

"You become Hokage?! You're even weaker than me! If you want to become Hokage, then I'll become Hokage." Kiba mocked Naruto's dream, big mistake. Now was time for Naruto to use his new jutsu. He flung a small amount of shuriken at Kiba, who just laughed at Naruto's desperation.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto called out as those few shuriken turned into nearly 100. Thanks to his speed, Kiba was able to dodge most of them, but he and Akamaru still got hit by a few. Fortunately for them, their wounds were only scratches

"Where did he learn that?" Asuma said, turning to a smiling Kakashi and Team 7.

"I might have showed them a thing or two" Kakahsi replied.

"But that's an A-rank technique" Asuma replied.

"It may be, but it not when you can already use shadow clones. Because Naruto could use the shadow clone jutsu, it was a C, maybe a low B rank in terms of difficulty to learn. Although he's still a long way from mastering it as the Hokage can create roughly one thousand shuriken clones" Kakashi explained.

'_Hmm, if he taught Naruto that technique, then I wonder what he taught the rest of his team'_ Asuma thought.

"**Kit, the key to defeating dogs like this is to use their nose against them" **Kurama explained, finally giving Naruto that advice he promised. Naruto knew what the Fox was referring to and reached into his pouch to pull out two yellow smoke bombs.

'_Please tell me those aren't…'_ Kakashi thought picking up on what Naruto was trying to hide.

Kiba and Akamaru charged at Naruto, hoping to pay him back for those shuriken. As they got close, Naruto took a deep breath and threw the smoke balls on the ground.

"Gahhh!" screamed Kiba. Both he and Akamaru, who had transformed back, were clutching their noses. Everyone's sweat dropped in the stands as Kakashi just let out a slight laugh.

"They don't call him the #1 unpredictable ninja for nothing" Kakashi said. Both Sasuke and Shikamaru had to admit that what Naruto just did was rather effective. "Given that he's a prankster, I've been wondering if Naruto carried any stink bombs on him."

'_Right now, Kiba's sense of smell is 1000x more powerful than a human'_ Kurenai thought, actually impressed at what Naruto had done. Kiba and Akamaru were both rolling in pain, as Naruto's stink bombs ravaged their super sensitive sense of smell.

Naruto created two shadow clones to restrain Akamaru this time. He then created four more to knock Kiba into the air. "Uz-u-ma-ki" the four clones called out as they sent Kiba into the air. The real Naruto then jumped above Kiba, kicking his head and slamming him into the ground. "Barrage!" Naruto called out.

'_He took that move from Sasuke'_ Kakashi thought, looking over at Sasuke, who let out a smirk.

"Winner: Naruto Uzumaki!" Hayate called out.

"Hehe! Yeah, I won!" Naruto started cheering. At that time, Hinata re-entered the room and saw Kiba lying on the ground and Naruto celebrating. She came to the conclusion that Naruto and Kiba just had a match and that Naruto had emerged victorious. While she was happy that Naruto had won, she was sad that Kiba lost. Upon seeing her re-enter the room, Naruto ran over to Hinata, hugging her and celebrating. This time she fainted, much to Naruto's confusion. Kurenai came over and picked her up and carried her up to the balcony.

"Umm…is she going to be okay, Kurenai-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, she's just tired that's all" Kurenai responded, letting out a slight chuckle, as they proceeded back the stands. _"He still doesn't get it…"_

"Naruto! That was an excellent display of youth!" Lee shouted. "I only hope my match is next so I can show everyone my youthful powers!"

Gai looked at his student and gave Lee his nice-guy pose, creeping out most of the people who saw that.

"Next match: Shino Aburame vs. Fu of the Waterfall!" Hayate announced.

"Darn, I'll never get to go" Lee said as his spirits deflated.

"No worries Lee, you will get your chance" Gai said, reassuring his student.

"Alright Shino, go kick some butt!" Naruto shouted out. No one could understand how Naruto had even more energy after fighting, but this was Naruto.

Shino and Fu faced each other and the proctor announced to begin. Shino started by unleashing a few of his insects on Fu, testing out the waters of the battle. However, Fu's response was completely different than he had expected.

"B-b-b-bugs?!" Fu said, putting Hinata's stuttering to shame.

"Yes 'bugs'" Shino responded, almost insulted by Fu's calling his insects 'bugs'. "I am an Aburame and my family lives in symbiosis with these 'bugs'."

As Shino's insects crept closer, Fu backed away, almost as if she was afraid of them. Images began to flash through her mind, causing her to cower against the wall in fear.

"What's going on?" Shikamaru asked, confused by Fu's reaction.

"It looks like she has a severe case of entomophobia" Kurenai said.

"En-to-mo-phobia?" Naruto asked, spelling out the word. Sakura sighed.

"It means fear of insects, you idiot" Sakura responded.

"Get them away from me!" Fu called out as Shino's insects crept closer.

"Do you forfeit then?" he asked.

"Fu, remember the task the elder gave to us!" Fu's teammate called out. Her memories came to her.

*Flashback*

"For the past decade, our village has been seen as weak. The only reason we haven't been attacked is because of our secret location" a village elder said to Fu and her team. "However, for the first time in years, we finally have ninja who are ready to compete in Konoha's chunin exams. Please go and show that our village is still strong."

"We won't disappoint you, Shibiki-sama" the three Waterfall ninja said, bowing to their leader.

*End Flashback*

Fu, realizing what she promised, decided that today was the day to get over her fears. She stood up and faced Shino, indicating that she would not surrender. However, it was too late as Shino's bugs swarmed her, sucking her chakra, and Fu's screams resumed. Fu's teammate looked on with sadness at what his teammate was enduring. Suddenly, Shino's insects were repelled with a violent blast of chakra and Fu was on the floor crying out in pain.

To everyone's horror, red chakra began to bubble around her. Every high ranking ninja rushed to her. "I'm sorry, but I must do this for the safety of the ninja here" the Hokage said. "Five-pronged Seal!" he said, slamming his fingers into Fu's stomach. The red chakra receded, but everyone's expressions did not. Fu dropped to the ground unconscious.

"Hokage-sama" Shino asked. "What was that? Why did you interfere with my fight?"

"It is something I cannot talk about right now, Shino. However, I declare you the victor of this match" the Hokage said. "Just know that I had to do so for everyone's safety."

Sakura and Sasuke turned their shocked expressions towards Naruto. "N-naruto? Are you alright?" Sakura asked, seeing the same look in his eyes that they say back in the forest when Naruto told them his little secret.

"Yeah, just shocked that's all" Naruto said back to them. He then turned to Yugito, who shared the same expression of pain and sadness that Naruto had just displayed. Both of them looked up at Gaara, only to feel his desire to kill someone now. Whoever was matched up against him had better be ready for a fight to the death.

'_Kurama?'_ Naruto said to the Fox.

"**Yeah, I saw and felt it to, Kit. She's one of us. Based on the chakra cloak, I would assume that Chomei, the Nanabi, is sealed within her. However, for some reason, that appears to have manifested into a strong fear of bugs"** the demon fox replied.

Shikamaru noticed that Naruto's expression was different from everyone else. "Naruto, do you know what's going on?" the lazy genius said.

"No" Naruto lied, not wanting to reveal everything right there in front of everyone. Shikamaru just shrugged it off, not wanting to put in the extra effort to question Naruto some more.

Kakashi at the same time looked at Naruto and even some of the reactions from his team_. 'He knows. And based on the rest of the team's reactions, I suspect they are aware as well. I wonder what happened'_ Kakashi thought, knowing he would have to talk to his team once this was over.

Trying to move on, Hayate quickly announced the next match. "Yugito Nii vs. Takaru Rigito."

Yugito and the remaining Waterfall ninja stepped forward. Yugito took a look at Takaru, who was still shaken by the previous event. She knew the easy way to win this would be to let a bit of her demon chakra flare, as she and the Nibi were on friendly terms with one another, but even Ibiki and Anko would see that as cruel.

"Begin!" Hayate called out.

"Katon: Flaming hellcats!" Yugito said as she unleashed two tiger-sized flaming cats on her opponent.

"Sution: Water Wave!" the still shaking Taigakaru ninja called out, just getting the attack off in time, dousing the flaming cats. Despite being at an elemental disadvantage, Yugito could see her opponent faulting with his moves. All she had to do was keep the pressure up and he would eventually slip.

After a few minutes of battering the Waterfall ninja, Yugito unleashed her final attack. "Fiery Claws!" she said, swiping at her opponent with a flaming cat-like claw and sending him back against the wall with severe burns to his torso and arms.

"Winner: Yugito Nii!" Hayate announced. Her team cheered and Team 7 even joined in a little.

"Lee, now it will be your turn for sure!" Gai shouted.

"NO!" Lee replied, much to everyone's surprise. "It's come this far, so I might as well go last!"

Everyone looked at the score board in anticipation for the next match. Gaara disappeared in a whirl of sand, appearing on the floor. "Get down here" he said, sending a death glare towards the Konoha ninja.

"Next Match: Gaara vs. Rock Lee!" Hayate called out. Everyone, especially Team 7 was shocked at the matchup, and some of the other Konoha ninja saw their faces.

"Yosh! It fell for it!" Lee exclaimed. "If you don't want to go last, then say that you do want to go last!" Gai sent him a thumb up as he saw Team 7's worried faces.

"Haha, do not worry. Lee will win this for sure" Gai said.

Kakashi tapped Sasuke on the shoulder. "Activate your Sharingan and watch the fight with that". Sasuke instantly knew why Kakashi wanted him to do that.

Lee jumped down to face Gaara. "To be able to face you this early…I could not be happier!" Lee said. The cork in Gaara's gourd shot towards Lee, only to be caught. "Now don't get antsy."

"Begin!" Hayate announced.

'_Lee, be careful'_ Gai thought observing the match.

"Spinning Leaf Whirlwind!" Lee shouted, launching a sweeping kick at Gaara's head. The sand around Gaara blocked it, much to Lee's surprise. The sand then lashed out at Lee, who flipped backwards to avoid it. Lee attacked again, only to be blocked by the sand.

Kankuro arrived next to Naruto, having been released from the medics after his loss to the 'little leaf brat'. "Heh, physical attacks are useless against Gaara. Regardless of Gaara's will, the sand acts on its own to protect Gaara. That's why, up until now, no one has ever been able to put a single scratch on him." Naruto was shocked upon hearing those words.

"Gai-sensei, why is Lee only using taijutsu attacks at close range?" Sakura asked, observing the battle. "Why doesn't he just use ninjutsu?"

"It's not that he doesn't use ninjutsu" Gai explained. "It's that he CAN'T use ninjutsu."

"What?!" Team 7 said in unison, although Sasuke was silent, his attention on Lee and the match.

"Lee has no skill for ninjutsu or genjutsu. In fact, he can't even conjure a single clone" Gai explained.

"B-but how did he get so far?" Sakura asked.

"When I met him, he was a complete failure. The only techniques available to him were taijutsu. That's why he can win." Gai said, turning his attention to Lee. "Lee! Take them off!"

"But Gai-sensei, that's only for a time I must protect my precious people" Lee said.

"It's alright. I'll allow it this once" Gai said. A smile quickly worked its way onto Lee's face as he sat down to reveal a set of training weights underneath his leg warmers.

'_Pfft, there is no way some measly weights will make a difference against Gaara'_ Temari and Kankuro thought.

"Ahh, much better. Now I can move free" Lee said, dropping the weights from the top of the statue in the room.

"BOOM!" was heard when the weights made contact with the floor, creating large craters in the floor, startling everyone, and waking up poor Hinata. Everyone had to pick their jaws up off the floor.

"Isn't that a bit much Gai?" Kakashi said to the Blue-Beast of Konoha.

"Hehe" Gai said, letting out a smile. "Go Lee!"

"Yes!" Lee exclaimed, taking off with unimaginable speed. He appeared behind Gaara, before anyone could see what was happening, everyone except Sasuke, who was following the fight with the Sharingan. Lee's attack was stopped just inches away from Gaara's head, closer than anyone had gotten before.

"He can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, so we focused all his time and effort on taijutsu" Gai explained. "Even if he can't do nin or genjutsu, he won't lose to anyone. He's a taijutsu specialist."

As Gai said that, Lee spun above Gaara, lashing out his foot and kicking the back of Gaara's head. Lee had just become the first person to land a blow on Gaara.

"Heh, I warned you. Lee won't lose to anyone" Gai said. "That kid is strong."

"Now we are just getting started" Lee said, facing his opponent. Lee disappeared again using his speed. He landed a series of blows to the sand wall around Gaara, confusing it until finally he made his move, throwing Gaara into the floor with his next punch.

"What?!" Lee said as sand began to peel away from Gaara's face. Suddenly a wave of killing intent shuddered throughout the room.

'_Damn, ever since this chunin exam started, Gaara's slowly been losing control_' Kankuro thought to himself.

"**This is getting bad Kit. I am even beginning to feel that damn raccoon trying to worm his way out"** Kurama said.

'_What?!'_ Naruto yelled inside his head.

"**It's true Naruto" **the Nibi said, coming into his head. Naruto had not noticed Yugito come behind him. **"I can feel the blood lust of that badger. Out of all of us, he was the most unstable. All he ever thought about was mindless killing. Unlike most of the Tailed Beasts, who tried to keep their distance from humans, the Ichibi would just waltz up to the nearest village and destroy it. I guess you could say the Ichibi is a true monster."**

'_Shit, THIS Gaara is awake'_ Kankuro thought. _'If he gets caught by this Gaara, there's going to be nothing left of him besides blood soaked sand.'_

"What the hell is that?! How did he block Bushy-brows' attack with that?" Naruto said, coming out of his quick conversation with the Nibi.

"It's the armor of the sand." A look of fear could be seen in his face by both Naruto and Yugito.

"Armor?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, it's a thin layer of sand that covers Gaara's body at his own will. It's different from his sand shield that acts on its own" Kankuro explained. "That's Gaara's ultimate defence. There are no weaknesses."

'_What do we do?'_ Naruto asked his demonic counterpart.

"**For now, hope your friend doesn't get himself killed" **Kurama said.** "Only if that badger gets out of control will we step in. If worse comes to worse, the seal on Yugito and Matatabi has already been released and she can transform into her tailed beast."**

'_Transform?! Into her tailed beast?!'_ Naruto said.

"**Yes. For you, that is what happens when the chakra cloak you gain from me reaches nine tails. You effectively turn into me. Although, since you and I are on friendly terms with one another, you will not die and you would be able to revert back to your own form at will" **Kurama explained.

"**That is the case with Yugito and I" **the Nibi said, creating a slight connection with Naruto so that she and Kurama could discuss the fight. **"You need to release that seal on you to complete your transformation beyond the chakra cloaks. However, my seal has been released already and the two of us work in conjunction with one another and she can even transform into my true form."**

'_If I can transform into you, then I really am a demon!"_ Naruto began to cry, pointing at the Fox.

"**Haha. It's not like that, Kit. I'm the demon. You are human. However, because you and I are on good terms, I won't take control and try to destroy you. That's what happened with the Nanabi, until the Hokage suppressed the chakra with that seal. The Nanabi was trying to escape and would have destroyed that girl's body and mind. You and Yugito on the other hand would retain your minds and be able to transform back into your original body. You follow?" **Kurama explained some more.

'_Err, sort of'_ Naruto said.

"**That's good enough for now. Just remember that I am the demon and you are human. We are separate entities, but we work together, lending each other our powers. The same is true for Yugito, but not for the sand kid and that waterfall girl. If their beasts broke free, they would be dead and the demons inside them would go on a rampage."**

'_Hmm, if Gaara's forced to use the armor, then that means he's in a defensive pinch as it actually takes up chakra' _Kankuro said to himself_. 'That means that kid is actually pretty good.'_

"Is that all?" Gaara asked Lee.

'_What? If that sand is protecting him, then I must do some damage above the sand's reach…'_ Lee thought, coming up with a risky idea_. 'The lotus'_. Lee looked up at Gai-sensei and got a nod of approval. He unwrapped the bandages on his arms.

"The lotus smashes down at high rates of speed" Gai said, catching everyone's attention. "That thin layer of sand is useless."

Lee then began to dart around Gaara at high speeds, creating a vortex-like effect. Suddenly, Gaara was kicked into the air, his altitude increasing with each of Lee's subsequent blows. Gaara's ascension was too fast for the sand and Gaara soon broke away from it. Lee then wrapped his bandages around Gaara and began the downward spiral at an extremely high velocity.

'_Even the primary lotus puts an extreme strain on the body. All of those kicks are extra dangerous as well'_ Gai worried. _'Please let it end with this!'_

"Primary Lotus!" Lee shouted as the vortex collided with the ground, leaving a large crater with Gaara lying in the middle. Lee had disengaged at just the right time and was standing, facing the crater; however, he was severely fatigued from the assault.

"Lee won!" Sakura shouted.

"What?!" Both Gai and Lee said as they saw Gaara's body crumble away, leaving a hollow shell of sand. "When did he switch?" Gai said.

"It was when you closed your eyes to pray Gai. Lee hesitated for a moment because of the pain and that's when he switched" Kakashi explained, catching it with his Sharingan.

"Hehe! This is turning out to be fun" Gaara said sinisterly. "I am going to enjoy killing you!"

'_The demon inside Gaara has finally awakened' _Kankuro thought.

Lee was thrown back into the wall by a wave of sand. He was barely standing after recovering himself.

"Why didn't he dodge it?" Sakura asked.

"The primary lotus is a double edged sword. It's a forbidden technique that puts massive amounts of strain on the user's body and legs" Gai said.

"Right now, he's feeling so much pain that he can barely move, right Gai?" Kakashi asked as Gai nodded.

"Lee, don't forget, you are a genius of hard work!" Gai called out as Lee remembered his days just out of the academy.

"Thank you, Gai-sensei" Lee said, before a wave of sand fell on top of him. Lee moved out of the way. 'With that, I am revived.'

"Lee is smiling even though he's getting pushed around?" Sakura asked. If anyone was as much into this battle as Gai, it was Sakura.

"No, now the tables will turn" Gai said, confusing Sakura a little. "The lotus of the leaf blooms twice."

"You are finished here" Gaara said to Lee.

"This will end now!" Lee proclaimed.

'_The lotus of the leaf blooms twice…'_ Kakashi thought on Gai's words. "Wait! No! You don't mean?!"

"Yes Kakashi, I do" Gai replied as everyone wanted to know what they were talking about.

"Then the eight inner gates?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, he will open them" Gai said. "He has the ability."

"Even so, such a dangerous technique…" Kakashi tried to argue.

"The extreme lotus!" Gai said. "That kid has a precious thing he wants to prove. So I turned him into a man that could accomplish it."

"How many gates can the kid open?" Kakashi asked.

"Five" Gai said, astonishing Kakashi.

"Wait, what are these gates?" Sakura said. Unlike everyone else, who was focused on the fight, Sakura had managed to get caught in between Gai and Kakashi's conversation.

"Sakura, the chakra coils of the body flow through eight inner gates that limit the flow of chakra through the body. They are the Gates of Opening, Healing, Life, Pain, Limit, View, Wonder, and finally Death, in that order" Kakashi explained. "The lotus forcibly releases these restraints. It increases your power tenfold, but destroys the body in the process. The initial lotus is done by opening the first gate."

"You release your brain's restraints with the first gate. Then you use the second gate to revitalize your stamina. After opening the third gate, you enter into the ultimate lotus" Gai explained.

"No way, the initial lotus does so much damage, does that mean?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura, after opening all the gates, for a short period of time, you will gain more strength than the Hokage, but you will most certainly die afterwards."

'_Neji, Sasuke, and even Naruto, I will not lose here!'_ Lee thought. "Third gate, Gate of Life open!" Lee said as power began to surge out from him. Lee's skin turned red and his eyes turned white as everyone was now paying 150% attention to the fight. "Fourth gate, Gate of Pain open! Fifth gate, Gate of Limit open!"

"K-kakashi, what is this?" Sasuke stammered out.

"The power of the eight inner gates" Kakashi told his student. "Sasuke, just know that this power is considered forbidden for a reason."

Before Gaara even knew what was hitting him, he was hit multiple times, in the air, in rapid succession. His sand armor was being ripped off him by Lee's assault.

'_Neji, this technique was going to be for defeating you. But I will show it here and now'._ Gaara was thrown into the floor, sending a massive shockwave echoing throughout the building. Some of the people present were afraid the arena was even going to collapse. With his bandages still wrapped around Gaara, Lee reeled him in for one more blow. "This is it! Extreme Lotus!" Gaara was slammed into the ground just as the pain became too much for Lee.

"No way! The ground turned to sand!" Gai said, utterly shocked that Gaara had survived that.

The sand crept close to Lee, who couldn't move. It wrapped around Lee's left arm and leg. Gaara clenches his fist as Shino and Hinata saw the horror that was about to come. "Desert Coffin!" The sand surrounding Lee's arm and leg imploded, crushing them. "Now, die!" Gaara called out as more sand made its way to Lee. Suddenly, Gai jumped in the way, dispersing the sand.

"Why? Why did you save him?" Gaara said, clutching his head as everyone looked onto Lee, saddened by the damage he had received. Some of them knew that Lee's career as a shinobi was most likely over.

"Because, he is my beloved student and comrade" Gai responded. Gaara got up and walked away, obviously in internal strife with the demon inside him.

"Winner, Gaara" Hayate announced. To everyone's disbelief Lee stood up, unconscious and with a crushed arm and leg, not to mention having opened the five of the eight gates. Gai turned to Lee.

"Lee, you shouldn't be standing. The fight is over, I'm sorry" Gai said, realizing that Lee was actually unconscious. "Lee…you really have become a spectacular ninja" Gai cried as Lee collapsed into his sensei's arms. Naruto and Sakura both rushed to Lee's side. Naruto sent a look of death, even managing to let a little of Kurama's chakra slip out, giving him the demonic eyes for just a moment. However, it was long enough for Gaara to get Naruto's message.

"Medical team, please get here quick!" Hayate called as the stretchers were brought.

"You're his jonin instructor? Please come here for a second." one of the med-nins said to Gai. "There were torn mussels and broken bones throughout his entire body. We could do something about that if that wasn't the only problem. The damage sustained by his left arm and leg are severe. I'm sorry to say this, but he will never be able to live as a shinobi again."

To say everyone who heard that was shocked to the core would be an understatement. Even inside Naruto, Kurama was beginning to release his anger. For the demon, that was probably the most entertaining battle he had seen in a long time, and he was truly rooting for Lee. What really enraged the Fox was the fate that Gaara had left him with. The next time he and the Ichibi met, heads and tails would be flying.

"No…it just can't be possible. It can't be over for Bushy-brows" Naruto started to tear up. "If that's so, then what is he supposed to do? He wanted to fight against Sasuke and Neji to prove himself, can't you do anything about it?!" Kakashi was doing everything he could to restrain the screaming boy as the medics carried Lee away.

To say everyone was shocked to the core by that match would be an understatement. Neji just looked at Lee. _'You never realized it Lee, the heavens will never allow a pawn who puts their own body at risk to advance…'_ he thought.

With most of the field trying to regroup, the last two matches were getting underway. Only Temari, Neji, and Omoi and Karui of Kumo remained.

"Next match: Neji Huyga vs. Karui"

"Heh, a Huyga. This should be interesting" Karui said quietly.

**A/N: So, there you go. Naruto's, Yugito's, Fu's, and Gaara's matches. I know I didn't talk much about Fu but she will be brought back in a later chapter and more about her will be explained.**

**Reviews and Comments greatly appreciated**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Concluding the Prelims**

Neji and Karui stepped forward to face each other. "Well, well. I haven't seen a Huyga in a while. Tell me are they still so protective of their Byakugan? Or have they loosened up after realizing their mistake?"

"What mistake are you talking about?" Neji asked, curious as to how she seemed to be involved in some matter regarding the Huyga.

"Begin!" Hayate announce, afraid another match would start off with a long discussion.

Karui dew her sword as Neji slipped into his Gentle Fist stance. Karui swiped at Neji, only for him to parry it and retaliate with his own attack, which Karui dodged.

"Heh, so I guess you really do want to know" Karui said, analyzing Neji's previous attack. "Think back, almost nine years. To the day that we came to your village to accept a peace treaty."

Neji's eyes widened. Even in the stands, Hinata heard this and was slightly affected.

"What are you talking about?" Neji replied.

"You don't know? On that night, you damn Huyga killed my father because of their damn paranoia about someone 'stealing' their Byakugan!" Karui shouted. Neji soon let his shock leave him as he became more focused.

"**Oh this is going to get good" **Kurama said to Naruto.

'_What are you talking about?'_

"**You can't sense that boys killing intent? Well I guess not, since it is being directed at that girl"**

'_Wait, why would Neji want to kill that Kumo ninja?'_ Naruto asked.

"**I don't know. Just watch and maybe you'll find out."**

Karui felt Neji's killing intent and shuttered a little. "W-what is this?" she said.

"That night, that your father was killed" Neji said angrily. "You demanded the head of the Huyga clan. However, the person who was killed by your father's action…was my father! You're father is just as responsible for my father's death as the head family is."

"What?!" Naruto said up in the stands. "Uhh…uhh, hey Hinata. You're a Huyga, what are they talking about?"

Hinata sighed, hoping that this would not come up with the presence of Kumo ninja. "Nine years ago, when I had just turned three, that was the same day that Kumo had come to Konoha to sign a treaty to end the war that they had been fighting for years. That night, well…" Hinata said. "t-they kidnapped me. My father killed the kidnapper and the Cloud ninja demanded my father's life or they would renew the war."

Neji heard Hinata and directed some of his killing intent towards her as well. Naruto could feel it now. Gaara had been feeling it ever since the match begun and his hunger for death grew even more, especially after being denied Lee.

"Like I said, the _head_ family decided to use my father instead, because he and Hinata's father were identical twins, born only minutes apart" Neji said, emphasizing the 'head family' with a hint of anger mixed in. "However, fate has smiled upon me today. While I am not able to kill the men responsible for my father's death, one of their daughters has been chosen to face me and so I shall begin my…"

"Revenge…" Sasuke muttered, everyone now turning to him. I know how he feels as I am the same way. "He wants to kill those responsible for his father's death, the same way I want to kill Itachi for killing my clan." Sasuke had the same type of anger and rage mixed into his voice that Neji had.

"What are you talking about you little punk?" Karui shouted to Neji. "You damn Huyga killed my father!"

"They may have, but your father made the first move in trying to kidnap a member of the main family" Neji scoffed. "If it wasn't for your village's actions, my father would still be alive and you would not be destined to die at my hands today."

"Why you little…" Karui charged at Neji out of rage. Surprisingly, Neji was keeping his calm, despite the conversation that had just taken place. Karui drew her sword, ready to impale Neji for his insolence.

"Kaiten!" Neji called out, sending her flying back into the wall.

"That was…!" Hinata said, shocked at the move Neji had just used.

"What was that?" Ino said as everyone was also stupefied by Neji's defense.

"I-it the Kaiten, the Heavenly Spin. I-it's a Huyga t-technique that has b-belonged to the m-main family" Hinata said.

"Wow! Does that mean you can use it, Hinata?!" Naruto said excitedly.

"N-no. M-my father has not e-even tried to t-teach it t-to me yet" Hinata replied.

"It's because she's a failure" Neji said, stopping his rotation.

"Shut up, Neji!" Naruto shouted, trying to defend Hinata. "No one asked you!"

"I'm just telling the truth" Neji said, facing Karui who had just been slammed into the wall, leaving a nice impact crater next to the one Lee had made in the previous match. Neji charged in, seeing the opening. He landed a few attacks on Karui's arms and legs as they went numb and she fell to her knees.

"What is up with those attacks?" Naruto said. "It's like Neji only touched her and she's already down."

"I-It's the Gentle Fist style" Hinata said. Like Gai in the last match, and Lee in Hinata's match, she had found herself as the commentator for this match. All eyes were now on her as she began to turn red and back away.

"Gentle fist?" Sakura asked.

"Y-yes. It's the style of taijutsu passed down in the Huyga clan" Hinata explained, taking a deep breath to calm her down. "We inject our own chakra into an opponent's chakra coils."

"Unlike the taijutsu style that Lee and I use, the Iron Fist, which focuses on dealing external damage and breaking bones, the Gentle Fist focuses on using chakra to attack and destroy an opponent's inner chakra coils" Gai said, returning to the fight as the medics would not allow him to go with Lee. "It may not look impressive, but you'll definitely feel it afterwards."

"What do you mean by, inner chakra coils?" Sakura asked.

"Like veins that carry blood, chakra coils carry chakra throughout your body. These chakra coils are directly integrated into your body's internal organs, such as the heart and brain" Gai explained further.

"Wait, how can the Huyga even do that?" Sakura asked. "It's not like you can see the inner coils of the body."

"W-with normal eyes, n-no" Hinata said. Everyone had apparently forgotten about their resident Huyga in the stands as she had managed to pull a Shino and disappear from everyone's attention when Gai took over. "B-but I can s-see them with the Byakugan." Everyone looked at Hinata's eyes and noticed the swollen veins around them and the outline of her pupil.

"Wow! Really?!" Naruto exclaimed. "You really are amazing!" Hinata blushed deeply at this.

"The gentle fist is different than normal attacks in that you release chakra from your palms and inject it directly into your opponent's body, damaging their inner coils" Kakashi explained, realizing that it was now going to be difficult for a bright red Hinata to say anything cohesively. "Throughout the chakra network, there are 361 pressure points, or tenketsu, that control the flow of chakra throughout the body. By injecting chakra into these tenketsu, the gentle fist allows the Huyga to temporarily halt the flow of chakra through that point. Because of that, they possess the potential to cut off chakra from parts of your body, making it useless for their opponent to use or mold chakra in certain parts of the body, am I right Hinata?"

Hinata nodded and focused her Byakugan on Karui, who was still being beaten by Neji. He was going to enjoy this opportunity and prolong it as much as possible. "I-it look l-like s-she has no more chakra flowing i-into both her arms and legs."

"What?! Wow!" Naruto said.

"**Hey Kit"** Kurama said from inside him, catching the blonde's attention.

"_What is it? I'm trying to watch the fight?"_ Naruto said to his resident demon.

"**Sometime soon, get together with that little vixen you've been talking to. I want to try out something that may allow you to reopen blocked chakra points"** Kurama said.

"_Vixen?"_ Naruto asked, confused at Kurama's terminology.

"**Yes, vixen. A female mate. I want you to get together with that Huyga girl and train with her once or twice as I want to test something out."**

"_M-m-mate?!"_ Naruto shouted, practically fainting inside his head.

"**Uhg. You're so dense. At times I wonder why I got stuck with you."**

Back in the arena, Neji made a series of strikes, this time hitting Karui directly in the chest as Hinata cringed a little. "What is it, Hinata?" Sakura said.

"T-those l-last s-strike hit her heart and the chakra network around it" Hinata stuttered out.

"What?! Then that means he really does mean to kill her?!" Sakura said.

Neji backed away, analyzing the damage done. Karui fell forward onto her hands and knees, coughing up a lot of blood. Soon after, she collapsed.

"Winner: Neji Huyga!" Hayate said, checking the damage done to Karui. Neji looked up into the stands, sending a rather evil grin towards Hinata, making her step back and fall. "Get a medic in here quick. She's going into cardiac arrest!"

Most of the genin in the stands shuttered at the call from the proctor. A few medics came in and began initial treatment, before taking her away for further attempts at stabilizing her. Neji walked back up the stairs, sending another look to a shaking Hinata.

"Stop that Neji!" Naruto shouted. "Why must you pick on Hinata like that? What has she done to you?"

"It's not what she did, it's what her father did" Neji said, sending the same look to her that he did to Karui before beating her to death.

"Neji, enough!" Gai said, apologizing to Kurenai and Hinata for his student's behavior. Neji just turned and walked away. Most likely, Gai had just saved Hinata from a rogue strike to her chest as well.

"For the final match, will the remaining two contestants please take the floor" Hayate announced. Temari and Omoi stepped forward.

To say the match was quick and one sided would be an understatement. Wanting to end it quickly, Temari opened her fan to the third star and hit Omoi with her Fuuton: Wind Scythe Jutsu. Omoi was unconscious before he even had a chance to attack.

"Alright, (cough) now that the matches are over, will the contestants who have advanced please step forward?" Hayate announced as the jonin instructors and the Hokage returned to the stage, which had been half destroyed thanks to Lee's weights. The following finalists took the floor, out of the 200 that started the exam, only 11 had made it to the 3rd round. This was still more than Anko had anticipated, but it was better than the 22 that remained before the preliminary.

"Congratulations on making it to the third round" the Hokage announced. "I guess it is time to start explaining the third round."

* * *

"Orochimaru-sama" Kabuto said, appearing before Orochimaru. "The prelims have ended and the third round is set to begin in one month."

"Good. I look forward to those matches, especially Sasukes" the snake grinned.

"Orochimaru-sama, regarding Sasuke?" Kabuto asked. "It appears as if you were going to give his the curse mark, but he had no mark, did Konoha find a way to remove it?"

"No" Orochimaru hissed. "My plans hit an unexpected bump, and Sasuke never received my gift. However, it is only a minor setback and I will have my hands on him soon enough."

* * *

"As I said before, the matches of the main event will be seen by everyone" the Hokage announced. "Each of you will fight to represent the strengths of your country and I would like you to fight with all your reserves. That is why the final event will be held a month from now."

"What? We are not going to do it now?" Naruto asked.

"No. You could say I'm giving you a month for preparations. Unlike today's battles, where you faced an unknown opponent, you will know your opponents and you will be given time to prepare accordingly" the Hokage explained. "Use this month to rest and train accordingly. I'd like to dismiss you now, but first we must decide the match ups for the next round."

"What the hell is it?!" Naruto shouted impatiently. "I've got to train for the next round!"

"Inside this box are numbers" Anko explained. "Now, each of you will take a number and this will determine the match ups for the next round." Anko passed the box around and everyone selected their numbers.

"Alright, now read off in order your numbers and I will make the bracket" Ibiki explained.

"One" Neji said.

"Two" Naruto said.

"Thee" Hinata said.

"Four" Shino read off.

"Five" Haku read.

"Six" Yugito said.

"Seven" Sasuke said.

"Eight" Gaara red, glaring over at Sasuke, who returned the look.

"Nine" Temari said.

"Ten" Shikamaru yawned.

"Eleven" Dosu said.

Ibiki thought for a second after writing the numbers and made up the bracket. "Here are the first matches: Neji Huyga vs. Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Huyga vs. Shino Aburame, Haku Yuki vs. Yugito Nii, Sasuke Uchiha vs. Gaara, Shikamaru Nara vs. Dosu, and Temari will face the winner of the last match. As you can see, there are three separate brackets, with each one having its own winner. The final match will consist of all three victors facing off in a three-way match to determine the overall winner."

Sasuke was definitely satisfied with his match up. A month of nothing but training would give him plenty of time to become stronger. Naruto was finally going to be able to pay Neji back for insulting Hinata and maybe even do something about that stick lodged up his ass. Being on the same team, Hinata and Shino quickly made an agreement to respect each other and not hold back in their coming fight. Haku and Yugito were both neutral about their match. They really had nothing to truly prove besides their own abilities. Shikamaru just saw everything as troublesome, Temari was indifferent, and Dosu wanted to prove to Orochimaru that he wasn't a guinea pig.

"You are all dismissed now, unless you have any questions" the Hokage announced.

"I have one" Shikamaru said. "Since this is a tournament and there is only one winner, does that mean only one person will be promoted to chunin?"

"No. Throughout the tournament, there will be judges judging your abilities. It is possible to become a chunin even if you lose your first match. Likewise, there is a chance that the victor could remain a genin" the Hokage explained.

"So, there is a possibility that everyone here will become a chunin?" Temari asked.

"Yes" the Hokage responded. "Although, think of it this way. The more matched you fight, the more chances you have to convince the judges that you have the skills to become chunin. Thank you all for your efforts in the second exam. You are all dismissed until one month from now."

* * *

"Alright, back in the village!" Naruto said, arriving at the village after the teams were escorted out of the forest. Teams 7, 8, and 10 were walking together. "Who wants to get ramen?!"

"Geez, is that all you ever think about?" Sakura said. Although she heard her stomach growling and figured so real food for the first time in five days would be nice.

"I have a better idea" Asuma suggests. "How about Barbe-Q?" Chouji quickly became excited. "Why don't we enjoy this night together to celebrate the six of you who have moved onto the third round, before you all begin your training tomorrow?" Everyone liked the idea, except Naruto who still had ramen on the brain, and they quickly found themselves at the favorite restaurant of Team 10.

Afterwards, the rookie 9 and Haku went their separate ways. Hinata ended up back at the Huyga compound and thankfully for her, Neji wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Hinata, I heard you made it into the finals" Hiashi said, appearing from their home.

"Y-yes, father. I-I have" Hinata said, giving a quick bow to her father and hoping for some sort of acknowledgement.

"Very well, be in the dojo tomorrow no later than 8:00am. We begin your training" Hiashi said in an emotionless tone. This was not the sort of acknowledgement that she had hoped to receive from her father; however, the fact that he was going to train her for the finals had to mean something.

* * *

Naruto was up early the next morning getting the ramen that he never got last night from Ichiraku. Kakashi then walked inside. "Hey, hey! Kakashi-sensei, I have a request."

"No need to tell me, I already know what you're going to ask" Kakashi said. "I already found someone to supervise your training."

"What?!" Naruto shouted, waking half the still asleep village. "But I want you!"

"I'm sorry, Naruto" Kakashi apologized. "But I have more important things I need to take care of."

"Hmph, you're just planning to train Sasuke" Naruto said, seeing right through Kakashi.

"Now, now, don't say it like that. Besides I've found you a much more reliable teacher" Kakashi explained.

"Yeah?! Like who?" Naruto questioned.

"Me" a new man said, coming onto the scene.

"It's you!" Naruto shouted and pointed at the man. "The closet perv!"

"Ebisu-sensei's a closet perv?" Kakashi questioned Naruto's last comment.

"Why the hell does he have to be my teacher?! He's weaker than me in the first place!" Naruto explained. "I beat this guy before with my harem jutsu!" Suddenly, Ebisu covered Naruto's mouth to prevent any more words from coming out.

"Harem jutsu?" Kakashi asked, now seriously confused.

"It's nothing, really!" Ebisu said, trying to dispel any suspicion. He turned to Naurto. "I'll treat you to all-you-can-eat ramen later on."

"You better!" Naruto responded.

"**Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"** Kurama said as Naruto agreed with the demon.

* * *

"Haku" Zabuza said, appearing at Haku's apartment.

"Yes, Zabuza-sama" Haku responded to his former master.

"So you made it to the chunin exams, not bad" Zabuza said. "Although you don't really need it, I'll be supervising your training over the next few weeks. I feel like some of these kids are going to be a real handful."

"Yes, I would much appreciate that" Haku said politely. With that, Haku had his teacher for the next few weeks.

"Good, you're here" Hiashi said, entering the dojo to find Hinata already there. "Let's begin, shall we?"

"What are we doing, father?" Hinata asked.

"We are beginning your training. I can't have you embarrassing the Huyga main branch in front of some very important individuals" Hiashi said, depressing Hinata with his comment. "We need to work on your speed and accuracy, pus we need to strengthen your Byakugan so that you can effectively see tenketsu in battle."

"Yes, father. Where are we starting then?" Hinata asked. "First, you are not to deactivate your Byakugan during these training sessions for any reason. This will help initially to strengthen it. We will begin working on your accuracy and then your speed. Finally, we will incorporate those with your Byakugan. Just so you know, I expect you to be able to use our family's signature stance for the finals."

Hinata knew what this meant. He would be hammering the eight trigrams stance into her head these next few weeks.

* * *

Shikamaru woke up, after his alarm had been going off for the past three hours. It really was a troublesome instrument that he had to deal with each morning.

"I'm surprised you're up this early" Shikaku, Shikamaru's father, said to him. "Usually you sleep in an extra hour or two."

"Well, you know. Asuma-sensei wants me to train for the upcoming match" Shikamaru explained. "It really is troublesome."

'_Hmm, so my opponent is Hinata' _Shino thought, meeting his father outside the courtyard of their house. _'We both know each other's moves rather well, so it will come up to whoever puts in the most work over these next four weeks'._

"Son, are you okay with this? I mean she is your teammate" asked Shibiki, Shino's father.

"I am. We promised each other that we would work hard these next weeks and fight our hardest when our match came. To be honest, I am looking forward to it" Shino said, letting out more words than he usually does.

* * *

Kakashi was climbing a rather high cliff, with one hand tied behind his back. He knew he shouldn't have accepted Gai's challenge. Suddenly, his feet slipped and he barely caught himself from falling. Seeing the top, he knew he was almost there. "Gate of Opening, open!" Kakashi said, giving himself a boost of energy and reaching the top. "Oh, you're here already."

"No, you're just late, as usual" Sasuke said, standing opposite him atop the towering plateu.

"Right then, let's get started" Kakashi said. "I'm sure you remember Lee's taijutsu from using your sharingan?"

"I do, but what does that have to do with this?" asked Sasuke.

"Well, Lee had the right idea. You will need an extreme amount of speed if you are to defeat Gaara, and to learn what I am going to teach you."

"Go on…" said Sasuke.

"You know, the reason I want to train you, is that…" Kakashi said, handing Sasuke a piece of paper. Sasuke knew what this paper was. It was chakra litmus paper, used to determine the elemental affinity of ninja. Kakashi channelled chakra into his and it crinkled. Sasuke did the same and received the same result. "You are the same type as me." Kakashi formed the Chidori in his hand and Sasuke let out a smile. This was going to be interesting.

**A/N: So that is it for the preliminaries. Reviews and Comments are greatly appreciated**

* * *

**Comment replies:**

**iamjmph01: I am trying to make the changes small and build up gradually as the story goes on. Further in the story, I will begin to completely deviate from the canon story line as the changes will obviously have an effect on the future of the storyline. Also, regarding Naruto, I will be having him mature much faster than he does in the canon. Of course, he is still Naruto and I have to keep some of his characteristics, but as I said, I plan maturing him much sooner than in canon.**

**Ryuujin96: Regarding Hinata, she is one of the characters that I want to see develop more. While I thought about putting her against Neji, I could only think of the same result occurring that happened in canon. I am giving her this opportunity in the story to help her progress to the point where I want her at. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Jiraiya, the Pervy Sage**

"Why did we come to this place?" Naruto said. "Are we going to take a bath before we start trainng?"

"No, we are here to train" said Ebisu. "In fact, you see that water over there; this is called the water walking exercise. We are going to use that to work on your basic chakra control." Ebisu demonstrated by gathering some chakra into his feet and took a few steps onto the water.

'_You have got to be kidding me. I already did that damn chakra control exercise'_ Naruto thought to himself.

"**Like I said, I have a bad feeling that this guy is going to be completely useless" **Kurama joked.

'_Meh, let's see what he says when I get it first go'_ replied Naruto.

Naruto quickly gathered chakra in his feet and then proceeded to take a few steps out, balancing himself perfectly.

"You see? Now that wasn't so bad. I must have finally gotten through to you or something" bragged Ebisu.

"No…I've already done this damn training with Kakashi-sensei!" shouted Naruto. "Now teach me something useful!"

"Ehehehe" said a man with long white hair who was peeping through a hole in the woman's bathing area. Ebisu noticed the man and challenged him for peeping on the innocent girls.

"I don't know who you are but…I will not forgive such shameless behavior!" said a charging Ebisu.

"Huh?" said the man, who turned around and proceeded to summon a toad, twice the size as him. Before Ebisu could react, the toad wrapped it's tongue around Ebisu and flung him half way across the hot-spring that they were training at. "Keep it quiet. What are you going to do if I get caught?" Ebisu was on the ground unconscious.

'_Closet perv is unconscious? Who is this open perv?'_ thought Naruto.

"**That was embarrassing"** responded Kurama.

'_Hmph, he's totally knocked out. I knew this guy was a weakling' _Naruto thought, the Fox agreeing to every word.

"Who the hell are you and what is with that huge frog?!" shouted Naruto. The mystery pervert got into some sort of stance.

"heh, Thanks for asking. Mt. Myoboku-gama's holy master sage, also known as the Toad Sage!" the pervert said. "I am Jiraiya!"

"Hey Pervy Sage, what did you do? He was supposed to train me" said Naruto.

"It's because he got in the way of my work" Jiraiya said. "I'm a writer working on a novel." Jiraiya pulled out a book from his robe that read 'Icha Icha Paradise'.

"Gahh, I know that book" shouted Naruto, remembering Kakashi sensei.

"Oh, so you know? I must be getting pretty famous" smirked Jiraiya.

"That's a nasty book!" screamed Naruto. "And what the hell do you mean by work?! All you were doing was peeping on those women, you pervert!"

"You fool! I'm not just a pervert!" responded Jiraiya. "Peeping gives me inspiration for my writing."

"You liar, what a lame excuse!" said Naruto with a clenched fist. "Now what the hell are you going to do about my training?!"

"**Hey Kit, you want some of my chakra to beat this pathetic guy up?" **snickered Kurama.

'_No thanks. I don't need that much to beat this perv!'_ responded Naruto to the laughing Fox.

"Training?" questioned Jiraiya. "You mean that water walking exercise?"

"So you know about it" stated Naruto. "Then take responsibility and help me with my training."

"I hate disrespectful brats, and I don't like men!" shouted Jiraiya.

"Well, I mean that Icha Icha Paradise book is so cool" lied Naruto.

"Liar, that book is for adults" said the Perverted Sage. "Compliments will get you nowhere. I'm a sage, not some fool, you annoying brat."

"**Hate to say it Kit, but there is only one way to beat this pervert."**

Naruto sighed, agreeing with the Fox. "Sexy jutsu!" Naruto transformed into a busty woman, whose privates were barely covered by a thin layer of smoke.

"I like you!" shouted Jiraiya, with a perverted look on his face. Both Naruto and the fox thought of him as an idiot. "Wow, my kind of girl. What do you call this jutsu?"

"It's my sexy jutsu" the female Naruto said with a seductive tone.

"What creativity, you're a genius!" stated Jiraiya.

'_I get the feeling all adult men are weak against this jutsu' _thought Naruto.

"**Humans are so pitifully embarrassing."** Sadly, Naruto agreed.

"So will you help me with my training?" the female Naruto said, making herself irresistible as possible.

"YES! But on one condition" stated Jiraiya. "In my presence, you must always be in that form."

"I knew it, you're just a perverted old man!" shouted Naruto.

"It's not true kid, I'm not just a pervert!" said Jiraiya. He suddenly got a creepy look on his face. "I'm a super pervert!"

"**Yep, he's totally crazy. Let's just get out of here and I'll try to teach you a thing or two"** said Kurama.

'_What good will that do? You're locked up inside my head!'_ shouted Naruto. He was just frustrated. First Kakashi dumps him onto that Ebisu weakling, then he meets this creepy pervert.

"Heh, that was just a joke. I'll look over your training, just do what you were doing before" Jiraiya said. Naruto walked onto the water, doing the exercise perfectly.

"If you can already do that? Then why were you training with that in the first place?" Jiraiya asked.

"Because the closet perv is an idiot" said Naruto with the Fox nodding his head.

"Tell you what. Go take a bath and relax for a little bit. Afterwards, I'll work on teaching you something" Jiraiya said.

"Yeah, yeah. You just want to peep for a little longer" stated Naruto.

"No really, you look really tense and it will help with the training" explained Jiraiya. As Naruto got into the hot spring near them, Jiraiya noticed the seal on Naruto's stomach. 'Just as I thought. It's about time I teach him to control the Kyuubi's chakra.'

About an hour later, Naruto met up with Jiraiya to begin his training. "Alright kid. First, there is something I need you to understand. You have two types of chakra. Have you ever felt a special type of chakra?" Jiraiya looked over at the collapsed Ebisu. "Actually, I think we had better take this guy in."

"…**Really?" **Now the Fox was getting frustrated after that pointless day.

* * *

Gaara was sleeping on top of a large statue in the outskirts of Konoha. "You sure got me, don't you sleep?" said Dosu, failing to sneak up on Gaara.

"What do you want?" said Gaara, with an irritated tone.

"Well, I was going to kill you as you slept, but since you're awake, we can fight right here. I'll defeat you and have a higher chance of fighting Sasuke" claimed Dosu. "I know about your sand attacks. I wonder if its faster than my sound."

"'He' gets blood thirsty during the full moon" Gaara said mysteriously. Gaara transformed into a large figure, shaking Dosu to the core.

"W-what are y-you?!" Those were Dosu's last words as a gigantic sand arm slammed down on top of him, killing him.

* * *

Naruto was fast asleep. The previous day had been rather stressful and he needed the rest. Jiraiya was on a building overlooking Naruto's apartment when Ebisu approached him.

"I'm sorry for taking your pupil, Ebisu" said Jiraiya.

"Don't worry. I was just surprised…that's all" explained Ebisu. "Hokage-sama's been looking for you a long time without even a trace. It's just surprising that you showed up in the village like this. So you're here because of Orochimaru?"

"No" stated Jiraiya. "I just came here to work on my novels. I'm the type that doesn't stick his neck into other's troubles."

"But you must understand" said Ebisu. "Against one of the Sanin, another Sanin is needed. We need you Jiraiya-sama!"

* * *

Two figures were observing Gaara's killing of Dosu. "Wow, so that is what his true identity is" one of the figures said.

"Yes, but he was a Sound ninja, are you sure?" Baki, the Suna team's instructor said.

"It's fine, he was no longer useful" said Kabuto, revealing himself to be a Sound ninja. "Besides, there is no need for that anymore. My true identity has already been discovered."

"Then, if they find you with me, our plans to crush the Leaf will be ruined" Baki stated.

"Well, to be accurate, they didn't uncover my identity" stated Kabuto. "I revealed myself."

"I wanted to see how the Leaf would react. Taking Sasuke afterwards should not be too much of a problem" said Kabuto.

"Fine, but if it appears you are failing, then we will withdraw" said Baki. "The Sand will stay in the background until the very end. That is Kazekage-sama's will."

'_How can this be?'_ Hayate thought, hiding behind a pillar.

Kabuto handed Baki a scroll. "Here are our plans. Also, it is about time THEY know."

'_Our ally, the Sand, connected with the sound?'_ thought Hayate. _'I must inform the Hokage.'_

"One more thing. I'll take care of our little rat" said Kabuto. Hayate knew he had been noticed and took off.

"No, leave him to me. As a partner of the Sound, I should do something" Baki said, taking off to catch Hayate.

"Mr. Examiner, what are you doing here?" Baki questioned.

"Looks like there is no other choice but to fight (cough)" Hayate said. "Crescent Moon Dance!" Hayate drew his sword and swung at Baki, creating the afterimages associated with the move. However, his attack only dug about an inch into Baki's shoulder pad.

"Hmm, the Leaf Style, Dance of the Crescent Moon" said Baki. "Impressive, to master it at such a young age. However, an actual blade can be stopped. But a blade of wind cannot." Hayate was torn at by numerous wind blades. Shortly after, he lay on the building top, dead.

* * *

"Alright kid, I'm going to make a technique that will utilize your two types of chakra. You remember our talk from yesterday, right?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yeah" Naruto said.

"Alright, then try and release that special chakra right now" Jiraiya said.

"**Ugh, it's like he wants me to just sit on command" **Kurama said.

'_Yeah, yeah. You know what to do'_ thought Naruto back to his tenant.

Suddenly, Jiraiya was thrown back by a burst of the Kyuubi's chakra coming from Naruto. '_Wow! He was able to release it like that?' _thought a surprised Jiraiya. "Hmm, well this could be interesting."

"Well, it seems like you already know about that chakra source" said Jiraiya to Naruto.

"Yeah. I know" replied Naruto. "Does that mean you know about Fuzzball too?"

"…**Fuzzball? Really?"** replied the Fox, seriously annoyed at Naruto's comment.

'_It's not like I could just say out loud that you are inside of me. I have to keep it somewhat discrete'_ thought Naruto back to his demon inhabitant.

Jiraiya nodded. "Let me ask you, how do you know about the Kyuubi?"

"Well, we kind of met back during this mission to the Land of Waves. He's really not that bad once you get to know him" explained Naruto.

"WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOT THAT BAD?! HE's THE DEMON FOX THAT ATTACKED OUR VILLAGE!" shouted Jiraiya, trying to catch his breath.

"It was really all a big misunderstanding" said Naruto. "He didn't want to attack the village, but was forced by some sort of powerful genjutsu."

"Powerfull genjutsu?..." Jiraiya thought for a minute. "The only one in history who had the power to control the Kyuubi was Madara Uchiha, and he's dead."

"Well, apparently he came back that night and attacked the village. The fox told me something about a guy in a mask controlling him with a chakra that felt like that Madara guy" said Naruto.

'_Hmm. Then what my informant told me might just be true. This is something I'm going to have to look into'_ Jiraiya thought.

"Alright kid. I'll bite. Just let me make sure that your seal is still secure. The last thing we want is the Fox getting free because of your carelessness and wrecking the entire village" said Jiraiya. Naruto made the seal visible on his stomach and Jiraiya took a detailed look at it. It seemed to check out, but he would be keeping a close eye on it for the time being.

"**Hmm. It seems like he doesn't fully trust me" **stated Kurama

'_No dip. He thinks you are a blood thirsty demon who purposely attacked the village'_ Naruto said.

"**Now I feel insulted. I would normally just leave him to his err…research, but he might know something about the key. Let's just play it quiet for a little."**

"So I guess you know then that the Kyuubi's chakra mixes with your own, giving you a massive chakra reserve?" asked Jiraiya. Naruto just nodded.

"Now I am going to teach you a technique that will make use of that massive chakra source that you have" he explained. "There are a lot of techniques that are perfect for you that require a lot of power, like this summoning jutsu I want to teach you."

"Summoning jutsu?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. You sign a contract in blood with various life forms and call them forth with ninjutsu when needed" explained Jiraiya. "It's a type of space-time ninjutsu."

'_Is this summoning contract like what you and I signed?'_ said Naruto to Kurama.

"**No. Our contract was different. I'll explain it to you a different day. Focus on the summoning contract as it could actually prove useful. If this contract is with toads, then I know the potential behind it. Let's just say my back is stills sore from this giant toad landing on top of me when I was out last"** explained Kurama.

'_Giant Toad?!'_ thought Naruto, now really excited.

"Ohh, sounds awesome! Teach me, teach me!" jumped a joyous Naruto.

"First you have to use up all your chakra, so we can have access to that second type of chakra, the Kyuubi's" explained Jiraiya.

"Heh. I can tap into the Kyuubi's chakra whenever I want" said Naruto.

"Wait…WHAT?!" shouted Jiraiya. Naruto sighed. He felt like he should make a recording of this so he wouldn't have to repeat himself. Naruto told Jiraiya everything that had transpired between him and the Fox, back in the land of waves. Jiraiya was dumbfounded. He never expected the Kyuubi to be one to cooperate with its host. "Okay kid, just tell me, who else knows about this?"

"Just my teammates, Sasuke, Sakura, and Haku" Naruto said. "I had to use the Kyuubi's power to protect them from this snake freak…Orochimaru, I think."

'_Hmm, so Orochimaru is up to no good'_ Jiraiya thought.

"However, I can't use it all the time. The more chakra I have to pull from him, the more it stresses my body" Naruto explained.

"That makes sense. Just promise me to be extremely careful when using it. There are some people in this village who will try and take advantage of you if they know you have control of the Fox's chakra" explained Jiraiya.

"Well, that is with the Fox's chakra cloak. Is it okay if I just use small bursts of his chakra?" asked Naruto. Jiraiya thought for a little. He knew that in order to use this summoning jutsu, Naruto would have to tap into the Fox's chakra.

"Small busts, as long as you don't prolong the presence of excess demon chakra in your system or take on that Fox cloak you were talking about" explained Jiraiya.

"Gotcha, now can we get back to that summoning jutsu?" asked Naruto impatiently.

"Alright, now watch closely" said Jiraiya. He bit his finger, drawing a bit of blood and making a few hand seals. "Summoning Jutsu!" The frog from yesterday appeared beneath Jiraiya, with Jiraiya on its head.

"Oh! That's from yesterday!" shouted Naruto. The frog handed him a scroll that was in his mouth. Naruto laid it down and unfurled it, revealing the contract.

"This is the Toad contract that has been passed down many generations. Write your name in blood and then press down your finger-prints in blood" explained Jiraiya. "Then focus chakra in the hand you signed the contract with and press it downward. The hand seals are Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Sheep."

"Alright like this?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya nodded and Naruto went through the hand seals. "Summoning Jutsu!"

"Yo kid, you got any snacks?" said a small orange toad.

"It talks?!" shouted Naruto, pointing at the talking toad.

"Oh? Gamakicki. I didn't expect him to summon you here" said Jiraiya. He then let out a little laugh. "I was expecting the kid to summon a tadpole or something." Gamakichi laughed along with Jiraiya and so was the Fox. Naruto just stood there, slightly frustrated.

Jiraiya explained to Gamackichi that he had chosen Naruto to be the next Toad summoner. Soon after, Gamakichi left, returning back to Mt. Myoboku. The rest of the morning, Naruto spent trying to get a feel for how much chakra to put into the summoning, summoning Gamakichi at least two more times, who was becoming increasingly irritated at these constant summoning. Thankfully, Jiraiya had a few snacks on him to keep the small toad cooperating. "Alright Naruto, try putting a little more chakra into it" instructed Jiraiya. Naruto forced some more of his own chakra into the summon. By the end of the day, he had managed to summon the same toad that Jiraiya had managed to summon to attack the closet perv.

"_Hmm…I wonder…"_ thought Jiraiya. "Hey Naruto, how much longer do you have until the finals?"

"Huh? Oh, just over three weeks, why?" replied Naruto.

"_Maybe he can do it. He was able to do pretty well on the Toad summoning"_ thought Jiraiya. "Are you up for a challenge? Do you want to learn a cool jutsu?"

"Huh? Cool jutsu?" It only took a few seconds for Naruto's brain to connect the dots. "Cool Jutsu?! Teach me!"

"Jeez, calm down kid" said Jiraiya, trying to restrain the jumping boy. He didn't understand how this kid still had energy from an entire day of summoning. "Alright, just watch closely now." Jiraiya held out his palm and focused chakra into it. A blue orb of spiraling chakra began to form as Naruto's eyes widened.

Turning to a tree, Jiraiya took the orb and slammed it into the trunk. The orb shredded the tree upon contact, leaving a splintered stump in its place. "Wow!" was all Naruto could get out.

"**Hmm…I take that back. Maybe this guy isn't so useless after all"** the Fox admitted for once.

"What was that?" asked Naruto, now more excited than ever. If Sakura had walked up to him and asked him on a date, he would not know it.

"That Naruto, was one of the Yondaime Hokage's original jutsu" explained Jiraiya. "It's called the Rasengan. Just so you know, in terms of difficulty, this jutsu is a high A-rank."

"All right! Watch me! I'll have that thing mastered by tomorrow!" claimed Naruto.

"Kid, this jutsu…it took the Yondaime three years to develop. It took me a month after he taught it to me. I told you this was going to be a challenge" said Jiraiya. "I'll be surprised if you have it down within a few months and it will take a miracle for anyone to get it down in a month, let alone in time for the finals."

"Hmph, then I'll have it down by the finals! Believe it!" he declared. Suddenly, Naruto felt weak as his legs collapsed and he fell to the ground. It was about time he passed out after expending so much chakra.

About thirty minutes later, Naruto woke up to the Pervy Sage carrying him on his back. Naruto saw the door to his apartment just ahead of him. "Why are we here? I thought we were going to start on that jutsu?" he asked wearily.

"Not today, Naruto" said Jiraiya. "You're going to need to be fully rested for this and I don't have he necessary items to start training."

"So when do we start?" the blonde asked.

"Meet me tomorrow afternoon at the same place. We'll begin then" Jiraiya said, putting Naruto down just outside his room as the blonde entered for a good night's rest.

* * *

**Well there's chapter 17, hope you enjoyed it. Reviews and comments appreciated.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Rasengan!**

"Here" said Jiriaya, setting down two large sacks full of water balloons in front of Naruto.

"What are these for?" asked Naruto, taking a water balloon and examining it.

"Training" replied Jiraiya. Naruto had no idea what the Pervy Sage was taking about. "Okay, watch." Jiraiya took one of the balloons and Naruto watched as he swirled the water in the balloon with his chakra until the balloon burst.

"Whoa!" exclaimed the hyperactive blonde ninja. Jiraiya explained to Naruto to burst the balloon by swirling the water using only his chakra. "Now, you already know the 'water walking' exercise and the 'tree climbing' exercise. The tree climbing exercise teaches you to maintain a certain amount of chakra by focusing your mind and keeping that concentration. The water walking exercise releases a fixed amount of chakra continuously. For this, use the water walking technique to spin the water with a continuous flow."

"Spin the water with a continuous flow?" asked Naruto asked.

"Hmm, let's see" thought Jiraiya for a second. "Alright, first use the tree climbing exercise to maintain a moderate amount of chakra in your hands and then use the water walking exercise to release and spin it continuously."

Naruto had the idea now. Basically, he had to continuously spin it until it boiled and the balloon burst. Jiraiya explained that there were about 150 water balloons in the bag and he would only teach Naruto the second step in learning the Rasengan once all of the balloons were popped with Naruto's chakra. Before returning to his research, Jiraiya explained that Naruto would probably need both hands to control the chakra at first, but should then work on controlling it with a single hand after the first few balloons.

The rest of the day consisted of Naruto trying to burst the balloon. However, all he managed to do was get the water to swirl in a single direction. While the balloon was deforming, it was nowhere near what Jiraiya's balloon had looked like. Jiraiya's balloon had multiple points, chaotically erupting out of it until the balloon finally burst. Naruto's balloon only deformed until it was in an elongated disk.

It wasn't until late the next day that Naruto finally got an idea on how to do the first step. Tora, the Demon Cat of the Hidden Leaf, came upon Naruto training and found a stray water balloon. "Hey! Give that back you damn cat!" screamed Naruto as Tora began playing with the balloon, knocking it back and forth until the balloon burst, soaking the cat. The burst scared Tora off, but Naruto had an idea. He took a balloon in one hand and began focusing his chakra.

"_I wonder if the kid learned anything?"_ thought Jiraiya, whose attention had been momentarily averted from the bikini-clad girls in the river next to their training area. Naruto did, as he clasped the balloon in both hands and began swirling the chakra, creating different directions of the swirl. A few moments later, the balloon burst.

"Yeah! I did it!" shouted the excited ninja.

"**Keep it down out there. I'm trying to take a nap" **said Kurama, while he was trying to take a nap; he had been keeping an eye on his jinchuriki's progress.

"_Well too bad. I'm now one step closer to getting that awesome jutsu down, so stop complaining!" _replied Naruto.

Suddenly, Naruto hear a rustling in the bushes as Kiba came running out. "Oh, Naruto?" said Kiba, wondering why Naruto was there. However, his head refocused on the task at hand. "Hey, have you seen that damn cat anywhere? I could have sworn I smelled it, but it faded off."

"Cat? Oh, you mean Tora?" asked Naruto as Kiba nodded.

"The Hokgae gave me and Ino that mission. Thanks to you, I'm stuck doing missions without my team for the next month!" said Kiba, referring to the fact that both of his teammates were in the finals and that they had the entire month off from mission work to train, while he had been eliminated by Naruto.

Naurto told him that Tora came running through here a few minutes ago, and soaked itself with one of his water balloons. Unfortunately, this wiped most of the scent on Tora and it would be a bit before the scent was strong enough again. That cat was seriously becoming a genin's bane as Kiba took off in the direction that Naruto directed him in.

"So it looks like you've got it" said Jiraiya. Naruto nodded in excitement. "Alright, now only 149 more balloons to go."

Jiraiya smiled as Naruto's spirits dropped. He had been hoping to move onto the next stage, but now he had to repeat the same thing for all 149 remaining balloons.

* * *

Hinata was in her family dojo, training with her father. He was trying to get her level of gentle fist up to par before the finals, for she had something to prove here. Before she informed him that she had made the finals, practically no one in the Hyuga clan had expected Hinata to make it that far. Most of the members of the main family saw her as a disappointment and felt that she should just forfeit now before she embarrassed the name of the Hyuga in the finals, in front of many powerful lords.

At first, Hinata was thinking to give into the taunts of some members of the main branch, but she decided to push herself to improve, thinking 'what would Naruto do?' He had told her that she was strong and that was all that mattered. While most of the main family had decided to taunt her and call her weak during the past week, her father had actually offered to train her again.

Hiashi did not want to give up his daughter's training years ago, feeling that once he managed to take away her self-confidence issue, that she would begin to blossom as a powerful shinobi. However, the pressure from the rest of the main family forced him to take up Hanabi as his student and potential heir. Before he began training Hinata, her sensei, Kurenai, had informed him that Hinata had made it. Hiashi was surprised that Hinata had managed to pull it off and demanded Kurenai tell him of her exam. She explained that her opponent was a rather strong ninja from the Sand village and that Hinata had managed to best him in combat. Asking what it was that finally gave her the push to do this, Kurenai's answer surprised Hiashi. It was Naruto…he was the one who encouraged Hinata to de her best, he was the one who told her to just ignore Neji's taunts, he was the one who brought out her strength.

During their training, Hiashi could see the determination that Naruto's words had implanted in Hinata were still there as she was finally pushing herself and she was finally showing progress. It was getting later in the day, and he had been working with Hinata since early in the morning. "Hinata, that's enough for today" said Hiashi to his panting daughter.

"N…no, I can k-keep going" she replied. Apparently, a bit of confidence wasn't the only thing Naruto gave her. She was displaying a small amount of stubbornness.

"Whether you can or cannot, you have made good progress this week. I must say that I actually am impressed" complimented Hiashi. This was one of the first times that she had heard something like that come out of his mouth. "Take tomorrow to rest and we will pick up the day after. I think you have enough accuracy and speed now that we can begin the eight trigrams. But you should rest first as the training will only get more difficult."

Hinata understood standing and bowing before her father and leaving the dojo. Outside, Hinata met up with one few truly friendly faces she had known in the Hyuga clan, Ko her personal caretaker and one of her closest friends. Ko was one of the few Hyuga who truly believed that she had talent and was always encouraging her to do her best. It wasn't until just recently that he had truly began to see a drastic improvement in her skills. He offered to treat the young girl to dinner at a place that was known for its sweets and deserts, knowing that Hinata had quite the sweet tooth. For Ko, tonight was also a celebration as he had learned that his wife was now pregnant and they would be expecting their first child in about 8 months.

Returning home, Hinata entered the house and proceeded to her room, passing the dojo, she heard her father's voice and the voice of some of the clan elders.

She couldn't clearly make out the conversation; however she could make out the purpose of the conversation going on. Basically, the clan elders had been questioning Hiashi's decision to train Hinata, declaring her a failure. Hiashi on the other hand, was defending his daughter, claiming that she was finally showing the potential that would make her into a strong shinobi. As the conversation came to a close, one of the elders suggested that Hinata should just be branded and that would be the end of it. They claimed that there was no room in the main family for someone as weak as she was. Again, Hiashi refuted that.

"Nee-san? Why are you crying?" asked Hanabi, finding her big sister standing near the door of the dojo.

"I-it's nothing Hana" replied Hinata. _"They still think I am weak? But wait, father believes in me? I won't let him down, and I won't let you down, Naruto."_

Hinata turned to her sister. "I'm going out for a bit. Please don't tell anyone" HIinata told Hanabi, who agreed not to say anything.

* * *

The next day, Naruto spent finishing off the remaining water balloons. He had required both hands for about the first fifty, but then found it becoming increasingly easier to pop the balloons with one hand once he got the feel for the proper control and release of chakra. Jiraiya decided to call it a day for training as now he had to go and find the required item for the next step of the Rasengan. Besides, Naruto's hands were burning from the constant release of chakra for the past three days.

"Hey, Pervy Sage! So what's step two?" asked an overanxious Naruto the next day.

"This" said Jiraiya, throwing Naruto a hollow rubber ball, much to Naruto's disappointment. Jiraiya then took a rubber ball himself and proceeded to pop it like the water balloon. "The first step was to get the spin down, the second step is to add power. If there is no water, it is hard to feel the chakra, so it is hard to power it up or control it. Now, here is a bag with 150 rubber balls, you know what to do."

"_Hmm, I wonder if it is the same skill set as the last step?"_ thought Naruto.

"Alright, I'll let you work on it then" said Jiraiya returning to his 'research'.

"Wait!" shouted Naruto. "Didn't you say that you were going to train me?!"

"I said I'd teach you. Don't misunderstand me, I never said it would be that simple" responded Jiraiya. "You need to be able to depend on yourself. That is how you'll become strong. If you can't work out things yourself, then the most you'll come up with are perverted ninjutsu…speaking of which…"

"Don't even think about it you old pervert!" replied Naruto, knowing exactly what Jiraiya was thinking.

Naruto spent the next two days trying to pop the ball while Jiraiya just sat there peeping at the girls in the river next to them. It was getting late in the evening and Naruto was really beginning to feel the burn. _"Damn it. The damn ball won't break no matter how much I try!"_ thought Naruto, who was now lying on the ground as a sharp pain was running through his arms. _"Every time I let my chakra flow like that, a pain runs down my arms and hands like my nerves are being prodded. The more I increase the chakra, the worse the pain gets."_

"**Perhaps that's the key to this step. It's kind of like what I do with my Tailed Beast Ball. I build up my chakra until I can no longer contain it and I release it all at once"** explained Kurama.

"_Tailed Beast Ball?" _asked Naruto.

"**It's probably the strongest attack I have, capable of destroying mountains"**

"_Whoa! Can you teach it to me?" _Naruto asked, now wanting to learn yet another jutsu.

"**Not until we can fully merge our powers, Kit"** replied the Fox. **"Anyways, try that. Build up as much chakra as you can and release it all at once."**

"_Alright, here he go…build the chakra until I can't bear the pain anymore"_ thought Naruto. He gathered the chakra. The pain in his arms increased until it was at the point of breaking. Naruto then took all that chakra and gripped the ball, forcing it into the ball space between his hands. The ball deformed and finally a small hole in the side opened up and the ball deflated as Naruto dropped to his knees out of breath.

"Oh? Looks like you've got at least the basics of it" said Jiraiya, turning his attention back to Naruto. Unfortunately for him, the girls had left for the day.

"What are you talking about, all I did was make a small hole" replied a slightly depressed Naruto.

"Oh don't be so stubborn. You've come a long way, getting the first two steps done in about a week's time" replied Jiraiya. "You have the basics, so the rest is just a simple trick." Jiraiya took out his brush and drew a small spiral in the center of Naruto's hand.

"Huh? What's this?" asked a curious Naruto. "What do you mean by this is the hint?"

Jiraiya held up a blank piece of paper in front of Naruto. "Look here at this paper" said Jiraiya. Naruto took a look at it until Jiraiya put it down. Then he drew the same swirl in the center of the paper that he had drawn on Naruto's hand. Naruto looked again.

"So what?" asked Naruto.

"It's not that complicated. When I held up the blank paper, you looked at the entire thing as a whole, right?" Naruto nodded his head. "But, when you looked at the paper with the dot, where was your attention drawn to?"

Suddenly, a bright light bulb went off in Naruto's head, practically blinding Kurama. **"Damn Kit, its times like this when I'm glad you don't have a lot bright ideas"** joked the Fox. Naruto's sweat dropped on the outside as Jiraiya just questioned what he was thinking about.

"It's nothing, just the damn Fuzzball that lives in my head" said Naruto.

"**Oh come on Kit, have a sense of humor."**

"Alright, so what you are saying is to focus on one point?" asked Naruto.

"Eh, not bad." Jiraiya began his explanation. "When the paper is blank, there is no clear target and your gaze is unstable. Now, when I drew the dot on it, your attention was drawn to the center. Your target becomes clear and your eyes follow it. This is called the 'concentration-of-one'. You become closer to a state where you can draw maximum power because your mind is focused and calm. When you made that hole in the ball, you must have focused a lot of chakra into the palm of your hand and pushed the power to the limit."

"Alright, so focus all the chakra in my palm onto that one dot?" asked Naruto. Jiraiya nodded.

Picking up one more ball for the night, Naruto did as he was instructed, focusing as much chakra as he could muster around that one point in the palm of his hand. When he released it, the ball deformed for a few seconds before exploding in a loud burst.

"Yeah! I did it!" shouted Naruto as he began to feel weak and dizzy again. He collapsed to his knees, having used up too much chakra.

"Alright Naruto. Take a break. We'll continue tomorrow" said Jiraiya.

"No. I…can keep…going" panted Naruto. He then heard a grumble come from his stomach. Perhaps a break was a good thing.

The two of them soon found themselves at Naruto's favorite restaurant in town, Ichiraku ramen. Jiraiya was both amazed and disgusted by the amount of ramen this kid could consume, leaving just over a dozen bowls on the counter.

"_Damn, this kid is just like his mother when it comes to ramen"_ thought Jiraiya, remembering a few things.

The next day, Naruto was able to pop the remaining balls. Like the water balloons, he spent the first 50 or so balls using both hands to contain the chakra, but found himself able to use one hand after getting the feel for it. "Alright! What's next?!" shouted Naruto after finishing up on the last ball.

Jiraiya pulled out an uninflated balloon and blew it up. _"Another balloon?"_ thought a depressed Naruto as Jiraiya tossed it to him.

"The first step was to spin it and the second step was power" explained Jiraiya. "The third step is this." He held the balloon in his hand and got the chakra spinning. Naruto was staring intently at the balloon, but nothing was happening.

"What the heck is this?!" screamed Naruto.

"It may seem like I'm holding the balloon the same way, but watch." Jiraiya pulled out a needle and popped the balloon. Inside, Naruto saw it. Inside the balloon was the Rasengan.

"Whoa, inside, the chakra was spiraling rapidly and increasing in pace, but it maintained a perfect orb!" exclaimed Naruto. "_Even with that much power inside, the balloon didn't even twitch until the Pervy Sage popped it. There must be more power and speed then when I popped the rubber ball!"_

"Alright, listen up. This third step is giving it all you've got from the first two steps and charging it" explained the Toad Sage. "Basically, you max out the spin and power of chakra, but you will maintain a wall to contain it."

"Heh! So I do the spinning exercise from the last step, but try not to pop the balloon!" realized Naruto.

Naruto spent the rest of the day, trying to get the third and final step down, popping many, many balloons. _"Damn it! You've got to be kidding me! I've got to control all that I've learned perfectly. Now I can understand…this third step is on a completely different scale!"_ he thought. Naruto had about a week and a half to get the third stage down and be able to use the Rasengan until his match with Neji, however, the realization on how difficult was starting to wear at him.

* * *

For the past few days, at the same time Naruto was busy with the second stage, Hiashi had begun to instruct Hinata on the Eight Trigrams stance. Ko had volunteered to be the 'practice dummy' when Hiashi went to demonstrate the technique. "Gentle Step: Eight Trigrams, Sixty-four Palms!" Hiashi called out as he struck Ko with 64 rapid and precise strikes. Ko collapsed to his knees after taking the attack. Hiashi had reduced the power of the chakra bursts to the bare minimum so that Hinata could see, but that still didn't mean it didn't hurt.

"Ko!" shouted Hinata, running to his side and beginning to open up the chakra points.

"I'm fine, Hinata-sama. I am doing this for your benefit, so it does not bother me" explained Ko as he found his way back to his feet. For the next few days, Hiashi was instructing Hinata on the first thirty-two strikes; however, there was one major problem….Hinata would not use the chakra bursts. Hiashi knew why. She was still too gentle and did not want to hurt Ko, even after he begged her to use them. If Hinata would not use the chakra bursts in training, there was no way to tell if her strikes were effective. He had to think of another way.

* * *

**A/N: Just thought I would make a quick note about honorifics as this has been brought to my attention. I am only using some of the more formal honorifics, such as -sama, -sensei, and -baachan (when I introduce Tsunade). I have left out some of the more common honorifics on purpose, such as -kun, -chan, and -san (with the exception of Hanabi referring to Hinata as nee-san(which means older sister)**

**Comments and reviews appreciated.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Inner Demons**

In the Sand village, "Good work, Baki" the Kazekage said.

"Unfortunately, Kankuro did not make it to the finals, but the other two did, Kazegage-sama" Baki said.

"There is no need to worry, Kankuro will still be present and Gaara was the only one we desperately needed to reach the finals anyways" the Kazekage said. "From now on, I presume our deal with the Sound is strong?"

"Yes, here are the plans form the sound" Baki said, handing the scroll Kabuto had given him to the guards, who then passed it to the Kazekage.

"I see, then we will be counting on you four that day" said the Kakzekage.

"But Kazekage-sama, with only the four of us? Can we not place troops around the Fire country and call it an exercise?" argued Baki.

"Konoha isn't stupid" explained one of the guards. "Their ANBU is already on the move and if we do that, we will draw too much attention. As expected, the forces we can bring into the village are limited. That is why we have Gaara and the others."

With that, the Kazekage ordered Baki to go and prepare. The Sand was preparing to make their move.

*Flashback*

"The Sand will join the Sound in attacking the Leaf on the third day of the chunin exams" explained Baki to his three students. "This is an S-rank mission, please understand the importance."

"But why a war?!" Temari cried. "After all the time and effort we put forth creating the alliance…to break that, many will die."

"In the end, shinobi are tools of war" explained Baki. "The alliance itself threatened our existence. You genin probably don't know it, but the Wind country's stupid ministers have used the alliance to forcibly weaken the military strength of the Hidden Sand. Because of the alliance, and the ministers fully trusting the Leaf, he sent out clients to them and drastically cut our funding. When the head is stupid, we suffer. For our village to keep up, we had to raise the abilities of each of our shinobi. That's why shinobi like you were created…Gaara."

Gaara remained silent.

"Fearing the weakening of Suna, the Kazekage formed an alliance with the Sound to teach the stupid minister the danger the country is in" said Baki. "To measure the recovery of the Sand village, we will destroy the Leaf. If more time is allowed to pass, the Leaf will become too powerful and out of our reach. This mission, we are counting on you, Gaara." Gaara nodded.

*End Flashback*

* * *

Naruto arrived at the hot springs early the next day to begin his training. Unfortunately, the Pervy Sage was not there.

"Yo, Naruto" said Jiraiya, walking up to their little training ground, about an hour late.

"Where were you?! You're almost as bad as Kakashi-sensei!" shouted Naruto.

"I had business to take care of, Naruto" explained Jiraiya with a regretful look in your eyes. "I'm sorry to say but your training ends here. There is something urgent that requires my attention."

"Yeah yeah. I'm sure you just found a new hot spring to go look at girls or something perverted like that" said Naruto.

"It's not that kid, this thing that needs my attention has something to do with…" Jiraiya bent down to whisper into Naruto's ear. "Orochimaru."

"What? Really? What is going on?" asked Naruto.

"I don't really know. That's why I need to investigate" explained Jiraiya.

"Then what about my training?" asked a concerned Naruto.

"I'm sorry, but the remaining week and a half you are going to have to manage on your own. I have faith you can become the fourth master of this technique" said Jiraiya. "Also, about 'Fuzzball', be very careful when using his chakra. A small burst every now and then might be okay, but don't overdo it unless it is absolutely necessary. There are people even in this village who would try to exploit you and that power for their own gain, and his power is not one that should be taken lightly. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I guess" replied Naruto, crossing his arms. Looks like he wouldn't be going full Fox cloak on Neji's ass during the finals.

"Naruto, please promise me you'll be careful with using that chakra" said Jiraiya.

"Alright, I promise you. And don't worry, I won't go back on my word, believe it!" claimed Naruto. With that, Jiraiya left to check out what required his attention.

Since there was no use staying at the hot springs any longer, Naruto figured he would grab a quick bowl of ramen then move over to training ground 7 to continue.

* * *

Sakura was walking down the street of Konoha, holding a wrapped daffodil in her hand. Today was the day she got off from doing missions. Normally, she would have used this day to stalk Sasuke or do something that was related towards her getting closer to Sasuke, or even anything Sasuke related. However, she had not seen or heard of him in the past weeks, nor had she seen Kakashi-sensei around. Her first assumption was that Kakashi had taken Sasuke away for training, which was the correct assumption.

Ahead of her, Sakura caught an orange-clad ninja coming out of a ramen shop. "Naruto!" she shouted. It had been over a week at least since she saw one of her teammates, and even Naruto was a welcomed sight.

"Oh, Sakura? What are you doing here?" asked the ramen-stuffed blonde.

"I'm on my way to the hospital to see Lee" she replied.

"Bushy Brows? How is he doing?" asked Naruto.

"You should come and see him. I'm sure he would like to wish you good luck or something before your match with Neji" said Sakura. Inside, Naruto's spirits lowered slightly. Despite this training, he knew if he didn't have his new jutsu ready for the finals, that there would be a good chance he wouldn't beat Neji. After experiencing the difficulty of the third step, even he was beginning to have doubts.

Still, Naruto did want to see how Bushy Brows was doing and he wouldn't refuse this time with Sakura. When they got to the hospital, they also ran into Shikamaru, who had just finished visiting Chouji. Apparently, Chouji had eaten too much and was in the hospital with a strained stomach. Both Naruto and Sakura got a good laugh out of this. Shikamaru decided that it wouldn't be too much trouble to see Lee as he was also a little curious as to how the spandex-wearing ninja was.

They opened the door to find something they had not expected to see. There was sand hovering around Lee and a red-headed boy standing beside him, ready to kill.

"Ahh!" screamed Sakura as Shikamaru had to act quickly, restraining Gaara with his shadow possession jutsu.

Naruto punched Gaara in the cheek as Shikamaru felt the blow as well due to his jutsut. "Bastard! What are you doing to Bushy Brows?!"

"I was trying to kill him!" replied Gaara with a cold and sadistic tone to his voice.

"W-what?!" the three Leaf ninja stuttered in unison. Shikamaru noticed something was off. _"How can he stay so calm?"_ thought the lazy genius. "Why is there a need to do that? You won your fight, do you have some personal grudge against him?"

"I have no grudge. I just simply want to kill him" Gaara replied, sending horrified looks onto the Leaf ninja's faces.

"**Damn raccoon. Can't he think of anything else besides mindless violence? Hell, if it wasn't for him, you humans might have never found out about us"** said Kurama. Naruto heard the demon, but couldn't respond just now between what Gaara had said and what Kurama had just said.

"W-what the hell? You Bastard!" shouted Naruto.

"You had a messed up childhood, how self-centered can you be?" asked Shikamaru. _'I'm getting this weird chill. If he acts up, Naruto and I may not be able to stop him. What to do?'_

"If you get in my way, I'll kill you to!" Gaara said unleashing a wave of killing intent through the room.

"What?! Go ahead and try!" shouted Naruto, preparing himself for a fight.

"Hey, Naruto, stop it!" ordered Shikamaru. Sakura, who was standing there couldn't move as the killing intent took over her body's control.

"**Kit, pineapple hair is right. Now is not the time or place to be picking fights with other demons, even if they only have ONE tail. We don't want anyone dying in the crossfire" **warned Kurama.

'_I'll try to bluff him'_ Shikamaru thought. "We know you are strong, but so are we. We didn't show you our 'special moves' in the preliminaries. Plus its 2 on 1. You have a disadvantage. If you leave now, we'll let it go."

"I'll say it one more time. Get out of my way, or I'll kill you to" replied Gaara.

"I won't be killed by the likes of you!" Naruto shouted.

"Naruto, shh" Shikamaru said, trying to calm his blonde counterpart down. "His strength is like a monster, don't you understand?"

"Heh, monster you say? Well guess what, I HAVE a real monster inside of me" claimed Naruto, referring to Kurama. Sakura knew what he was referring to, but Shikamaru saw that as a bluff.

"A monster, eh?" replied Gaara. "Like you said, I had a messed up childhood. I was born into this world by taking the life of the woman I would have called my mother. To become the ultimate shinobi, my father attached the incarceration of sand through me using ninjutsu…I was born a monster. The being refered to as the Shukaku, it was sealed into an old kettle. It's the living spirit of an old hidden sand priest."

"A possession jutsu that allows one to be possessed before birth…to go that far is crazy" replied Shikamaru.

"**Crazy…Yep, sounds like that bastard of a raccoon"** replied Kurama.

"Heh, what a strange expression of love. A parent doing something like that" said Shikamaru.

"Love?" replied Gaara. "Don't judge me with your measuring stick. Family…you want to know what kind of connection that is to me?"

Gaara now had the Leaf genin's full attention. "It's simply pieces of meat connected to me through murderous intend and hatred. By sacrificing my mother's life, I was grated as the village's ultimate masterpiece as the Kazekage's son" Gaara told them. "My father taught me the secrets of the shinobi. I was spoiled and allowed to do as I pleased. I thought that was love…until that incident occurred."

"What incident?!" Sakura asked, regaining her ability to talk.

Gaara let an evil, sadistic grin slip onto his face. "For the last 6 years, my father has tried countless times to kill me!"

Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru were in shock. "But you said your father spoiled you…what do you mean?"

"A being too strong can become an existence of fear" replied Gaara. "Born through jutsu, my spirit was unstable. It seems the idiots in my village finally realized there was a problem…To my father, I was the village's trump card, but I was also very dangerous. It seems that by the time I was 6, I was too dangerous. As the village's dangerous tool, I was handled with care. To them, I am simply an object of the past they want to see disappear. The why do I exist? Why am I alive? When I thought about this, I could find no answer. But, as you live, you need a reason, otherwise it's the same as being dead."

"What's he talking about?" asked Shikamaru. He looked over to see Naruto had frozen.

'_I can understand' _thought Naruto. _'He's the same as me'._

"I came to this conclusion. I exist to kill every single being besides myself. I finally found relief from the fear of death, never knowing when someone would try to kill me" stated Gaara. "By continually killing assassins, I understood the reason to continue living. Fighting only for yourself, living while loving only yourself…If you think that everyone else simply exists to allow you to experience that feeling, nothing is better than that in the world. As long as there are people in this world for me to kill, and continue to feel the joy of living, my existence will not vanish."

'_What is this guy? This is really bad'_ thought Shikamaru.

"_I was alone…I couldn't find a reason to live and was in pain…but because my teacher, Iruka-sensei, and my team and comrades, and even you, Kurama, I finally experienced what it meant to be alive'_ thought Naruto. _'But he continued to be alone and experienced living through killing other. How could a guy like this exist?'_

"**Now you know why that raccoon is insane. He's completely psychotic, who only wants to cause death and destruction. If he cannot do it, then he manipulates his host into doing it for him"** answered Kurama.

"Now, I've had enough of you…Die!" shouted Gaara as he sent his sand out towards the three. Kurama was readying himself to flood Naruto with demonic chakra while Shikamaru froze and all Sakura could do was scream.

""That's enough!" Gai said, entering the room. "The finals are in a few days, so don't get antsy. Or do you want to stay here, starting today."

Gaara clutched his head in obvious mental pain. "I'll definitely kill you guys, just wait!" he threatened, leaving the hospital.

The three Leaf genin knew they had just avoided something that could have gotten very bad.

* * *

It was now late in the evening and Naruto had made his way to the training ground. The upcoming match between him and Neji was approaching and after seeing what Neji did to the Cloud ninja, Karui, he was beginning to become unnerved. The previous encounter with Gaara only served to make matters worse. He worked on his Rasengan, only for it to fail. However, to say that progress wasn't being made was wrong. Before, the balloon would instantly burst when he tried to contain the chakra, but now he was able to hold it for a second or two before the chakra began to destabilize.

Late at night, Naruto was blown back when one of his balloons burst rather violently. It was then that he looked up to se Hinata standing in front of him. Realizing that Naruto was also at the training grounds where she was doing some personal and supplemental training, she quickly turned a light shade of red and ducked behind a post.

"Hinata? What are you doing here?" asked Naruto.

"N-nothing, I-I j-just came here t-to train, Naruto" she stuttered out. "W-what are y-you doing here?"

"'I've been here training" Naruto said.

"Oh, w-well I c-can go to another t-training ground" said the shy girl.

"No, that is alright. It would actually be nice to have some company for once" said Naruto. This in turn turned Hinata a slightly darker shade of red. A few moments later, Naruto dropped his head as the prospect of his fight came back to his mind. "Hey Hinata, that Neji guy, he's your cousin, right?"

"Y-yes" said Hinata.

"Is he…Is he strong?" asked Naruto.

"Y-yeah" replied Hinata, Naruto's spirits were deflated even further. "But I b-believe you c-can beat h-him."

"Haha, yeah because I am really strong!" replied Naruto, a long awkward pause soon followed.

'_**And he's finally cracked'**_thought Kurama.

"Well N-naruto, when you cheered for me, I felt like I-I had become stronger" Hinata said, the stuttering slowly working its way out of her voice. "I had managed to defeat a strong opponent and I started to like myself a little more. It was t-thanks to you that I felt like I was able to change."

"Ahh, thanks to me?" Naruto said, still unsure. "Yeah, I'm very influential."

Another awkward silence followed. "Hinata? Do you really think that?" Naruto asked. "I may appear strong to you, but that's just an act. I act all tough, because I always keep failing."

"That's not true!" Hinata burst out, surprising herself, Naruto, and even the Fox. "Even when you fail, you always manage to get back up and become stronger…In my eyes, you are a proud failure. W-when I-I look at y-you, I g-get an intense feeling i-in my h-heart. Because you fail, you have the strength to get back up. I believe that is true strength. Because of that, you are incredibly strong, Naruto."

"Wow! Thanks Hinata!" Naruto said, feeling revitalized. "Earlier, I was feeling uncharacteristically depressed, but now, I am feeling much better!"

Naruto then looked straight at Hinata, and said to her "You know, I always thought you were a plain-looking, dark weirdo." Hinata's spirits dropped. "But you know, there is something about you that I really like."

This picked her up, even more than she had been brought down. She was about to say something, but Naruto opening his oblivious mouth first. "So what have you been working on these past few weeks?"

'_**Yep, he's an idiot'**_ thought Kurama, dropping his head as Naruto had just ruined the moment.

"W-well, my father has been training with me. But, I-I just can't seem to g-get the technique down" Hinata admitted.

"Well why not?" Naruto said.

"I-I just d-don't want to hurt anyone" Hinata said, receding back into her shell. "He says that I'm too kind and gentle. U-unfortunately, t-those aren't traits looked h-highly upon in m-my family."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" asked Naruto. "That's one of the best things about you."

"I-it i-is?" she said, turning a deeper shade of red than before.

"Yeah, I mean it's what drives you to be strong. I know you're strong and you proved it after your fight with that sand guy. Because you're kind, you don't want to let anyone down" explained Naruto.

"But for this technique, I need to practice on someone and I d-don't want to hurt them if I am just training" Hinata said. Kurama was blinded even worse by a brighter flash of light as Naruto got another idea, and not an idiotic one.

"**Please tell me this isn't going to be a normal occurrence"** he complained.

"Well, If you are worried about hurting someone, just use it on me. I've probably taken a worse beating" Naruto said.

"B-but, There is no way I could hurt you!" Hinata cried out.

"Ehh, that's not what I mean" Naruto said. He created a shadow clone next to him. "Just use your technique on my shadow clone."

Hinata took a look at the clone with her Byakugan. Surprisingly, the chakra systems in the clone and the real Naurto were identical. "A-are you s-sure I won't hurt you?"

Naruto grinned. "Nope" he said. Naruto took out a kunai and threw it at the shadow clone's chest, much to the clone's displeasure, striking it and causing it to fall over, horrifying Hinata. The clone disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "See…I'm just fine. Didn't feel a thing."

"A-alright…" Hinata said. Naruto was actually willing to help her again and if he said it was alright to use his clones like this, she would so it as long as he wasn't getting hurt. Hinata tested the clone off by closing a few tenketsu points on the clone's arm. Its chakra system reacted the same way and the clone remained. After another close inspection, Hinata began her technique on the clone "Gentle Fist: Eight-trigrams, Thirty-two palms." Only a few seconds later, the clone collapsed and Naruto was in awe at Hinata's speed and technique. She had actually put the full chakra bursts into the technique now that she was assured that she wouldn't be hurting anyone. While she was initially unsure about using Naruto like this, he encouraged her to do so in that it would greatly help her.

"Hinata! What are you doing?" Hiashi asked approaching the training ground. "And why are you with him? You should be focusing your time on training for the final matches!" Naruto was depressed; he was actually having a good time helping Hinata out.

"H-he was h-helping me train" Hinata said.

"Huh?" Hiashi asked, not quite sure of what she was saying.

"He was letting me use his shadow clones to practice the eight trigrams on" she said.

"Shadow clones?" Hiashi asked, looking at Naruto. Naruto just smiled and created a shadow clone. Hiashi took a closer look at it with his Byakugan. Much to his surprise, Naruto had indeed created a shadow clone. Hiashi found himself actually impressed that the boy could use such a high level technique. "Alrgiht, then show me what you were doing."

Hinata turned to the clone. "Sorry for this, N-naruto" She said.

"It's okay Hinata. Like I said, it's just a clone and it doesn't bother me" Naruto assured.

"O-okay. Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams, Thirty-two palms!" she said, proceeding into her attack. After all was said and done, Hiahsi was genuinely impressed. She had managed to hit 22 out of the 32 tenketsu, after only an hour or two of actually using chakra bursts, showing that her attack was actually rather effective even after only beginning to learn it.

Hiashi thought on this for a moment. "Naruto, aren't you supposed to be training as well?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I can take some time off to help Hinata. Besides, Kakashi-sensei abandoned me for Sasuke, the closet perv got knocked out by Pervy Sage, and Pervy Sage had to attend to some business." Hiashi raised an eyebrow at what Naruto was saying.

"Pervy Sage?" questioned Hiashi.

"Yeah. He's actually a strong ninja, but in reality, he's just a big pervert. He did teach me this cool summoning jutsu, want to see?" said Naruto. Hiashi wanted to see what summoning jutsu Naruto was talking about. "Summoning Jutsu!" After a flash of smoke, Gamakichi appeared and asked for a snack. Thankfully, Jiraiya had also taught Naruto a storage jutsu to store snacks for toads.

"I-it talks?!" Hinata stuttered before passing out at the sight of a talking toad. Hiashi looked at her and let out a sigh.

'_A Toad summon. I thought there could only be one toad summoned per generation. Does that mean Master Jiraiya is here and he chose him?'_ thought Hiashi.

"Tell me, this 'Pervy Sage'" Hiashi had a hard time getting those last two words out. "By any chance is his name Jiraiya?"

"Oh, Jiraiya?" Naruto responded. "Yeah, that's him. He also taught me another technique, but that is still being worked on."

"_Hmm…this is interesting. So you have been taken by Jiraiya-sensei as a student and he has given you the Toad summoning scroll. What is this other technique you are talking about?"_ thought Hiashi. He remembered what Kurenai said to him about the preliminaries and Naruto being able to bring Hinata out of her shell. Surprisingly, he found himself slightly interested in Naruto and wanted to see what the boy could do, even if the match was against his own nephew. At the same time, Naruto had given him another opportunity to improve Hinata's skills.

"Naruto, could I ask something of you?" asked Hiashi.

"Sure, what is it?" asked Naruto.

"I want you to train with Hinata for a few hours in the afternoons and help her perfect her technique. Your shadow clones have proven a valuable method for her to practice that technique" Hiashi said. At this time, Hinata was waking up and heard their little conversation.

"Yeah, I would be glad to help her out" Naruto replied.

'_I-I'm going t-to be with Naruto every d-day u-until the f-finals?'_ Hinata thought, passing out again. Hiashi then picked her up and left.

"Naruto, please come by the Hyuga compound tomorrow at 2:00pm" he instructed, leaving with his unconscious daughter. The next thing that he would need to fix with her was that fainting problem.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, so there are multiple ways that Hiashi could have been looked at based on what I have seen. For my story, Hiashi will be seen as supportive of his daughter and also rather supportive of Naruto. And if you didn't catch it, yes he referred to Jiraiya as -sensei. Now, in the future, Hiashi won't be behind the problems the Hyuga clan causes for Naruto and Hinata, but there will still be plenty of drama between the clan and the two young ninja. I plan to post something latter on that better describes my take on the Hyuga clan.**

**Comments and reviews greatly appreciated.**


	20. Chapter 20

******A/N: Alright, managed to get out two chapters in a day this time. Here is the beginning of the final round. This chapter contains both Naruto and Hinata's matches. I am hoping I did a good job with them, especially Hinata's. This chapter is a bit longer as there is a lot of stuff that needs to be included in it.**

**A/N: So regarding the frequency I am able to update this story, before I began posting, I was away on vacation without internet and was able to get at least a rough version of the first set of chapters done. At this point in time, I have roughly up to the end of the Tsunade retrieval arc made up, but I still need to go through and edit/revise them. Once I have run out of chapters in my 'chapter bank' (if that's what you want to call it), I will still try to update the story every few days, but the chapters won't be coming as frequently.**

**Chapter 20: Round 3 Begins! The 'Losers' Battle On!**

Naruto agreed to Hiashi's requests to come by the Hyuga compound to help with Hinata's training for a little. Unfortunately, he received a few looks from some of the members of the clan, particularly the older members, as to why he was there. Some of the older Hyuga knew about Naruto's inhabitant and many of them felt that they should keep their distance from the boy. Even Hiashi had tried to keep his daughters away from him out of fear of the unknown. However, that didn't tend to work out so well.

Over the past month or so, the reports Kurenai had been giving Hiashi on his daughter's progress had revealed something rather curious. It seems as if Naruto managed to have a positive effect on Hinata's confidence and she even went as far as to attribute Hinata's accomplishment in the second exams as a result of Naruto's constant support. The other night, when he found Naruto actually helping her work on her gentle fist, normally he would have scolded her for even being anywhere near her, but when it was revealed that Naruto's intentions were for Hinata's benefit, and they actually seemed to get Hinata to truly focus. It was then he realized that perhaps the village had the boy wrong. Despite the elder's objection's it was worth a shot.

"Naruto, thank you for coming. I appreciate you taking some time out of your training to help with Hinata's" Hiashi said as Naruto entered the Hyuga dojo.

"It's really not a problem,…" Naruto said, trying to find the words for what to call Hiashi.

"Call me Hyuga-sama. It is a title of respect that my clan has worked hard to earn" Hiashi explained.

"Alright, Hyuga…sama" Naruto struggled to get the last part out. He was not used to using honorifics with people's names; however this was something about this man that Naruto didn't want to test. The Fox had even warned him to treat this man with respect.

For the remainder of the week, Naruto focused his time between his own training and helping out Hinata a few hours each day. Hinata's technique was coming along quite well, with her gaining the ability to use the thirty-two palms and coming very close to perfecting the sixty-four palms.

Naruto on the other hand had been struggling to perfect the Rasengan. Needless to say, training ground 7 was now a field of battered trees with large gashes in them as a result from Naruto's attempts at the Rasengan. By the night before the finals, Naruto had come close to being able to use it. It was at the point where he would have to find out tomorrow. Thanks to his talk with Hinata, he had no doubt in him. Even if he couldn't use the Rasengan yet, he would still find a way to kick Neji's ass.

* * *

Naruto arrived at the stadium a few minutes before the third exam was scheduled to begin. Upon walking in, he saw everyone there, except for Sasuke and that Dosu guy. Naruto turned to look at Gaara. _'This is the guy Sasuke's fighting? Where is he?_' thought Naruto.

"Have you found Sasuke yet?" asked the Hokage to one of his personal guards. The Hokage was located in a box on top of the stadium, overlooking the entire arena.

"We have a few ANBU teams looking for him" the guard said. "With Orochimaru after him, I don't know what to say."

The Hokage just gave a nod of understanding. Suddenly, something else caught his attention. "Well, well, Kazekage-dono" said the Hokage, greeting his fellow Kage from Suna.

Ino turned to Sakura in the stands. "I know you're worried about Sasuke, but Naruto's match is up first, shouldn't you be worried about that?" Sakura remained silent. While she was sure Sasuke would be fine, she still couldn't help but be worried for him.

As the Kazekage and Hokage exchanged greetings, the Hokage stood up, ready to introduce the competitors to the audience. "Thank you everyone for coming to the Hidden Leaf chunin selection exams" announced the Hokage. "We will now start the main tournament between the remaining 10 participants who made it through the preliminaries. Please stay and watch until the very end."

'_10? There was initially 11 and now there is only 9? What is going on?'_ thought Shikamaru.

"There is something I would like to tell you before the match starts" explained the proctor, holding up the tournament bracket. "Please take a look at who you are fighting." The 9 contestants looked to see that Dosu was no longer on the bracket and that Shikamaru would face Temari in the first round. The winner of that match would then face the victor of the matches between Haku, Yugito, Sasuke, and Gaara. Finally, there would be a final one-on-one match to determine the overall winner.

"Hey, Sasuke isn't here yet, what are you going to do?" asked Naruto.

"If he doesn't show by his match time, he will lose by default" the proctor explained.

'_Hmm, that is strange. He would be here even if that meant dragging his broken body down here' _thought Naruto.

Baki looked down from the stands at Gaara and a suspicion came to his mind. '_It can't be. After all I told him not to draw attention, did he kill Sasuke?' _thought the Suna jonin.

"Alright guys, this is the final test. The arena is different but the rules are still the same" explained the proctor. "You will fight in 1-on-1 matches until one of you either dies or acknowledges defeat. However, if I determine that the fight is over, I will stop it, understood?" The 9 competitors acknowledged. "Now for the first fight, Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuga, you two stay here while the rest of you go to the waiting room."

"G-good l-luck Naruto" Hianta whispered as Neji shot her a dark look.

In the stands, Kiba joined Sakura, Ino, and Chouji, along with Kurenai and Asuma to watch the fight.

"Heh, this will be good" Kiba said.

"But against him, Naruto doesn't have a chance…" Ino said doubtingly.

Two chunin, Kotetsu and Izumo, from the first exam were sitting behind them. "For this kid to get this far…" Kotetsu said.

"For a guy that got this far on pure luck, this is the end for him. His opponent is just too tough" Izumo said. This worried Sakura and Ino even more. Kiba turned to the two of them.

"Don't worry. That's what I thought at first, but you can't go underestimating him" Kiba said. Suddenly, he headed a worried call from Akamaru and turned around to see an ANBU standing in the back corner. 'What's the ANBU doing here?'

"Hmph. You got anything to say before you lose?" Neji said to Naruto.

"Yeah! You're going down!" exclaimed Naruto, all doubt had been erased from him after the talk he had with Hinata a few nights ago. Neji activated his Byakugan.

"Hmm, the eyes of a person who totally believes in himself. There is no doubt in him" smirked Neji.

"Begin!" announced the proctor.

"So sure of yourself. It will make it that much more enjoyable when I send you back to reality" said Neji.

"Stop all the blabbering and let's fight!" exclaimed Naruto.

Up in the stands, Hiashi had taken his seat in the noble's box, along with his second daughter Hanabi. "Watch closely Hanabi, there isn't another who was received such thick Hyuga bloodline." Hiashi said. Even though Hinata was beginning to show some potential, he had to admit that Neji was easily the stronger of the two. This was going to be an interesting fight.

"Yes father" replied the small 7 year old Hanabi sitting next to him.

Naruto remembered what Kakashi had said back in the preliminaries about the Gentle Fist fighting style. "So basically, I have to fight him from a distance" said Naruto. Naruto made four shadow clones and sent them charging at Neji.

"Shadow clones? That is a jonin level technique. For him to use it…" Izumo said to his friend.

"This could be a good fight after all" Kotetsu replied.

'_Shadow clones?'_ thought Neji, analyzing them with his Byakugan. In the waiting box, Hinata also had hers activated and was seeing the same thing Neji was seeing. _'I see…his chakra is divided evenly amongst them. Even with the Byakugan I cannot tell which one is the real one.'_

Four Narutos charged at Neji, kunai at the ready. He evaded the first two, using them to springboard into the second two, causing the second two to disappear. As two more clones charged at him from behind, Neji grabbed their hands and elbowed them in the chin, sending them back and causing them as well to disappear.

"What the hell? Does this guy have eyes in the back of his head?" Naruto said, forgetting a few things said about the Byakugan in the preliminaries.

"So you want to become Hokage, eh?" questioned Neji. "Well that's impossible. I can figure out with these eyes. Talent is decided at birth. You could say everything is decided when a person is born."

"Why the hell do you always decide things like that?!" shouted Naruto.

"So what you are saying is that anyone can become Hokage through hard work? Only a handful of shinobi are chosen as Hokage" explained Neji. "Look closely. Those who become Hokage are born into that destiny. You don't be become it by trying. It is decided at birth. People must live within their own unchangeable flow. Just give up. The only destiny that every person shares…is death." Neji stared at Naruto with coldness in his eyes. In the stands, Hiashi caught this look

'_Those eyes…he still holds a grudge against the main family'_ Hiashi thought up in the stands.

"So what?! I'm not good at giving up" shouted Naruto, creating a dozen shadow clones in the process.

"I'm not stupid. I already see your pattern in attack" said Neji as the clones charged him. Neji evaded each clone and charged through the mass. His target was the Naruto standing out of harm's way. Neji charged at that Naruto and hit him just underneath the collar bone, pressing a tenketsu there. "Fearing having your pressure points pressed, one body is doing the least amount of attacking. The more you attack, the clearer it becomes…You're the real one."

Naruto coughed up a bit of blood from Neji's hit. He then looked up and gave Neji a grin. "N-Naruto…" Hinata said, worrying from the contestants' box.

"Heh, I told you to stop automatically deciding things" said the injured Naruto as it disappeared in a cloud of smoke, revealing itself to be a shadow clone.

"What?!" said Neji, shocked that his eyes had failed him. Two Naruto's appeared behind him. By the time Neji realized it, there was no dodging this attack.

"Yeah! Go Naruto!" Kiba howled from the stands. Most of the remaining people in the stands were surprised that the 'dead last' had pulled something like that off.

'_Naruto, go!'_ Hinata thought, observing alongside Shino and the other finalists.

'_He anticipated what I was thinking and purposely left on clone back?'_ thought a shocked Neji.

"I'm coming at you with everything I got!" shouted Naruto, his fist quickly closing the gap between him and Neji. Only an inch or so away from Neji's head, Naruto's hand was stopped by a blast of chakra. Naruto was thrown back by the force as everyone was wondering what had just happened. From there eyes, it looked as if Naruto had Neji there.

'_That can't be…'_ Hiashi thought from the stands. _'Kaiten…the Heavenly Spin?'_

"Father, isn't that…" Hanabi asked. Her father nodded.

'_No…Naruto had him there'_ thought a worried Hinata.

'_Heh. That's Neji's ultimate defence _ thought Tenten.

"Yes Hanabi, that is the Kaiten, a technique passed down through the main family and only through the main family" Hiashi said. _'To master it on his own…'_

"Damn. I almost had him" Naruto said, picking himself back up.

"It's not over yet. You are within my field of divination" Neji called out, also sending a glare up to Hiashi in the stands. "Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms!"

'_Shit. I've gotta get away!'_ Naruto thought frantically. He knew about that stance from seeing the beating his clones had taken the past week. But, it was too late.

'_That stance…It can't be…'_ Hiashi thought.

"What?!" Hinata said up in the stands. Even she knew that stance was part of the main family's techniques and how Neji knew it, she didn't know.

Before Naruto could get away in time, he was hit with all 64 of Neji's strikes in a matter of seconds.

'_A branch house member, surpassing the main family…'_ Hiashi thought in awe. _'What natural talent…for the brilliant blood of the Hyuga to be born into someone who cannot become the heir. Hizashi, you should have been the first born.'_

"Naruto!" Hinata said out loud, surprising most everyone in the contestants' box.

"I have his 64 of your tenketsu, you are no longer able to stand" claimed Neji. "Stay on your knees before a power you cannot change and realize your worthlessness. Having your dreams come true through hard work is an illusion."

"Damn it" said Naruto. He thought of Lee, standing up after being crushed by Gaara and Hinata becoming strong by defying Neji's taunts and insults by defeating a strong opponent. Naruto forced his way to his feet. "I told you, I'm not good at giving up!"

"Quit. I don't have a grudge against you" Neji stated.

"Shut up…I do!" responded Naruto. "If you're this strong, then why have you been tormenting and harassing Hinata mentally. What sort of right do you have to bring others down? Before her match, you called her a loser and said she should just give up and accept her fate. Yet she came through and proved you wrong, and still you stand here and preach about fate! Pieces of shit like you who call others losers…I cannot forgive!"

"Fine. If you're going to go that far, then I will tell you the true story of the Hyuga family hatred" responded Neji. "From the preliminaries, you know about the main and branch families of the Hyuga. Well, to keep the branch family in check, the main family has a special jutsu…a cursed seal."

"Cursed seal?" asked Naruto.

"The curse mark represents a 'caged bird'. It's the symbol of being tied down to an inescapable destiny" said Neji as he removed his forehead protector and the medical tape covering his forehead, revealing the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead. Naruto looked in shock. "From the day I was four, I've had this horrible seal carved into my forehead. It was also on the day of Hinata's third birthday, that the Cloud came to Konoha to sign a peace treaty. Now, my father and Hinata's father were born as identical twins, but Hinata's father came into this world just a few minutes before my father did. As such, Hiashi became a member of the main family while my father was thrown into the branch family. On Hinata's third birthday, I was made a bird in a cage."

"Wait?! But why do they need that mark?" asked Naruto.

"This mark on my forehead is not simply for decoration. This curse is the absolute fear of death, given to the branch families by the main family. With a simple secret hand seal, the branch member's mind can be destroyed; however, death is just as easy of course. This curse will only disappear after death, sealing up the Byakugan with it" explained Neji. "Because the Hyuga household holds a great advanced bloodline, those who go after its secrets are incalculable. With this jutsu, the branch family is allowed to live only to protect the main family. No disobedience is allowed. It is a system created to protect the bloodline of the Hyuga. It is because of that, my father was killed by the main family!"

"Huh?!" was all Naruto could get out. In the stands, Hiashi just lowered his head. Hinata in a way knew her cousins pain. Until just recently, her father had completely given up on her and she had lived most of her life without her father's love, all because she was considered too weak to be in the main family. She was even on the verge of being branded into the branch family. However, because of Naruto, she was able to change just a little, making her believe that her father might actually begin to accept her again.

"The night that Hinata turned three and the Kumo ninja came to the village, one of them tried to kidnap Hinata, who possessed an unsealed Byakugan. He was there to sign a peace treaty, but the Hyuga quickly realized that he was only after the Byakugan. Hinata's father killed him during his attempted escape and the Cloud village demanded Hiashi's head in return for 'breaking the alliance agreements'. Not wanting war, the Leaf agreed to these terms. However, instead of Hiashi, my father, Hizashi was killed to protect the main branch. Their destiny that night was decided simply by who was born first and who was born second, just like this fight was decided the moment I became your opponent. Your destiny is to lose to me. Just like it will be Hinata's destiny to fall to me as well…if she even makes it that far."

"I don't know how much it hurt that your dad was killed like that a long time ago, but thinking that destiny is all decided by that is a huge mistake!" claimed Naruto. "You thought it was Hianta's destiny to lose back in the preliminaries but she didn't. She changed and showed that she'd strong!" Neji had enough of Naruto's ranting and he charged at the boy, landing a strike directly in his chest.

"Examiner…it's over" Neji said as Naruto slid across the floor of the arena. Neji turned and walked away.

"Don't run!" shouted Naruto. "I won't give up and I don't go back on my word! That's my nindo. And there is no way I will lose to a coward who is always wining about destiny. If you don't like where you are, then change it!"

"Insolent brat! You shouldn't be lecturing" replied Neji. "You could never know what it's like to be burdened with a symbol that you can't get rid of!"

Naruto looked down, thinking of his childhood. At the same time, as if on cue, Sakura and Haku did the same thing, remembering what Naurto had gone through and why the village treated him like such.

"Actually, yeah I can. And you know what?" Naruto said. His answer had struck something in Neji. He could tell that his opponent wasn't lying. "So what…Stop acting cool, you're not the only one who's special. Hinata's suffered just as much as you! A member of the main family, who was cast aside by her family as being weak…trying to change herself! And you, you're supposed to be in the branch family, helping her and supporting her. Not dragging her down. You know what…Like you did to that Cloud ninja whose father was responsible for that incident; I bet you would try to kill Hinata as well! In truth, you're trying hard to defy your destiny!"

Naruto had struck something in Neji, although he wasn't going to admit it. Neji was at the point where he had enough of Naruto's ramble. "Heh, I've blocked over 64 of your chakra points. You won't be able to use chakra for a while, how can you fight?! In the end, you and Hinata will share the same destiny as losers!"

"Shut up! Stop using that Byakugan to act like you know and can decide everyone's destiny!" shouted Naruto.

"Well, if you think I'm wrong, then prove it!" challenged Neji.

"Yeah, I'm definitely going to kick your ass!" said Naruto._ 'Damn…but I can't feel any chakra. And his preaching about curse marks and such is getting annoying…wait, that's it!'_

"**Took you long enough" **Kurama said, realizing that Naruto was starting to realize.

'_Yeah yeah…just lend me you power and let's kick his sorry ass!'_ Naruto said to Kurama.

"**Haha. Now things will get interesting" **replied the Fox as he allowed a little of his chakra to flood Naruto's system. It wasn't enough to put any major strain on the seal or activate the chakra cloak, but it was more than enough to revitalize Naruto's chakra system. Naruto made a sign as he began to channel the chakra through himself.

"It's useless. Your points are pressed and you can't channel anymore chakra" Neji claimed.

'_Unfortunately Naruto, he is right'_ Hiashi thought to himself in the stands. _"If this is all you have, then why did I take an interest in you?"_

"Before you lose, can I ask you one thing? Why do try so hard to go against destiny?" asked Neji.

"Because…I was called a loser!" replied Naruto. Soon, a red chakra began to swirl around Naruto.

"I-impossible…H-how is chakra flowing out?" Neji asked. Both Hiashi and Hinata were watching the same thing with their Byakugan and also saw Naruto's system flood with a red chakra.

'_That's…it can't be?'_ thought Hiashi, looking on. Elsewhere throughout the stadium, a few other spectators began to feel the surge of the Kyuubi's chakra spreading through Naruto.

"Father?" Hanabi asked tugging at her slightly stunned father.

"What is that? That chakra?!" Neji said as he felt the blast of chakra. Up in the stands, Sakura let out a smile, much to everyone else's surprise. She knew what was going on as Naruto had told her, Sasuke, and Haku.

"W-what is t-this?" Hinata asked.

"That is his true power" Haku said to her. "The power to prove himself and the power to protect those precious to him." He was going to leave it at that as it was not his place to be revealing that sort of stuff.

With the boost of power given to him by Kurama, Naruto began his attack, taking out a few shuriken and launching them at Neji. "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he shouted as his 4 shuriken turned into 100. It was too late for Neji to dodge so he proceeded to use the Kaiten, hoping to blow them away. He was successful in blocking most of the shuriken, but a few got through before he could get the Kaiten off. Neji had a few deeper cuts in his arms and legs along with one or two in the side of his abdomen. Neji was now on full alert for that attack and Naruto knew it would be difficult to get Neji again with shuriken. It was finally time to see if his training had paid off.

"Oh? Wait! That's!" exclaimed the Hokage with a growing look of surprise, looking on at what was forming in Naruto's hand.

"What is that?" most of the other genin were thinking.

"_So this is what Jiraiya-sensei was teaching Naruto. I must say I'm actually impressed that he was able to pull it off"_ thought Hiashi, watching on.

Naruto had done it. The Rasengan was sitting in his hand and it was stable. He began to charge at Neji, with a boost in his speed thanks to some residual chakra from Kurama. Neji, who was still slightly dazed by the shuriken, knew that he wouldn't have the time to dodge this.

"Rasengan!"

"Kaiten!"

The two attacks met and a massive explosion followed as one figure was sent crashing back into the stadium wall. When the smoke cleared, Naruto was standing in the middle of the stadium, panting but on his feet. From the crater in the wall, Neji fell. The Rasengan had beaten the Hyuga's ultimate defence.

"Father? What was that?" asked Hanabi, observing the shocked look on Hiashi's face at the result of that attack.

"That was known as the Rasengan. It was invented by the Yondaime" explained Hiashi, still stunned that Naruto had actually pulled that jutsu off. Although it had never actually been tested until now, the Yondaime theorized that the Rasengan had the power to even defeat the Kaiten. That theory had just been proven today.

'_Hmm, even when injured, to believe in victory and think ahead, the power to believe in one self…that becomes the power to change destiny'_ Genma, the proctor thought. '_This kid understands that and it comes naturally to him.' _Naruto walked over to Neji.

"Where did you get that? How did you?" said Neji.

"That's what happens when a failure doesn't decide to give up. However, unlike me you're not a failure, you're seen as a genius. And don't give me this destiny crap" explained Naruto. "If you're so depressed with what has happened in the past, then do something about it!"

"Winner: Naruto Uzumaki!" Genma announced. Naruto suddenly heard an unfamiliar sound coming from the stands…everyone was cheering and clapping for him.

'_Naruto…you did it!'_ thought Hinata.

"Great Fight". "That was amazing!" was what Naruto was hearing from around the stadium as he started jumping and celebrating.

"Geez, still has enough energy to run and jump around. What a stamina freak" Genma said to himself.

"**Not bad Kit, not bad"** even the Fox was impressed with Naruto's fight.

"Naruto's getting stronger and stronger. I can't believe it, but I'm actually kind of jealous of you" said Sakura quietly. A few of the jonin were impressed that Naruto had been able to pull out the Kyuubi's chakra like that without losing control.

'_To be able to tap in the Kyuubi's power and to be able to use THAT jutsu, since when did he?' _the Hoakge thought. In reality, only two other people in the stands knew about the relationship that Naruto had forged with the Kyuubi.

"Even a captured bird…if cleaver enough will pick the lock on his cage and escape…its desire to fly freely in the sky" Genma said to Neji as the medics came to collect him.

Hiashi wanted to get up and leave. He had something important to tell Neji, but his daughter's match was next and he wanted to see just how strong of an effect this boy, who even he once saw as a 'demon child', had on Hinata.

"Will the contestants of the next match, Hinata Hyuga and Shino Aburame, please come down to the arena" Genma announced. Shino had already walked down the stairs and was coming out to the field as Naruto was going into the stands. On his way up, Naruto met Hinata.

"N-naruto…that w-was a g-great match" Hinata stuttered.

Naruto just gave her is big goofy grin. "Thanks Hinata. That really means a lot. If it wasn't for you, I might not have been able to beat him."

"M-me? What did I do?" she responded.

"It was what you said the other night, about me being a proud failure. Thank you" Naruto said as Hinata began to blush a deep shade of red. "Now go on, Shino is waiting for you to fight him with your all and you can't disappoint him, can you?"

"No, I guess I can't after that" she said, gaining a little more confidence as they parted ways.

Hinata emerged in the stadium and approached the center. Talk was circulating around the stadium. Another Hyuga was taking the battle field and this one was from the main branch. She faced Shino in the middle and he could see a little bit on uneasiness in her. Normally, a shinobi would capitalize on this, but Shino wanted to fight Hinata at her best and he knew she would not be able to unless she was completely certain of herself.

"Hinata. I can tell that you are uneasy about fighting me. Why?" Shino asked.

"B-because you are my teammate and f-friend. I don't w-want to hurt you that badly" Hinata stuttered out.

Shino took a deep breath. "And it is because I am your friend that you should come at me with everything you have. I desire to see how strong you have become and you and we deserve to fight this at our full potential" explained Shino, saying more words in that minute than he normally says in a day.

Hinata closed her eyes and dropped her head slightly. She recalled Naruto's words about her being kind. _'Was this what he meant?'_ she thought as the answer came to her. She picked her head back up and looked at Shino, she was ready to prove herself. She was not going to disappoint anyone any more "Byakugan!" she shouted as she activated her eyes. Shino let out a rare smile. He was ready for the fight.

"Begin!" Genma announced.

"Father? Exactly how strong is nee-san?" Hanabi asked.

"Even I don't know that" Hiashi replied. "While she has been training with me these past few weeks, it is true that she has shown some impressive improvement to her skills. From what I have noticed, I will admit that she's not as strong as Neji, but I've noticed that she's been doing some 'extra' training at the nights. I have a feeling that she has something up her sleeve."

Hinata dropped into her Gentle Fist stance. Inside Shino, she could just barely make out chis chakra network as it was being blocked by the charka of his insects. She knew Shino and she knew that she would have to watch out for his insects as they would start draining her chakra. If she got too many on her or this fight lasted too long, Shino would win. She made a charge at him, hoping to take him out before he got a chance to set his insects up. Due to Shino's lack of taijutsu ability, she was able to land a few strikes on him before backing away from the insects coming out of his coat.

"Huh?!" she said. "I thought I hit some of your tenketsu?" In the stands, Hiashi saw it too.

"Yes, but I have found a way to defend against your attacks" Shino said as he sent a cloud of insects towards Hinata. Thanks to the training her father gave her, her speed had greatly increased and she darted around the insects, laying another two blows on Shino. Like the first attack, she failed to close the tenketsu, but figured out why.

"I see, you have your insects take the hit inside instead of your tenketsu" she said.

"Precisely" Shino replied, slightly impressed that she figured his strategy out so fast. Shino sent out even more insects towards Hinata, blocking her vision of him with all the small chakra dots that the insects gave off. She made her way around the insects and charged at Shino. However, she broke off her assault at the last minute, realizing something was wrong. She turned to her side to see the real Shino standing a few yards from her. She diverted her attack to that Shino and landed a few strikes on him. One of her attacks his while the rest were blocked by the insects. However, she got some insects on her and they were able to drain a small amount of chakra before she could get them off.

"Impressive, how did you realize that was not the real me?" he asked.

"All I saw was a blur of chakra coming from the other you" she explained. "It looked as if it was made up of many different sources of chakra. I soon realized that it was an insect clone, thankfully before it was too late." Shino nodded. He unleashed another swarm of insects from his body and they formed a wall in front of her. The insect clone then cut her off from behind while the swarm that he had initially released to guide her to the clone was hovering above. Soon, they had her surrounded. She was not going to get out of this one without getting a lot of insects on her, which would mean that they would drain a lot of chakra from her and she didn't exactly have the largest chakra reserves.

"Nii-san!" Hanabi called out from the box. Hiashi looked on as well.

'_So is this is Hinata? Did the month of training result in this, or do you have something else as I suspect' _Hiashi said to himself, looking behind him at the Hyuga elders who had that look of shame on their face. One Hyuga had already lost today, and to a 'demon brat' and a second Hyuga looked as if she was about to dishonour the clan yet again.

*Flashback*

Hinata stood on top of the stream at training ground 8. Those words she heard from the elders, they really did hurt her. What made it worse was that her father was actually supporting her. After that, she knew that she couldn't lose, or else she wouldn't only disappoint her father, but she would be working right into the elder's hands.

What she needed was something that would both impress her father and give her the chance to beat Shino. Being on the same team as Shino, she knew all his abilities, but he knew all of hers. She was standing on top of the water as she realized that training like this not only worked her chakra control, which was probably the strongest aspect of her. While practising her forms, a slight fluctuation in her chakra caused her feet to destabilize on the surface for a mere second. This was during the middle of one of her strikes, and as such, one of the water droplets got caught in her chakra bursts. Her Byakugan saw it, the water droplet sliced straight into two as her chakra passed through it.

Realizing that this was exactly what she needed, she began to work on rapidly expelling fine chakra blasts from her hands in an area that covered all points around her. While she was starting to get the hang of these small rapid bursts of chakra, they still wouldn't be enough if Shino sent out all of his insects. Now, what if she could sustain the attack? What if she could keep expelling the chakra in a fine and precise manner while maintaining the speed and flexibility of when she sent the small chakra bursts out? It took some time, but she was finally able to refine those bursts into fine beams that emanated from the palms of her hands. Using the natural speed and flexibility that she was discovering that she had, she found that she could reach every point around her body. All she had to do now was test it.

The following night, Hinata had made her way to a waterfall on the outskirts of the village. Thanks to a fallen tree, she had been able to stop the flow of the water momentarily, long enough for her to get into position. When the water finally reached the point where it was flowing over the tree, Hinata had begun to move her arms in a blur, adding chakra to them to increase the speed at which she could move them. The falling water finally made contact with her chakra beams. No water made it within 2m of her.

*End Flashback*

Shino signalled for his insects to attack and drain her chakra. His strategy for countering the gentle fist had proven rather effective as Hinata also was aware that if she got too many insects on her, they would drain all of her chakra. This kept her from engaging too long. He knew that if she kept up the attack, more and more of his tenketsu would eventually be closed as her strikes knocked out more and more insects. "Looks like it's over, Hinata" Shino called out as his insects began to move in on her.

"I'm sorry Shino…" Hinata said. "Protection of the Eight Trigrams!" With that, Hinata began to move her arms in a frantic looking fashion as she expelled thin chakra beams from her palms. Soon, she was surrounded by the same dome of thin, sharp chakra beams from a few nights ago.

"Father?" Hanabi said, looking at her stunned father. "What is that technique?"

Hiashi couldn't find the words for the move that Hinata had come up with. He was observing the event with his own Byakugan active, and what he saw was amazing. The insects that Shino had surrounding her were being sliced and diced within seconds as what looked like small blades of chakra were surrounding Hinata at every angle. What was this technique?

As the dome of cutting chakra came into contact with Shino's beetles, they were cut in half by the sharpness of Hinata's chakra. Shino just stood there stupefied, although it was tough to tell, as Hinata just cut through his insects.

Naruto was looking on in awe at that jutsu. "Wow! That's amazing!" he shouted out. A few of the people in the contestant's box were impressed while Gaara remained rather indifferent, thinking to how he was going to kill Sasuke in their upcoming match.

After a few seconds of cutting apart most of Shino's hive, Hinata began to focus her attention on her opponent. From what her Byakugan could tell, most of the insects within his body had left to attack her, leaving his tenketsu vulnerable. She put enough energy into her current technique to give her an opening. "Gentle Fist: Eight trigrams, Thirty-two palms!" she said, cancelling her protection and slipping into the Eight Trigrams stance. Before Shino's insects could get to her to stop her attack, it was too late and she began lashing out with her attack. Without any insects to block her chakra bursts, his tenketsu were vulnerable and she was able to close them. Shino crumpled to the ground, unable to move from her attack as his insects returned to their master. Despite the fact that they could give him chakra, the insects did not necessarily know how to open tenketsu and Shino was done. At the same time, Hinata had managed to cut his hive down to roughly 1/3 of its original numbers and he knew that any more attacks with his insects would just be countered by her protection. "Proctor, I surrender" Shino announced. "I am no longer able to move and my insects appear to be ineffective against my opponent."

Genma nodded at Shino's submission. "Winner: Hinata Hyuga!"

Most of the crowd stood up and applauded the victorious Hyuga; however to say that some were ecstatic would be an understatement. Naruto was so happy at Hinata's victory that he wasn't watching where he was going. He nearly fell of the railing. If it hadn't been for Haku or Shikamaru grabbing his feet, he would have fallen.

Kiba was howling like mad up in the stands and Kurenai was forced to rely on Asuma to control her emotions. As Hinata and Shino left the arena, Genma announced the next match. Before leaving, Hinata looked up at her father, who was giving her applause and the approval from his she was seeking.

However, her victory was bitter sweet Looking behind her father at the clan elders, she could still see the looks of disappointment on their faces, unchanged even after that display. Apparently, they still saw her as a failure and it was expected that she should have been able to defeat someone from an _inferior_ clan, as they saw it.

At the same time, Hiashi now seriously doubted if Hinata would even be able to put up a fight in her next match and unfortunately, the elders would see this as a sign of weakness if what he feared happened.

"The next match will be Sasuke Uchiha vs. Gaara!" he announced.

* * *

**A/N: So, here is my theory on why the Rasengan can defeat the Kaiten. Since both rely on rotation, the rotation of one can cancel the rotation of the other out. Now, with Neji's rotation stopped, he has nothing left in his Kaiten. However, the Rasengan also has a compression component along with the rotation component. When the rotation of the Rasengan is cancelled the compressed chakra released its energy upon Neji, sending him back into the wall.**

**Hope you enjoyed. Reviews and Comments are appreciated.**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Just a note on how I'm going to handle some responses to comments. If I feel the comment is required to help people better understanding of a chapter, I will be posting it at the end of said chapter that it was posted for. Other questions that people ask in their comments (such as those asking me about what directions I plan to take the story in), I will usually just reply to via a PM. So, if you have asked a question and don't hear back from me in a few days, then I may have posted the reply to your question as a note in the chapter which the question was posted.**

**A/N: Alright, so here are the remaining fights for the first round of matches. I decided to keep Shikamaru's match relatively the same with the exception that there was no hole there as Naruto did not defeat Neji by popping out of the ground. Also, I have made some changes to Sasuke and Gaara's match while Haku and Yugito's match was one that I had to write originally.**

**Hope you enjoy**

**Chapter 21: Round 3: Battles of the 'Geniuses' **

"Haha, you won, Hinata!" Naruto shouted as Hinata came back to the contestants' box. He then proceeded to give her a big hug. If they were in a match, Naruto would have won as Hinata fainted upon that with a clueless Naruto staring down at her.

"Will Sasuke Uchiha please report to the arena?" Genma announced as Gaara had already made his way to the arena. However, Sasuke had not shown.

"The crowd is becoming quite restless" the Kazekage said to the Hokage.

"Yes, that sure was a great match" replied the Hokage.

"I'm sure that is part of the reason, but its most likely because of this next match. For experienced lords and shinobi leaders, there isn't a match they'd enjoy more" said the Kazekage, referring to Sasuke and Gaara's match. "By the way, where is he?"

One of the Hokage's guards whispered in his ear that Sasuke was still missing. He also mentioned the question of Orochimaru.

"What's going on?" Ino said. "Where's Sasuke? Is he even here for his match?" She looked over at Sakura and saw that something was up.

"What the heck is that guy doing? Is he even planning on coming?" Shikamaru said.

"Of course he's coming, this is Sasuke after all. He's not going to pass up a chance to fight Gaara" replied Naruto. 'Sasuke, what's taking you so long?'

"We have no choice" the Hokage said. "The rules say he must be disqualified."

"Hokage-dono. Please wait a little longer before disqualifying him" requested the Kazekage.

"I beg your pardon, but anyone who takes punctuality lightly doesn't have what it takes to be a chunin" the Hokage's guard said. "Unless there is a suitable reason for the Lords to wait, we must go on as scheduled."

"I see" said the Kazekage. "If that is the case, then there is a more than suitable reason. The majority of the shinobi Lords are here because of this match, including myself. Sasuke is a member of the Uchiha clan after all, and we of the Wind country request that our Gaara be given the chance to fight him."

"Hokage-sama, what should we do?" asked his guard.

"There is no guarantee that Sasuke will come, but at least we can postpone his match until the very end. We will make this exception and have the match later on" said the Hokage. With that, the guard went to inform the examiner.

Baki remembered what Gaara said to him a few days ago. '_Did he really kill him?'_ Baki thought.

* * *

Hiashi found this little interruption to be a suitable time to finally have a chat with Neji.

Neji was in the stadium's infirmary, recovering from the match and reflecting on a few things that Naruto had said.

"Huh?...Oh, Hyuga-sama" one of the medic said.

"Sorry, but could you leave us alone for a little?" requested the Hyuga lord.

Neji struggled to sit up, still sore. "What do you want?" he said harshly.

"I came to tell you the truth of that day" Hiashi said.

"Truth?" asked Neji.

Hiashi nodded. "That day, I was fully prepared to die." Hiashi's comment struck Neji.

"What?! What are you talking about? That time my father was killed to take your place!" declared Neji.

"The results may appear that way, but that is not the truth" claimed Hiashi.

"What, after all these years?" replied a disbelieving Neji.

"I'm telling you after all these years because I thought you would believe me now" said Hiashi.

*Flashback*

Hiashi was standing in front of the Hokage and a few members of the Hyuga council, including his brother Hizashi. "There is no choice then, if it will prevent another war" said Hiashi to the Hokage.

"Hold on Hiashi" said one of the Hyuga elders. "The advanced blood of the Hyuga is a valuable trump card to this village. The duty of protecting it belongs to the main family."

"But before that duty, if the village is drawn into a dangerous situation…" said Hiashi.

"I know" replied the elder. "That is why the branch family exists. We will hand over Hizashi's body in place of yours. He has already agreed."

"But what they want is the secrets of the Byakugan. Once Hizashi is killed, they will be sealed away!" stated Hiashi.

"No. All we agreed to was to hand over the body of Hiashi Hyuga" claimed the elder. If we act like we agreed and hand over Hizashi's body, which is an exact duplicate of yours, they won't be able to complain any further."

Hiashi did not agree with this plan, especially sacrificing his brother in his stead. "Hiashi, the time must come for each generation where they must protect the Hyuga blood in this way. You must have the heart to let go of even a sibling to protect that blood…That is the destiny of the main family and that's the destiny of those born as Hyuga."

Hizashi spoke up. "What happened to the always valiant Hiahsi-sama?" taunted Hizashi.

"This is different than anything from the past! I can't…" Hiashi was cut off as Hizashi slammed his palm into his brother's stomach.

"Please let me go" Hizashi said.

"W-why? You have Neji" Hiashi managed to get out, trying to catch his breath. "Why for the main family do you chose death?"

"That's incorrect" stated Hizashi, shocking both Hiashi and the elder. "I have always hated the main family and I still do. That is why I am doing this to save you as my brother, not a member of the main family. This is the first time I have had the freedom to choose. I have only shown my ugly side to Neji…yet here, I finally understand my own will."

The entire room remained silent at Hizashi's comments. "Please tell Neji this…I am not being killed to protect the main family. To protect Neji, my brother, my family, and the entire village, I choose death by my own will" explained Hizashi.

Hiashi couldn't quite understand. "Choosing death is freedom?"

"Brother, I wanted, just once, to disobey the Hyuga destiny, that is all" Hizashi stated.

*End Flashback*

"That is the whole truth" said Hiashi as he told his story to Neji.

"Why should I believe a story like that?!" shouted Neji in disbelief. "It's some lie made up by the main family! After all these years!..."

"I thought that was what you were going to say. That is why I waited after all these years to tell you until now. I wanted to tell you Hizashi's final words, not as a member of the main family, but as his brother."

Neji looked down, taking it all in. When he looked up, he saw something no branch member had ever seen before. Hiashi was bowing before Neji, begging for Neji to believe him.

"Please…raise your head…"said Neji calmly. Hiashi left the room, but not before giving Neji a letter in his father's handwriting, explaining everything in his own words.

'_Father…is a person's destiny a thing like a cloud flowing with an inescapable flow? Or can a person choose the flow he wishes?'_ Neji thought. _'I still don't know the answer. Either way, the destination may be the same in the end. However, by choosing to live like the latter, a person can live and strive towards a goal, and in this match I finally understand that those who have that are truly strong. Father, I now have but one goal. I want to become stronger so that I may not lose to anyone ever again."_

* * *

"Oh, Hinata? What are you doing down here?" Hiashi said, running into his daughter down in the infirmary.

"Um…I was just making sure Shino was okay" Hinata replied. She was wondering if she would get something more from her father for once. However, after some time, Hiashi remained silent. She decided to return to the competitors' box.

"Hinata…" Hiashi said, causing his daughter to stop. "That technique, what was it?"

"Umm…well…It was what I was working on outside our training sessions. I…I call it the Protection of the Eight Trigrams" she explained. "I needed something to defend against Shino's insects and I came up with that. Unlike the Kaiten, which utilizes a charka pulse to repel attacks, the chakra is so thin that it cuts whatever hits it instead of pushing it away."

"Hmm, I see" Hiashi said, pausing for a moment, worrying Hinata a little. "It was good. I was impressed." Hinata picked up her head, glad that her father had finally begun to recognize that she did in fact have talent as a shinobi. "Now, go back to the stands, the other matches should be starting soon and you shouldn't miss them."

* * *

Back in the stadium, the Hokage's guard had informed Genma to proceed to the next match and to postpone Sasuke's match to the end of the first round. Some of the crowd was upset, but it was better than there being no match at all. For Gaara, at least there would still be an opportunity to kill Sasuke.

"Alright, we will go ahead with the next match, Haku Yuki and Yugito Nii, please step down to the arena" Genma announced.

As the two of them proceeded to the arena, Hinata made her way back to the contestants' box. "Hey Naruto, Hinata, you know the two of you are going to have to fight, right?" Shikamaru stated.

'_F-Fight N-n-naruto?…'_ Hinata thought, her mind going blank. Naruto wasn't sure what to make of it either. He didn't want to hurt Hinata, but at the same time, he didn't want to forfeit. Now, both he and Hinata almost regretted winning their match. Temari was getting quite a laugh as the two of them went completely silent and Hinata turned red.

"Begin!" Genma announced as Haku and Yugito began their match.

Yugito made the first move by launching her Katon: Fiery Hellcat Jutsu at Haku.

"Sution: Water Wall!" Haku said, creating a wall of water in front of himself to block the flaming cats.

'_Damn…I guess he can use water style ninjutsu since he can use ice style. And I'm a fire style user. This will be difficult, not to mention that I can't exactly use the power of the Nibi to freely'_ Yugito thought.

"**Yes, sadly I cannot help. From what I understood with Naruto, he was even pushing it by tapping into Kurama's power. Although I can give you a little bit. Kurama mentioned that was enough to defeat Haku's ice style."** Matatabi said to Yugito.

Now, Haku was aware of Yugito being a jinchuriki, after their encounter in the Forest of Death. As such, he was being cautious around her, knowing that Naruto was able defeat the ice style by tapping into his demon's chakra.

"Hyoton: Ice prison!" Haku shouted while Yugito was still in conversation with her demon. Ice shot towards Yugito along the trail of water on the ground that had been laid while Haku was using the water wall. The ice surrounded Yugito, encasing her in a block of ice. The entire audience stared in awe at Haku's ability. Many of them were simply not familiar with ice style and they were interested to see its true ability.

"What was that technique?" Ino asked Sakura.

"It's his Ice Prison. One of the techniques I helped him develop over the past month" Zabuza said, joining the group in the stands. Needless to say, the former Demon of the Hidden Mist got a few looks. Some people, especially those from out of town, did not expect to see him here, let alone wearing a Konoha headband.

"Ice?" Ino and Kiba asked.

"Yes, the Hyoton or Ice style. It's a blood line that belonged to the Yuki clan before they were all but eliminated during the Hidden Mist's blood line purges. As far as I know, Haku is the only one left who has the blood line" explained Zabuza.

"But Zabuza, I have heard that there are ninja in the Land of Snow that can use ice style jutsu" Asuma said.

"Yes, I am aware of that. However, Haku's blood line is the true Hyoton, and is more powerful than their ice style jutsu" explained Zabuza.

"Wow, so Haku is really that powerful?" asked Ino. Zabuza just nodded to her question.

'_Damn'_ thought Yugito. _'Looks like I am going to have to tap into your power, Matatabi.'_ With that, Yugito felt some of Matatabi's chakra flood her system.

"**This is all I can give you. Remember, we were warned by the Raikage not to use it, hoping to keep this fact relatively secret. We jeopardized it by talking to Naruto, but it appears as if he hasn't told anyone"** replied the Ghost Cat. While she was a jinchuriki fully capable of controlling her beast, Yugito being a jinchuriki was completely unknown outside the Hidden Cloud, with the exception of Team 7. The Raikage wanted to keep it that way as he wanted to have one secret weapon if the time came that Killer Bee, the jinchuriki of the Hachibi and the only other jinchuriki besides Naruto and Yugito to be in good standings with his beast, wasn't enough. This was why she couldn't fully tap into the Nibi's power this time around.

With the demon chakra, Yugito was able to break out of Haku's jutsu and charged forward at high speeds. Haku was prepared for this and had already frozen most of the water puddled on the ground. Thanks to the blood limit, Haku was able to walk on the ice without slipping. That was not the case for Yugito. Haku just sidestepped her as she slid by. When Yugito finally was able to stabilize herself, Haku had already prepared his next attack. "Hyoton: Ice prison!" The ice slowly began to encase Yugito, but she was able to break free as the demonic chakra was still flowing through her system.

"Katon: Fiery Claws!" Yugito said, creating claws of fire on both her hands and feet. She darted at Haku, claws at the ready. Thanks to the heat generated from the claws, the ice beneath her feet melted almost instantly, giving her some traction on the ice. She trusted her claws towards Haku, impaling him in the chest.

"Heh! Got you" she said.

"Haku!" Naruto shouted up in the competitors' box.

"No. She didn't get him" Hinata said, her Byakugan active. "There is no chakra network in that Haku, it's just a water clone."

"Huh?" Naruto said. "But I thought all clones had chakra networks, like my shadow clones."

"N-No. Shadow clones are one of the few clone types that exhibit a distinct chakra system" explained Hinata.

As Hinata explained, the impaled Haku burst into water, revealing it to be a water clone, soaking Yugito in the process. "Hyoton: Ice Prison!" shouted Haku as Yugito was instantly frozen. Unlike the last time, the ice did not creep have around her as she was already soaked in water. Instead, she was instantly frozen. Haku managed to leave her head unfrozen as he walked up to her and held a senbon to her neck. "Surrender" Haku said, giving Yugito only one option.

'_Damn. I can't use anymore demonic chakra without giving anything away and it's as if this ice is frozen into me, not around me like the last times. I can't move'_ thought Yugito, in a tight position. "Fine. I surrender."

"Winner: Haku Yuki" Genma announced as cheers erupted from the stadium.

"An interesting ability that one has" said the Kazekage.

"Yes, I would agree. And he demonstrated rather good mastery of it as well" the Hokage said.

'_He? That girl is a boy?'_ the Kazekage thought, slightly disgusted at his own train of thoughts.

Haku unfroze Yugito, who had to then go to the infirmary to be treated for a major case of frost burn.

"This ice kid's not bad" said Kotetsu to Izumo.

"Yeah, he showed a good mastery at using his abilities and even showed that he was a fairly good strategist, coming up with the idea of using the water clone to soak her and increase the potency of his ice" commented Izumo. Zabuza overheard their conversation and smiled a little. While they had not completely hit Haku's abilities, they were rather close.

Knowing that she was next, Temari whipped out her fan and floated down to the middle of the arena.

"Looks like you are eager to start" said Genma. "Shikamaru! Get down here!"

'_What's she getting all excited about? I wish she would just die'_ thought Shikamaru, who obviously didn't want to be there. _'Well, I guess I could forfeit and…'_

"Let's go Shikamaru!" Shouted Naruto as he pushed Shikamaru over the railing and onto the floor of the arena. Apparently, Naruto had gotten over the fact that he had to fight Hinata next and wanted to get to Shikamaru's fight.

'_That had to hurt'_ thought Temari, watching the whole ordeal.

"Hey! Hurry up and fight!" The crowd yelled as they started to throw stuff at Shikamaru, who was lying on the ground still.

"Everyone wants to see Sasuke's fight. They are probably angry because after all this waiting, they have to watch this fight" sighed Shikamaru. He then looked at his opponent. "Troublesome".

"What are you giving up already?" asked Temari.

"Well, it's not like he was motivated to begin with" said Asuma to the group of Konoha ninja in the stands.

"Good Luck! Shikamaru!" Shouted Naruto.

"Fine, if you won't come at me, I will" shouted Temari as she charged.

"Oh man, that girl is really revved up" said Shikamaru as he pulled two kunai from his back pouch. Temari slammed her fan down on top of Shikamaru, kicking up a cloud of dust. "Ya know, I really don't want to fight, and I don't care if I become a chunin or not, but I'm not going to lose to a girl." Shikamaru was up against the wall, about three feet off the ground, using the kunai to support him. Temari opened her fan and sent a gust of wind sailing towards Shikamaru.

"Hmph, he's good at running away" she said as Shikamaru dodged the attack, running into the trees.

"Can't have a guy lose to a girl, but even so, I can't go around hitting her" he said.

"YEAH SHIKAMARU! Beat her up!" Ino said, slipping into crazed fan girl mode.

'_Hmm, he's a ninja who uses shadows, so he's probably trying to lure me into those trees'_ thought Temari, analyzing Shikamaru's techniques.

"Hey Ino? Wasn't it supposed to be Sasuke's match next?" Chouji asked, depressing Sakura in the process.

'_Best to leave her alone right now'_ Ino thought, looking over at Sakura.

"Heh, Shikamaru in the finals seems really out of place, doesn't it?" said Chouji.

"Don't say that" argued Ino. "Sure he may not have many special techniques, but he's great at coming up with strategies. I get the feeling that is how we were able to survive until the finals."

"Mmm, yeah. But he'll give up soon" said Chouji, munching on a bag of chips. "He thinks things are too much of a hassle. I'm telling you, he's definitely going to give up soon."

"And I'm saying he won't" said Ino, getting into the match. "Just now, he jumped down into the ring on his own, so he must be fired up! Go Shikamaru!"

'_That's because Naruto pushed him off the ledge'_ Kiba thought.

Back in the ring, Shikamaru had been staring up at the clouds for the past 5 minutes. _'And I only became a ninja because I thought my life would be more interesting as one'_ he thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the hole that Naruto had made back in his match. '_I guess things aren't going to be that simple.'_

Wondering what Shikamaru was doing, Temari sent a huge gust of wind towards Shikamaru. Even the audience felt the gust. As her gust subsided, a shadow came bolting out of the woods towards her. Temari back flipped out of the way, coming to a stop once it couldn't reach any further.

"I've seen through your shadow possession jutsu" she said. "Looks like there is a limit to how much you can stretch and shrink your shadow. No matter how much you change and shape your shadow, you still can't stretch it any further than the surface area of your original shadow…right?"

'_So she figured it out'_ thought Shikamaru.

Temari analyzed Shikamaru's technique, taking into account the size of the wall's shadow and her distance from it. Suddenly, Shikamaru made a seal with his hands. No one recognized it, except Asuma.

"What's that seal?" Kurenai asked.

"It's not a seal" replied Asuma. "It's more like a habit. He knows how to slowly take his time. He actually enjoys it, like one of those old geezers. That's why he enjoys stuff like shougi. I've played against him a lot recently and he always does this when backed into a corner. It's a sign that he's working on some strategy. As a result, I've never beaten him before."

Kurenai looked at him as if he were a little crazy. "You speak of strategies, but this is a real fight" she said.

"Yes, but it is said that those games have their roots as devices for tacticians to plot their wars with" explained Asuma. "I guess you could say that Shikamaru's a shrewd tactician."

"Shrewd? Hold on a minute! His grades were no better than Naruto's" said Kurenai.

"Hm, he always said those testes were too much of a hassel to even move the pencil on paper. It seems like he would always sleep through his tests" explained Asuma, with Kurenai and the other genin listening in. "Once, it struck me that he could be so good at strategic games and have poor grades. So I had him take an IQ test disguised as a game."

"So, how was it?" Asked Kurenai.

Asuma let out a little laugh. "He sure is a diamond in a rough. He's a super genius with an IQ of over 200!"

"200?!" said Kurenai. The other genin, with the exception of Kiba, who didn't really know what IQ meant, were shocked. Chouji wasn't sure of the meaning of this IQ thing either, but he knew the full range of Shikamaru's intelligence as they had been best friends ever since childhood.

Shikamaru released his hands, indicating that he was done. Seeing that he was done as well, Temari whipped her fan, creating another massive gust of wind. When it subsided, a kunai came flying at her, which she blocked with her fan. Then, Shikamaru's shadow struck again. She thought she was safe as she was behind her safety line, but when the shadow didn't slow down, Temari had no choice but to start back peddling.

"Very good, you saw through it" said Shikamaru.

"I see, you were buying time for the sun to drop lower so that would increase the length of your shadow" explained Temari.

"TEMARI! Above!" shouted Kankuro from the stands. Everyone looked up to see what Kankuro was talking about and Temari saw it. Shikamaru had tied his coat to a kunai as a parachute. After a few seconds, another shadow appeared on the ground where the tip of Shikamaru's shadow was, allowing it to extend forward more towards Temari. Thanks to quick reflexes, Temari was able to back pedal away from this one as well. Eventually, she stopped as Shikamaru's shadow could not stretch anymore.

"Damn, his plan wasn't good enough" Kurenai said.

"Yeah, his opponent is pretty bright to" explained Asuma.

"This isn't good. As time passes, his shadow gets more of a reach" Temari said. 'I'll end it right here'. Temari made a hand seal, but was stopped mid seal. "What?!"

Everyone looked on at what had just happened. "Heh, finally. Shadow possession jutsu is a success" claimed Shikamaru. She didn't know what just happened. She was sure that she had evaded all his attacks. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a second kunai hit the ground with his shirt attached to it. The first one had just been a distraction from the second one and he used the first kunai with his jacket to push Temari more towards the second one.

"Heh, checkmate" Asuma said. In the arena, Shikamaru moved Temari against her will towards the center of the arena.

'_Suddenly, everyone's into this fight'_ Izumo thought.

'_The guy nobody took seriously just became a dark horse'_ Kotetsu thought.

"Yeah! Do it, Shikamaru!" shouted Ino. Next to her, Chouji's pace of eating had increased dramatically.

"I give up!" Shikamaru announced.

"…WHAT?!" could be heard from all over the stands. Naruto and Ino almost lost it.

"Heh, I told you he'd give up" said Chouji, his pace returning to normal.

"W-what?" Temari said.

"I said, I give up" repeated Shikamaru. "I barely have enough chakra to hold this jutsu for 10 more seconds. I had about 200 more moves planned out, but I'm out of time. Besides, I'm getting tired of this, 1 match is enough for me."

"Winner: Temari!" Genma announced as Shikamaru recalled his shadow.

'_Hmm, that's child's intellect is well beyond that of a genin. If it was an actual 4 man team, Shikamaru's victory would have been definite the moment he caught her'_ thought Kurenai. _'It's like he won the battle, but lost the match.'_

'_While it's true and unfortunate that he does not have any motivation, you could say it allows him to stay calm and collected while making decisions'_ thought Asuma. _'Because he knows his own strengths, he doesn't panic and doesn't lose his cool, allowing him to stay calm. When you talk about the mental make-up for a chunin, Shikamaru has the most important abilities that would make for a good leader.'_

"Hmm, when you measure the value of a small unit leader, protecting the team from danger is usually more important than completing the mission" said Izumo.

"In information gathering you can't be saying 'I completed my mission, but my team was wiped out'" said Kotetsu. "You need a leader that can balance the risks, sacrifice and mission on scale. If you can't act and think with the lives of the team as the top priority, you don't have what it takes to be a chunin."

"Well, on that point, Naruto and Neji were no good. I don't think Hinata is ready yet and neither is Shino. Haku, possibly. He has talent and potential, but I'm not sure yet" Izumo said. "What do you think?"

"He's got a better chance than Naruto" Kotetsu replied. At that time, Naruto jumped down into the arena to lecture Shikamaru about giving up like that.

"Why'd you give up?!" Naruto said.

"Forget about it, let's just enjoy the next fight" replied Shikamaru. Naruto had forgotten that Sasuke's fight was next and got all excited.

* * *

"Oh, you're here" one of the arena guards said greeting their guest.

"Okay! Let's go Lee!" shouted Gai. The two had made it just in time for Sasuke and Gaara's match.

"The first round has almost been completed, only Sasuke and Gaara's match remain" the guard said.

"The Naruto and Neji match was…" Lee said, wondering who the victor was.

"It's surprising, the Hyuga lost that match, although the other Hyuga won her match" informed the guard. "Haku beat the Kumo girl and the last match, well…Shikamaru won, but forfeited, saying it was too much work." Lee and Gai had a laugh at the last comment. The entire Nara family was known for their laziness and Shikamaru was no exception. However, what impressed them the most was Naruto's victory over Neji.

* * *

"Where's the Uchiha!" the crowd shouted, anxious for the next fight to begin.

In the contestants' box, Gaara began to head down to the arena. "Is he really going to come?" asked Temari.

"Yeah, he'll come" replied Gaara. Suddenly, a swirl of leaves appeared in the middle of the arena. When it cleared, there was Kakashi standing with Sasuke.

"Sorry we're late" said Kakashi. For some reason, Naruto wasn't surprised by this.

"Sasuke!" Lee said, finding his seat in the stands with the rest of his friends. Everyone was glad to see him out of the hospital and walking.

"Hmph, from your excitement, you won the first round?" Sasuke asked Naruto.

"Of course!" Naruto said with a big grin.

"Sorry for the tardiness, I hope Sasuke hasn't been disqualified" said Kakashi.

"Don't worry, you're just in time. We pushed his fight to the very end" Genma said. "And your tardiness is starting to rub off."

"That's good" said Kakashi. He left Sasuke in the arena and proceeded to the stands. Naruto and Shikamaru wished him good luck and proceeded back to the competitors' box.

"Sakura, I hate to admit, but your team is pretty amazing" Ino admitted.

"Huh?" said a confused Sakura.

"Well, Naruto won his first match; Haku has that cool ice ability, and now Sasuke!" Ino squealed at the last part.

Next to them, Lee was hurting. Sasuke was now fighting Gaara and Naruto had just beaten Neji, his rival. Yet Lee was stuck with a crippled arm and leg and his career as a shinobi in doubt. Only his sensei could see his student's pain.

As Naruto and Shikamaru were walking up, they heard two screams coming from the hall. Once the screams stopped, Gaara came calmly walking out. Naruto and Shikamaru were horrified at the act Gaara just committed. "I-if those two hadn't been there, we would probably be dead" said Shikamaru, Naruto agreeing with him. "I've never seen a guy who could kill with so little hesitation; even Sasuke could be in trouble."

"We've gotta go find Kakashi-sensei and have him stop the match" Naruto said.

* * *

"Heya Gai, and you too Lee, your body alright?" Kakashi said, coming up to the stands.

'_Kakashi-sensei'_ Sakura thought, showing a little bit of anger on her face.

'_Sakura must be pretty mad at him'_ Ino thought, looking at her friend.

"Begin!" Genma announced as the match began.

Gaara's sand was already pouring out of the gourd, causing Sasuke to back away. Gaara bent down and clutched his head in pain, the demon inside him becoming even more bloodthirsty. "Mother, I am sorry I fed you some nasty blood earlier, but his…his will be delicious!" said a sadistic Gaara.

"_What the hell?!"_ thought Sasuke. The realization came to him that this match, someone WAS going to die.

"Damn, 'conversation' has begun" said Kankuro, who was joined by Temari in the stands.

"I've never seen him like this before. It's going to get bad" said Temari.

Sasuke threw a few shuriken at Gaara, only for the sand to block them. Gaara's sand proceeded to take on a human shape, effectively becoming a sand clone. It shot some sand out at Sasuke, who dodged the attack. Sasuke engaged the sand clone, only for his hand to get caught. Before Gaara could do anything more to the trapped Sasuke, he freed himself from the sand with a thrust. Sasuke resumed his assault, attacking Gaara, but quickly moving behind hind him, just as Lee had done in the preliminaries.

'_Fast! Just like him!'_ Gaara thought, recalling the earlier fight. Sasuke was too fast for the sand and landed a punch on Gaara's face, cracking the sand armor.

'_His taijutsu is the same as mine' _thought Lee.

Imitating Lee's style, Sasuke continued the assault landing a few more blows on Gaara.

'_His speed is like that of Lee's without the weights…' _thought Gai. He looked over at Kakashi, who just returned a smile. 'What did you do Kakashi?'

'_Sasuke, you are a genius that surpasses my imagination. How many years did it take for me to gain that speed? And yet only a month for you' _thought Lee. However, he noticed Sasuke panting. '_But as expected, keeping up that speed requires a great amount of stamina.'_

"What kind of training did you do?" Gai asked Kakashi. "To come this far in only a month."

"I had Sasuke copy Lee's taijutsu earlier. During training I had him working on Lee's style" Kakashi said, confirming Gai's suspicions. "It was a lot of work, but because he had seen Lee in action before, he was able to copy him. Why did you bother only on training his taijutsu?"

"Katon: Fireball Jutsu!" shouted Sasuke, backing away from Gaara and shooting his fireball at him. The fire made contact with a wall of sand; however, Sasuke noticed something. Small chunks of sand had turned into glass and fell away from the wall. This was what he was looking for, only he needed a more powerful flame to get most of the sand.

"Kakashi-sensei!" shouted Naruto as he and Shikamaru arrived in the stands with Shikamaru dropping to his knees panting. Hinata followed closely behind, wondering what was up when Naruto and Shikamaru went racing through the contestant's box. "Stop the match now! That Gaara kid's not normal! He's a jinchuriki who's gone completely bloodthirsty and insane! His only purpose in life is to mindlessly kill others!"

Most of the genin in the stands were confused by Naruto referring to Gaara as a jinchuriki, not knowing what exactly it was. However, the jonin, chunin, and Sakura had looks of fear on their faces, now realizing what Sasuke was up against.

Kakashi regained himself. "Don't worry Naruto, we weren't late for nothing" said the Copy Ninja. Out of the corner of his eyes, he caught Sakura's reaction to Naruto's claim. _"If he knows what a jinchuriki is, then he knows about the Kyuubi. However, Sakura…she seems to know, but how?"_

"What do you mean, not late for nothing?" Sakura asked.

"We don't have time for this!" shouted Naruto.

"Just be quiet and watch" Kakashi said.

Gaara began to wrap himself in a cocoon of sand and Sasuke saw this as his opportunity to eliminate most of Gaara's sand. Gathering his chakra, he flipped through about a half dozen hand seals. "Katon: Dragon Fire Breath!" he declared as the flamethrower shot towards Gaara, encasing him in flames as if he was being baked.

"Did that?..." said Sakura, wondering if that last attack had managed to do some serious damage to Gaara. Once the flames cleared, it was obvious as to what Sasuke had done. Most of the cocoon had become glass, except for a small layer of sand near the very core.

"Wait? What just happened?" asked Naruto.

"Naruto, what happens when you superheat sand?" asked Kakashi. Naruto didn't know the answer until he looked at Gaara.

"Oh! It turns into glass?!" he said, realizing what Sasuke's strategy had been.

"**Ah, just like good old times. I miss the days of turning the Ichibi into a glass statue"** joked Kurama. **"Although, his fire wasn't quite powerful enough to bake the entire ball."**

Back in the arena, Sasuke was going to end it right here. He took a few steps back as the glass began to flake away from the cocoon. After finishing the hand seals, Sasuke's hand began to glow a yellow-blue color and a chirping noise could be heard.

"No way! Is that…?" said Gai, watching Sasuke's jutsu.

"Kakashi?" Zabuza asked. From the looks of it, that was the same jutsu that he was almost impaled by in the Land of Waves.

"The reason I trained Sasuke, is because he's the same type as me" stated Kakashi. Most of the genin in the stands were amazed at Sasuke's new technique.

"Now I see why you trained him in taijutsu and greatly raised his speed" Gai realized. Sasuke began his charge.

"What's going on?" asked Sakura. "You can clearly see the chakra in his hand."

"Yeah, I'm going to rip his head off. And then I'm going to crack it open so you can have all the blood in it" said Gaara to his inner demon. "I'm such a good boy. I just want to make you happy mother."

Everyone looked on as the Uchiha charged at the sand/glass ball, his hand charged with a crackling chakra.

"What's that technique and sound?" asked Sakura.

"A simple stab" explained Gai. "But it's the Leaf's number one tactician, copy ninja Hatake Kakashi's, only original technique. A technique designed specifically for assassinations. Because the chakra is concentrated at hand and the speed of the user, it gives off that chi chi chi sound. A thousand birds running towards you, that technique is called…"

Sasuke's hand impaled the ball, as it was now leaking some blood. Sasuke had drawn Gaara's blood. "Chidori, or the Lightning edge" Gai said. "Given that nickname when Kakashi cut a bolt of lightning with it"

Everyone stood in awe at Sasuke's attack and Zabuza was now aware of what he had managed to avoid just a few months ago. Sasuke's Chidori cut through the remaining ball of sand like butter, impaling Gaara in the shoulder and causing him to actually bleed for the first time in his life. A scream of pain could be heard through the stadium as feathers began to fall from the sky. The time had come for Orochimaru's forces and the Sand to make their move.

* * *

**Reviews and comments are greatly appreciated.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Alright, so here is the beginning of the invasion. Hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 22: The Invasion of the Leaf**

A pain filled scream was heard throughout the stadium and feathers began to fall down from the sky. The more experienced jonin, chunin, and even a few genin recognized that this was genjutsu. As those who recognized what was happening dispelled the effects of the genjutsu, the Sand shinobi in the audience and the Sound shinobi, disguised as civilians in the audience leapt into action as they began their assault.

In the stadium, Sasuke was forced back as an arm extended out of the ball, pushing him back and trying to grab onto him at the same time.

"**Damn Kit, this could get really bad"** said the Fox as Naruto was still watching Sasuke's fight while the fighting in the stands had just begun.

In the stands, most of the chunin and jonin had already dispelled their genjutsu. Sakura, having the intelligence and capability to use genjutsu, dispelled hers, and Hinata did the same, being the student of Konoha's 'Genjutsu Mistress'. Unfortunately for another of her teammates, this wasn't the case as Kiba fell asleep almost instantly. On the other hand, Naruto had no idea what to make of the feathers and he would have fallen under the effects of the genjutsu if it hadn't been for the giant Fox that lived in his head, who was already sending out small bursts of chakra to disrupt the genjutsu.

'_So Kabuto has started his move'_ the Kazekage thought, looking over at the Hokage. He knew what was going on, that wasn't the Kazekage. The two guards popped a smoke screen. Once the smoke settled, the Kazekage had the Hokage with a knife held to his neck.

Everyone from the Sand and Sound recognized the signal and began their attack. All throughout the stadium, sounds could be heard of the Leaf ninja engaging with one another. Outside the village, a giant three-headed snake had appeared and began rampaging through the outskirts of the village.

Upon seeing their Hokage being held captive, a team of ANBU attempted a rescue, only to be intercepted by the 'Kazekage's' guards. The guards were quickly dispatched, although they revealed themselves to actually be four Sound ninja posing as two guards. They took up a position around the roof top that the two kages were. "Ninja art: Quad Purple Flame Wall!" the four Sound ninja shouted in unison. A purple wall of flame rose around the area where the Kages were. One of the ANBU tried to burst through the wall, but caught flame was he was repelled. The Hokage was on his own to face his foe.

"For Suna to betray Konoha" the Hokage said to his captor.

"An alliance is only useful to camouflage and make the enemy lower his guard. The stupid fighting games end here, history will change."

"You want to start a war?" the Hokage asked.

"Precisely" the Kazekage said.

"You should avoid conflict and seek out diplomatic solutions. There is still time" said the Hokage.

"Heh…do we become peace loving fools when we age…Sarutobi-sensei?" the Kazekage hissed.

"You!" said the Hokage.

* * *

Baki, Kankuro, and Temari jumped down besides Gaara, as the cocoon of sand peeled away to reveal Gaara clutching his head in pain. "With Gaara like this, what are we supposed to do?" asked Temari as Baki was thinking on a new strategy. Gaara was the Sand's trump card and even with the Sound's help, it would be difficult to defeat the Leaf without Gaara.

"You two get Gaara out of here and try and prepare him for the plan" ordered Baki. Temari and Kankuro obliged and took their brother out of the stadium.

"Is the leader of your party Orochimaru?" Genma asked Baki as the two faced each other.

"Who knows, let's just have some fun?" responded Baki.

"What the hell is going on?!" shouted a confused Sasuke.

"Sasuke, sorry but the chunin exams are now over" explained Genma. "The Leaf is under attack by a combination of Sand and Sound shinobi. If you are a Leaf shinobi, then return to your sensei, gather a team and stop Gaara from carrying out whatever plan he may have."

* * *

"So what kind of guy is this Orochimaru?" a ninja asked on the outer wall of the village. A group of upper level chunin and jonin level ninja had been deployed to the outer wall to defend against the invading ninja.

"He was formerly, the Sandaime's student" replied Ibiki.

"Why did he become a missing nin?" another guard asked.

"Because, when the Yondaime was chosen, Orochimaru felt he was the better choice, but he wasn't chosen" Ibiki replied. "Pretty soon after that, he defected from the village. From that, Orochimaru most likely holds a grudge against the Sandaime."

"Revenge?" one of the guards asked a little shook.

"Most likely. When I saw him as a child, there was only one thought going through my head…" stated Ibiki. "That he wasn't human. He was only wearing a human shape…I was afraid…absolutely terrified."

At that time, another guard appeared on the platform they were stationed on. "Report!" the newly arriving ninja said. "Giant serpents have appeared at the eastern entrance of Konoha and approximately 100 Sand ninja have begun invading the village!"

"Have all shinobi assume their positions and get in contact with the commander of the eastern gate!" ordered Ibiki as everyone obeyed.

* * *

"I see, so that's how it is" responded the Hokage.

"Your foolishness has caused the Leaf to fall further behind. I have won" claimed the Kazekage, ripping off his face to reveal…

"Orochimaru!" said the Hokage. "I thought this day would come eventually, but you won't get my head so easily."

"I told you that you should have picked the Godaime. Because you will die here today, Sandaime" sneered Orochimaru.

* * *

Kakashi, Gai, Zabuza, and the other jonin and chunin had begun engaging the enemy ninja attacking them. Looking up at where the Hokage was supposed to be, Kakashi saw a barrier ninjutsu surrounding the area. Gai pointed out something and Kakashi realized what was inside the barrier…Orochimaru and the Hokage.

"Orochimaru?!" both Sakura and Naruto said in unison. Both of them thought of Sasuke, who Orochimaru had attempted to get his hands on during the second round, only to be foiled by a certain 'demon brat'. Could this be another attempt for him to get his hands on Sasuke?

"Orochimaru? Isn't he one of the Sanin? The one who became a missing ninja?" asked Zabuza as both Kakashi and Gai nodded.

"I'm still not sure why he is here" said Kakashi, "but it's not good."

"**Kit, behind you!" **

Naruto turned around to see two sound ninja darting towards him. He then felt a small amount of Kurama's chakra surge into him, giving him the necessary speed to dodge their attack and retaliate, sending them into the wall behind them.

'_Thanks'_ said Naruto to the Fox.

Unfortunately for Sakura, she didn't have the speed to evade or retaliate against her attackers. However, she did have Kakashi. Kakashi dug two kunai into the attacker's heads, killing them.

"Stay like that for a little while, Sakura, I'll even the odds" said Kakashi, giving his student a smile.

"Hey Kakashi…it's been awhile since our last challenge, my eternal rival" said Gai. "What do you say?"

'…_eternal rival?'_ Zabuza though, staring at Gai. He wasn't quite sure where this was going.

"Most kills wins?" Kakashi responded, giving a little smile. Gai nodded. Upon hearing this, now Zabuza wanted in.

"Now you are talking" Zabuza replied.

"Looks like he have a new rival…ehh Kakashi?" responded Gai. Zabuza's sweat dropped upon hearing that.

"Huh? You say something Gai?" replied Kakashi, enraging Gai with his coolness.

"So whoever kills the most Sound and Sand ninja wins, correct?" Zabuza asked, pulling out his sword.

"Yes, but our primary objective is to prevent casualties" Kakashi replied. "Although, I'm concerned about the Hokage."

"Let the ANBU handle it. Besides, that person is the Hokage, he's not to be taken lightly" replied Gai as Kakashi, Zabuza, and Gai began their 'contest'.

At the same time, Naruto was fending off a few of the Sound ninja that had decided to attack him. He was knocking them out with ease, thanks to the boosts in strength and speed given to him by the Fox. However, as the number of Sound increased, he found himself back to back with Hinata, who almost fainted realizing who she was so close to, but she knew that if she fainted now, she would either die, or lose all the respect that she had just gained over the past month. The Sound ninja charged at the two genin. "N-naruto, get down" she said to him. Somehow, Naruto knew that was the right thing to do and he fell to the ground as Hinata began moving her arms.

"Protection of the Eight Trigrams!" she yelled out as the dome of cutting chakra formed around the two, severely injuring any of the Sound ninja that had tried to attack them.

'_Wow! I knew that was an amazing technique from the battle, but I never knew it was this good'_ thought Naruto.

"**Heh, that little vixen is certainly full of surprises" **Kurama responded.

When she stopped her attack, she was panting heavily, having not fully recovered her chakra from her fight with Shino. Suddenly, about a dozen more ninja appeared in front of each of them and another dozen behind them. Naruto pulled a single shuriken out and aimed it at the Sound ninja, causing them to laugh a little. They could easily handle one shuriken. Naruto threw the shuriken. "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he said, pumping a lot of chakra into the jutsu. Suddenly, the single shuriken became 50 and took the Sound ninja by surprise. When all was said and done, two of the Sound lay dead and three more severely injured. Out of anger, the remaining Sound ninja charged at the two genin. Only to be stopped and killed by Zabuza. He had stepped in between them, and with a single swipe of his Executioner Blade, all 7 dropped to the ground, dead.

Naruto was still a little shaken by the fact that he had actually killed. Zabuza turned to him. "Were those your first kills, kid?" he asked as Naruto could only help but nod.

"**Kit, get over it"** said Kurama, trying to snap him back. **"Right there, you had to kill them. If you didn't, they probably would have gotten to your little vixen and potentially killed her. Now, you wouldn't want that? Nor would you want anyone else in this village to die, right?"**

"_N…no, I guess not"_ replied Naruto. _"And stop calling her my vixen!"_

"**Then you have no choice but to kill those who are threatening those close to you" **said Kurama as Naruto began to snap to that realization. If he was to protect the Leaf, then he would have to kill the enemy ninja. Kurama let the vixen comment slide. He figured it was only a matter of time anyways.

"Just don't beat yourself up over having to kill someone. As a shinobi, you will have to kill. The sooner you realize that, the better. Trust me, you did the right thing. If you didn't kill, you and your friend could be in trouble" the former Demon in the Mist said, practically repeating what Kurama had said.

The 12 Sound ninja who were facing Hinata were ready to attack. They were a little cautious after seeing what she had done to their comrades, but attacked none the less. Unfortunately, with Naruto at her back, she didn't have much freedom to dodge. "Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams, One hundred and twenty-eight palms!" Hiashi called out, disabling all of the attackers who were attacking his daughter.

"Father!" Hinata called out as Hiashi ran to her.

"Hinata, now is not the time to try and prove something. As a Leaf ninja, your primary duty id to get those who cannot protect themselves to safety" explained Hiashi. "Go with Kurenai and help to evacuate the villagers. Also, go find your sister and get her to safety as well."

"Yes, father" replied Hinata. She turned to Kurenai and Naruto.

"I'll be fine, don't worry. I've got Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza" replied Naruto, giving her his usual grin. Hinata took off with her sensei.

"_Hinata, please be safe. I can't be losing you now that you've finally awakened"_ thought Hiashi, turning his attention to the attacking sound ninja.

"12" Kakashi said, jabbing his Raikiri through the chest of a ninja who saw the cowering Sakura and tried to attack her.

"14, my eternal rival! The power of youth burns in me today!" exclaimed Gai, sending a Sound ninja through a stone column and down onto the arena floor below.

'…_power of youth?'_ Zabuza thought. He still didn't get this spandex wearing jonin. "Is that all? I've already killed 21!"

"So it seems we might have a new eternal rival, eh Kakashi?" said Gai, slamming another Sound ninja into a third Sound ninja.

'…_Why did I come here?'_ Zabuza thought, sweat dropping. He was contemplating using that sword on Gai as well.

Kakashi's attention then turned to Sakura. Like he said, he had evened the odds and it was a little safer for her to come out of hiding. "Sakura, it was worth teaching you genjutsu, as I thought, you have a talent for it" praised Kakashi. At that time, Sasuke joined them in the stands and Haku came shortly after. Kakashi then turned to Naruto, realizing that he was in fact awake, which was weird as he had no recollection of teaching Naruto how to dispel genjutsu. Team 7 then gathered around their sensei as the fighting began to die down in the area around the stands. "I have an A-rank mission for the four of you."

"A-rank?!" shouted a surprised and happy Naruto.

"Yes, what you said to me about Gaara being a jinchuriki is not good. In fact, I have a bad feeling about it. Now, a jinchuriki is…" instructed Kakashi as he was cut off by Sasuke.

"We know" Sasuke said, pointing at Naruto who had a slight grin on his face as Kakashi's eyes widened.

"What? When?" asked Kakashi in surprise.

"The Forest of Death, when we encountered Orochimaru" explained Sakura. This confirmed Kakashi's suspicions about his team and their knowledge of what was inside Naruto. He would have to have a long chat with them after this was all over.

"Anyways, the four of you are to track down Gaara and stop him before anything bad happens" explained Kakashi. "I have a feeling Naruto knows the most about what's going on with Gaara, so I…"

Naruto's eyes widened as he realized what Kakashi was hesitant to say. "I…I appoint Naruto the leader for this mission" said a reluctant Kakashi.

"Yeah! You can count on me sensei!" shouted Naruto. The three other members of Team 7 dropped their heads, now doubting Kakashi's judgment. However, one thing was true…when it came to demons and jinchuriki, Naruto was the best source of knowledge they had.

On their way out of the village, Team 7 noticed a few civilians cornered by about a dozen Sound ninja. They could see no one else around and Naruto remembered what Kurama said about protecting the people of this village. The four of them made a quick detour as three of the sound ninja charged at the unprotected civilians, intending to kill.

The woman closest to the Sound ninja feared this would be it for her, until the Sound ninja fell to her feet, dead. Looking up to see her savior, she didn't expect what she had seen. The one she had referred to as the 'Demon Brat' and hated as a result had been the one to come to her rescue. Team 7 had now engaged the rest of the sound ninja, who did not have time to react as Sakura trapped them in a genjutsu long enough for Sasuke, Naruto, and Haku to ready for an attack to take them down. A few seconds later, and all twelve sound ninja laid dead.

"You…you're" the woman stuttered pointing at Naruto.

"Yeah, I know. I'm the 'Demon Brat'" said Naruto, finishing her sentence.

"No, you saved me" she exclaimed as the rest of Team 7 took off in the direction of Gaara. Was he really that bad? All she could think about was whether or not he really was a demon child. Everyone else in the group of civilians were thinking the same thing. He had helped save them. A 'demon child' wouldn't do that, but he did.

Receiving information from Kurama about the Ichibi, it became blatantly obvious that their intention was to unleash the Shukaku on Konoha. The team quickly agreed that could not happen.

* * *

In another section of Konoha, Hinata had found herself up against a squad of Sand ninja. She was separated from Kurenai when they spit to survey the area. Two of the Sand ninja attacked and Hinata was busy parrying or evading their attacks. However, she was too busy dealing with them, and was unable to deal with the barrage of kunai coming at her from the other two Sand ninja who had stayed back.

"Kaiten!" shouted Neji, blocking the incoming attack.

"Neji-niisan!" said Hinata, surprised by her cousin's sudden appearance and him actually defending her.

"Hinata-sama" said Neji. This also surprised Hinata as there was no resentment in his use of an honorific associated with her name. "I have learned a few very important things in the past hour and I want to say that I am truly sorry for how I have treated you, but now is not the time for such apologies. We must show these traitors why the Hyuga is the strongest clan in the leaf."

Hinata was uplifted by Neji's sudden turning. The two took their stances as the four Suna ninja surrounded them. "Hinata-sama, are you versed in the Eight Trigrams?" asked Neji.

"Yes, I can do the first thirty-two strikes, but I'm still not comfortable on the next thirty-two" explained Hinata.

"Well, then just try your best" he encouraged.

"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms!" the two of them declared in unison as they proceeded to attack their opponents. Seconds later, the Sand ninja crumpled to the ground as channeling chakra through their bodies was now almost impossible.

Neji noticed something about Hinata there. It wasn't so much during the first thirty-two strikes, although it was present, but during the last thirty-two strikes that he noticed something was…off. It was almost as if she was forcing it upon herself rather than letting the attack come naturally to her.

* * *

With the stadium secure, Kakashi remained behind to fend off any remaining enemies and to aid Genma with the coming battle between him, Baki, and the cloaked figure that had just arrived next to Baki. For Gai and Zabuza, they realized that their abilities were needed elsewhere as a few waves of Sound and Sand shinobi had begun to invade the village from the outside, increasing the number of enemies inside the village.

One of the most problematic opponents for the Leaf ninja was the giant snake making its way through the village.

"Ninpou: Watchtower Demolisher Jutsu!" A giant toad came crashing down on top of the snake, killing it. On top of the toad stood Jiraiya. "Long time no see, eh Ibiki?" he said.

"Jiraiya-sama!" called Ibiki. The other guards were both shocked and relieved that another of the Sanin had joined the battle, but on their side.

"Little chickadees!" Jiraiya began to chant. "Open them small eyes of yours, as wide as you can and take a really good look! Blessed be! It's the twilight zone flight of rampage, by Jiraiya, the alien sage ninja!"

A few people's sweat dropped after Jiraiya's self-introduction. "Where's the Sandaime?" he asked.

"On top of that building, with Orochimaru!" said Ibiki.

'_Don't be dying on me now, old man' _thought Jiraiya.

* * *

**So, I want to ask a question. I plan on having Naruto leave with Jiraiya for a few years. This will not happen for awhile, but it will happen. This training session will be different from that in the cannon. What I want to ask is do you want me to include a set of chapters detailing Naruto's adventures and training during that time or should I just skip it, like the time-skip in cannon? I will be using later chapters in this story to detail what exactly Naruto will be learning, but I do not feel to reveal it at this point in time. Anyway if you have a strong opinion about how you would like to see me do this, please send me a PM and I will take your opinion into consideration.**

**A/N: I will not be including the Hokage's battle with Orochiamru as I plan for it to go exactly as it did in cannon. If you want to know what happened then I would recommend just reading those chapters in the manga. Rather, I will be focusing on some of the other battles going on, primarily the battle between Team 7 and Gaara.**

**Comments and reviews are greatly appreciated.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 23: The Battle of Konoha**

Team 7 had successfully left the village and was in pursuit of the three Sand ninja, who intended to unleash the Shukaku upon Konoha. As Gaara was injured, the three of them were moving at a much slower pace than normal and it wasn't long until they sensed their pursuers. Knowing that they had to get Gaara in position before the demon began to take over, Kankuro made the necessary sacrifice and fell behind to slow down the pursuing Leaf ninja.

As Team 7 was making their way through the forest outside the village, the found themselves under attack by a barrage of needles. Thanks to Haku's quick reactions, the needles bounced off a blockade of ice, leaving the team unharmed. "Naruto, I can handle him. This will let the three of you continue on to Gaara" suggested Haku, waiting for the leaders call.

"Fine. Just catch up with us later Haku" determined Naruto, as the rest of the team continued on. Kankuro tried to stop them, but another shield of ice allowed Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to get away. Naruto had explained to the team that is the Ichibi got free, then that thing would destroy most of Konoha itself before the Leaf could mount any sort of response. With the Leaf already under siege, repelling both Orochimaru's forces and a demon would be near impossible. Their only hope was to get to Gaara before h fully unleashed the demon.

Haku was now facing Kankuro, doing what he felt he must in order for his friends to get through and stop Gaara. Kankuro released the puppet from his back and sent it towards Haku with a poisoned blade at the ready. Haku easily blocked the assault, forming an ice mirror in front of him. Realizing that the ice was too thick to break through, Kankuro had his puppet move around the mirror. As it did, Haku did not move and the puppet's blade impaled Haku, only for him to burst into a puddle of water, soaking the puppet in the mean time. Haku made a quick hand seal and the puppet began to crack apart as the expansion of the water that had seeped inside the puppet forces the puppet into pieces.

Kankuro swore under his breath as Haku had gotten past his puppet. However, Kankuro had a second puppet that Haku had forgotten about from the preliminary exams. Coming from behind an unsuspecting Haku, Kankuro's second puppet opened its chest cavity and grabbed Haku, trapping him inside. Normally, Kankuro would use his first puppet's blades to stab the inside of the puppet, but Haku had reduced that puppet to nothing but scrap. He then decided to use a poison gas ball that he had installed to poison Haku inside the cavity.

"Hyoton: Destruction Ice Spears!" called out Haku as large ice spears shot out from Kankuro's puppet, ripping it to shreds and freeing Haku. Haku was panting as that last attack did require a large amount of chakra to use, but now Kankuro was puppetless. "Hyoton: Ice Prison!" As he unleashed his next jutsu, Kankuro found himself becoming encased in ice. Haku had pretty much bested him.

* * *

Temari and Gaara were hurrying as best as they could to get into a position where they could unleash the Shukaku upon Konoha, but give their troops enough of a warning so that they wouldn't be killed as well. As such, they had planned to go around Konoha, to the top of the plateu that the Hokage monument was carved into and they would unleash the Shukaku there, effectively sandwiching Konoha's forces between the Sand/Sound forces and the Shukaku. However, because of the activity of the Leaf's patrols, scouting the area for any additional enemies that may approach the village, the two of them were forced to take a wide detour away from the village and around to the back. As a result, the team that had been sent to intercept them was rapidly approaching and Kankuro had failed to slow them down. What made it worse was that the demon inside Gaara was beginning to force its way out.

Gaara finally got to the point where he could no longer proceed as the mental anguish had become too much and he begged for Temari to get away before it was too late. It was at this time that Team 7 showed up. "We don't know what you're planning, but we know it's not good and that we have to stop you right here" declared Sasuke, jumping down to face Gaara.

Gaara bent over in pain as the demon began to emerge, partially transforming his arm and half of his head in the process. Inside Naruto, Kurama was warning him that Gaara's transformation had already begun and that they needed to do something quick.

Temari had retreated to a tree about a hundred meters away from where Gaara was. This wasn't necessarily a safe distance, but it gave her a nice view of the coming fight and would give her a slight head start should she need to escape.

"You…You're strong, you have companions, and you have ambition, like me" said Gaara. "I'll kill you! Once I have done that, I will have ended that. Once I have done that, I will feel alive! **Come let me feel it!"**

Team 7 felt a wave of killing intent radiate from Gaara that was more intense than what they felt from the forest of death. The three members of Team 7 looked on in horror at Gaara's transformation. It was almost like what Naruto went through, but it seemed as if Gaara wasn't in complete control.

"**Are you afraid of me?"** taunted Gaara. **"Afraid of my existence? Remember, you are now my prey!" **

Taking advantage of their shocked expressions, Gaara lashed out his sand arm at Team 7 as they just managed to evade. They spent the next few minutes trying to evade Gaara's attacks and Gaara's taunts continued. **"What's the matter, are you afraid of me?!"** called Gaara. **"Have your fears overtaken you? I thought this was going to be exciting…how do you intend to kill those you were meant to kill? Are your reasons for existence that puny? If you crave an answer…come and get me!"**

'_It was intentional…he left me alive for a reason'_ thought Sasuke. _'He let me live so that he doesn't have to feel guilty about killing the entire clan.' _ "My brother Itachi chose me to be the avenger! My sole reason for existence is to hunt and destroy him!"

Taking Gaara's taunts to heart, Sasuke activated his Chidori and charged at Gaara. Naruto had warned him not to rush into this, heading the warnings coming from the Fox. When the attack landed, Sasuke's Chidori carved through Gaara's arm like butter.

"**Ahahahahaha!" **laughed Gaara. His wound wasn't bleeding, at least not blood. It was bleeding sand, which quickly closed the wound, healing his arm. **"I see…so that's what it was. The reason why I'm so excited. I just got the answer…the pain! Defeating a man who's strong enough to hurt me and utterly destroying him! That's what gives me an even greater sense of existence!"**

Gaara begged for more and his transformation progressed further as a tail emerged, resembling his arm. Inside Naruto, Kurama was swearing at the events.

"Sasuke, Kurama told me that fire is the way to go against him" explained Naruto, taking the advice directly from the Kyuubi. Sasuke remembered the battle back in the stadium and understood what Naruto was referring to.

"Katon: Dragon Fire Breath!" shouted Sasuke as he gathered the chakra and expelled it as a flamethrower towards Gaara. Gaara blocked the fire with his tail, but he noticed that it slowly began turning into glass.

"**You…"** hissed Gaara as he noticed that Naruto had jumped down to Sasuke's side. **"You're the one I failed to kill the other day!" **Gaara's rage intensified as he lashed out with his hand towards Naruto. Naruto screamed for everyone to get away, but Sakura wasn't quick enough. The sand hand struck her, pinning her against a tree and knocking her unconscious.

"SAKURA!" both Naruto and Sasuke screamed.

"**What is she to you?"** questioned Gaara.

"She's my comrade! Let her go or else I'm going to kick your ass!" declared Naruto. Gaara's grip on Sakura tightened as Sasuke was struggling to free her, but to no avail.

"**Haha. The only way she'll be released is if you can beat me! Not only that, but the sand will get tighter as time passes, slowly crushing her"** claimed Gaara. He removed his arm from Sakura, but still left some sand to pin her and slowly crush her. Sakura let out a slight gasp as the sand tightened, most likely breaking a few of her ribs. Both Sasuke and Naruto now realized that their only hope to save her was to beat him.

Naruto looked at Gaara, trying to figure out why exactly he was doing this. What he saw, was part of himself. _'What sad eyes…very lonely. Just like me, he's had to live with a monster in him' _thought Naruto. '_I loathed everyone. I couldn't understand why they hated my very existence. When I learned the Kyuubi was inside me I felt terrible, it was so painful. But, then I met Iruka-sensei…Sakura…Sasuke…Kakashi-sensei…Hinata…everyone…and…even you Kurama. Despite all the pain we've gone through from the villagers, you and I accepted each other and I consider you a friend. You could be just like the Shukaku, manipulating me and trying to escape and destroy everything, yet you decided to help me…'_

"**What's the matter, afraid of me?"** taunted Gaara. **"To fight for yourself or to fight for others…Just love yourself…Fight only for your sake. C'mon, Fight me! Show me your power!"**

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other. This fight was going to require all of their power. "Fine! If you want to see my power, here!" shouted Naruto. Sasuke knew what was coming as a demonic chakra began to wisp around Naruto, forming into a fox-like chakra cloak. _"Let's go Kurama!" _His cloak began to take on the one-tailed form as Kurama began to force even more chakra into the kid, slowly pushing another tail out of the chakra cloak.

"Sasuke, we need to hit this guy hard and fast" said Naruto, Sasuke agreeing.

"**Haha! Sand Shuriken!" **shouted Gaara as he sent a wave of sand shuriken towards Naruto and Sasuke, sending them flying back. The two Leaf ninja rebounded as Gaara laughed at them. They looked at each other and connected like they did when first fighting Zabuza in the Land of Waves.

"Katon: Dragon Fire Jutsu!" shouted Sasuke, unleashing his attack. Gaara blocked with his tail, causing more of it to turn from sand to glass, but nowhere near enough to slow Gaara down. Gaara sent his arm out, trying to hit Sasuke, but Sasuke's Sharingan had caught this and he dodged before Gaara's attack could make contact.

When Gaara looked around, he saw that a particular jichuriki with a fox-like cloak was missing. What happened next…Gaara would be feeling for the next few months, regardless of his demon state.

"Straight from the teachings of Kakashi-sensei and refined from the teachings of Pervy Sage! Ultimate Secret Technique: An Eternity of Pain!" A Rasengan that Naruto had formed came slamming up into Gaara, just underneath the tail. The blast of the attack sent Gaara flying as it looked like half of him had been blasted away. Gaara let out a sadistic scream of both pain and enjoyment. Temari looked on at the damage that Naruto had actually inflicted to Gaara. **(A/N: For those of you wondering, yes that technique is essentially a Rasengan to the ass.)**

"What was that?" asked Sasuke.

"My new technique" smiled a fox-cloaked Naruto.

"**Haha! You are fun…Naruto Uzumaki. But now it is time you die!" ** shouted Gaara.

"No! It's finally here!" said a horror-struck Temari. Suddenly, a giant figure began to rise above the forest. The true form of the Shukaku had appeared.

"**Damn…no matter how you look at it, this is bad!" **shouted Kurama.

'_I know that! Any way you can channel more chakra to me?'_ replied Naruto.

"**No, at least not without the risk of destroying yourself. This is the most I can give you right now. However, the transformation is not fully complete. We can still stop him, but we need that giant toad that I told you about"** explained Kurama.

Sand began to rise up around Sasuke and Naruto as Gaara prepared to make his final move.

"**Kit, channel an entire tail worth of my chakra into this summoning jutsu and hope for the best" **advised Kurama.

"I, Ino, Tori, Saru, Hitsuji" Naruto chanted, going through the hand seals.

"**Now die! Desert Coffin!" **Gaara called out. **'**_**To think I was forced to use this form.'**_

"No I will protect my friends!" shouted Naruto. "Summoning Jutsu!"

"Ehh? Who are you? Where's Jiraiya?" asked the giant toad.

"_Hehe, it worked!" _thought an exuberant Naruto. Sasuke just stared in awe as he also realized that they were atop a giant toad. The cloak surrounding Naruto had now been reduced to an aura of demonic chakra surrounding him.

"H-How?" said Sasuke at a loss of words.

"Jiraiya? You mean that pervert of a Sage?" asked Naruto to the giant toad.

"Yeah, him. I thought I told him not to summon me" complained the big toad.

"Well, umm you see, I kind of summoned you" replied Naruto.

The giant toad just laughed. "You expect me to think that a little brat like you summoned me? Gamabunta, the Toad Boss?" said Gamabunta.

"Yeah, well you see I heard about your powers from a friend of mine and I thought you could help me out with that?" said Naruto, pointing at the giant badger.

"Hmm, that's the Shukaku of the sands" grumbled Gamabunta.

'_**Naruto Uzumaki, who the hell is he? He amuses me to no end'**_thought Gaara.

"Naruto, how did you?" asked Sasuke.

"It's a summoning contract that Pervy Sage let me sign a month ago" replied Naruto.

"_So this is the power of a summoning contract? I have to get one"_ thought Sasuke, his desire for power kicking in slightly.

"Hmm…" thought the Chief Toad, taking a smoke from his pipe. "I'll help you this once punk, but that's it. And tell that Jiraiya that we need to talk the next time you see him." He then drew his sword and faced the Shukaku Gaara. "Hold on tight!" With that, Gamabunta leaped at Gaara. With a strong swing of his sword, he cleaved the arm of the Shukaku, losing his sword in the process.

"Hey boss! Watch over there. Sakura is over there" said Naruto, pointing to the area they once were. "We have to defeat him or we can't save Sakura!"

"**You're fun, Naruto Uzumaki!" **exclaimed Gaara.

"Huh? What's that?" Naruto said, noticing something arise on the Shukaku's head.

"So that's the medium, eh?" said Gamabunta. The medium was Gaara, emerging from the demon's head.

"Thank you for entertaining me. Now I'll show you the true power of the Demon of the Desert!" said the medium.

"That medium shows the signs of insomnia from being possessed by the Shukaku. Take a look at those bags under his eyes. I could give him competition" explained Gamabunta. "Those possessed by the Badger Demon become such that they can't even have a single night of decent sleep. It's because of the terror! If they sleep, their personality is eaten away by the Shukaku, until it completely disappears."

"**Now you see why that damn raccoon drives everyone insane!" **said Kurama, causing Naruto to let out a slight laugh.

"Because the medium suffers from a lack of sleep, their personality is unstable. However, while that medium is awake, the Shukaku's true powers are suppressed. But if that medium were to fall asleep…" Gamabunta explained.

"Ninpou: Spell of the Fake Sleep!" the medium called out, falling asleep.

"**Hahaha, I'm finally out! And here's someone I wanna kill right now! Ooh and then there's a village over there just waiting for me"** the Shukaku said.

* * *

"What the?" said Jiraiya as he looked over to see two rather large and distant figured engage one another. Taking out his spyglass, he saw that they were Gamabunta and the Shukaku. _"That's the…but wait, did Naruto actually manage to summon Gamabunta?"_ Fearing for what was going down, Jiraiya made his way towards the battle of giants.

Around the village, the civilian population had finally been evacuated and the Leaf could now retaliate at full force. At the memorial stone, on the outskirts of the village, Yugao, an ANBU with long purple hair bowed before the stone as her squad departed to join the battle.

Inside the village, Hiashi had come into contact with over a dozen Sound shinobi who all darted towards him. He easily repelled them using a Kaiten that was much stronger than Neji's. "Do not forget that the Huyga is the strongest in the leaf!" he declared.

"Ninpou: Multi-sized Jutsu!" Chouza shouted as he expanded to roughly the size of the giant toad that Jiraiya had dropped on the snakes earlier. He began attacking enemies left and right and there was nothing they could do about the giant.

"My…body" a Suna shinobi called out, not being able to move. He had been caught by the shadow arts of Shikaku, Shikamaru's father. "Shadow Neck Bind Jutsu!" he called out as the shadow worked its way up the Sand shinobi's neck, strangling him to death.

"Mind-body Switch!" Inoichi, Ino's father, called out. He switched minds with one of the Suna shinobi and began using that ninja to attack the other enemies.

"Heh, just like old times" Inoichi said, joining Shikaku and Chouza.

"The good old days of the InoShikaCho formation!" exclaimed Shikaku. The Leaf's legendary InoShikaCho formation was back together.

As for Zabuza and Gai, they were now on the full offensive with the current count at 49 for Gai, 53 for Zabuza, and 42 for Kakashi, who was back at the stadium, now aiding Genma with his battle against Baki and the. Needless to say, Kakashi wasn't going to be getting many more kills in their competition.

* * *

"**Fuuton: Wind Bomb!"** called the Shukaku, slamming its hand into its stomach and unleashing a few massive bullets of wind.

"We're gonna jump!" warned Gamabunta as he dodged the attack. "Suiton: Water Cannonball!" Gamabunta launched his water bullets to counter the remaining air bullets of the Shukaku. The two attacks collided in midair. However, one of the Shukaku's bullets remained unblocked and clocked Gamabunta square in the chin.

"**Haha…I killed it! I killed it!" **screamed the Shukaku. However, Gamabunta was not dead as he got back up to his feet.

"That hurt, you overgrown badger!" shouted Gamabunta. "Kid, even I can't take too many hits from that. We've gotta wake up that medium."

"How?!" asked Naruto.

"I don't know. We've got to get close enough to it or slow it down somehow" said Gamabunta.

"If I could just increase the power of my fire, that might work" said Sasuke.

"Hey duck-haired punk, that's not a bad idea, I've got oil that can help if you have fire" said Gamabunta, realizing what Sasuke was planning.

"Duck-haired punk?" said an obviously irritated Sasuke. Kurama had failed in doing everything he could to keep himself from laughing. Sasuke shrugged it off; knowing that arguing with a giant toad was not at the top of his list of priorities.

"Now for you, Orange punk. When the Shukakau cools, you need to get in there and wake that medium" explained Gamabunta as Sasuke prepared for his fire attack. "Just let me know when, duck head."

Sasuke gave a little signal and Gamabunta unleashed his oil. "Katon: Dragon Fire Breath!" shouted Sasuke as he ignited the oil, which sailed towards the Shukaku. The demon badger was engulfed in a massive inferno. By the time the smoke cleared, the Shukaku was almost completely encased in a glass shell.

"**Haha, take that you dumb badger!" ** Kurama couldn't help but laugh at the Ichibi. Gamabunta charged forward for Naruto to go and attack the medium directly. Sasuke was having trouble barely hanging on as he had used up almost all of his chakra with that last fire jutsu, trying to make it as powerful as he could.

When Gamabunta met the Shukaku, some of the glass chipped away, but Naruto was able to get off to deliver those blows. Unfortunately, some of the sand surrounding Gaara had peeled away and some sand was able to wrap up Naruto. Kurama gave the boy one last burst of his chakra and lunged his head forward towards the medium. "Wake Up!" Naruto shouted as he head-butted the medium, forcing it to wake. As he did, the Shukaku crumbled. Naruto and Gaara were falling, only for the Chief Toad to catch them before returning home with his son.

"After all this…I feel tired and empty" said Naruto. The two were facing each atop opposing trees. "We are the same, you and I. Let's make the end of it!"

Naruto and Gaara made one last bout at each other, falling to the ground as they clashed. Both of them laid only feet apart, neither able to move because of the drain that was now being felt through their entire bodies.

* * *

Upon feeling the massive burst of Chakra, Haku had left the frozen Kankuro to check out the situation with the rest of his team. When he got there, he saw Sakura pinned against a tree, but the sand encasing her was slowly crumbling away. He caught Sakura after the rest of the sand fell apart and she was finally free of her prison.

* * *

Throughout the village, a cursed scream could be heard coming from inside the purple barrier that contained the battling Hokage and his former student. As the barrier finally collapsed, the four Sound ninja grabbed their master and retreated. The Hokage lay on the top of the roof, dead. However, he had managed to seal part of Orochimaru's soul with him before departed for the next world. While he may have been defeated, the Hokage had made sure that Orochimaru wouldn't be threatening the village any time soon.

Around the village, the tides had quickly turned as the shinobi of the Leaf were quickly repelling or killing the foreign invaders. As Orochimaru retreated, so did the remaining forces inside Konoha. The battle for Konoha had been won.

Kakashi saw the whole ordeal end and faced Baki and the 'ANBU'. "Kabuto, you are right before us completely exposed." Kakashi said as Kabuto removed the mask.

"Hey, what do we do?" asked Baki.

"Slowly retreat" replied Kabuto. With that, Kabuto and Baki disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

_'What is that guy dragging himself over here for?'_ thought Gaara, unable to move. Naruto was slowly inching his way closer and closer. "My existence won't be put out! It won't be put out! Will I be saved?!" called out Gaara.

'_This guy…he wants to destroy because of what happened in the past. So for what reason do I exist? I thought I was like him…No…Not quite like him…And that this is the worst pain I know' _thought Naruto as he inched closer. _'A world where one's existence is unnecessary.'_

"No! Don't come any closer!" screamed Gaara.

"Being alone…being incomplete…what you must feel…what your pain must be, I understand that" said a crying Naruto. Gaara looked on in disbelief. "But, for all the people who are precious to me…If you hurt them and try to kill them, I will stop you!"

"What the?...Until now, for the sake of other people, you've…" Gaara said.

"Because they rescued me from the hell of being alone. They acknowledged my existence…that's why they are important to me" explained Naruto.

Thoughts of his past, the one person Gaara used to see as precious, circulated throughout Gaara's mind. What made this kid so strong?...Love.

Sasuke jumped down to Naruto's side just as Temari and Kankuro did the same. "That's enough. Sakura's been saved" explained Sasuke, having made his way to the ground.

"Is that so?" Naruto smiled. Temari and Kankuro prepared for a battle, but were stopped by Gaara. They were shocked, seeing Gaara in this state, completely exhausted. Sasuke picked up his teammate and Temari and Kankuro, who was now suffering from a more severe case of frost burn that Yugito had after her match against Haku, did the same with their brother, heading off back to their respective villages.

Haku came up to them, carrying an unconscious Sakura on his back. Shortly after, Jiraiya showed up on the sight to see Team 7 recovering from their victory. Sasuke recalled the battle and Naruto added that Gamabunta wanted to talk to Jiraiya. This was almost as bad as the death of his teacher.

* * *

A few days later, a funeral was held for those who had fallen in the line of duty to defend the village. Amongst the most honored individuals was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, who fell to Orochimaru, but not before sealing his arms away and rendering Orochimaru's jutsus useless. It was a sad day, as the sky was grey and the heavens cried for the dead. The one who was probably taking it the hardest was Konohamaru, the Sandaime's grandson. The funeral was hard for both Iruka and Naruto as well, with the Hokage being almost like a grandfather to them as well.

At the Hero's stone was Kakashi. The same place where he normally was when he needed to think.

"The ceremony for the Sandaime is about to begin" said Yugao, carrying a bouquet and walking up next to Kakashi. She placed the bouquet at the base of the stone to honor her fallen comrade, Hayate, who was killed during the month preceding the attack. "Kakashi-sempai, are you here for Obito? You're always late for examinations, is it for some reason?"

"Actually, I was here rather early" said a down Kakashi. "But I didn't know what to say when I got there…I used to be foolish and did meaningless things all the time…"

Not far from where Kakashi and Yugao were, Jiraiya was sitting against a training post, reminiscing on the old man. This is the same place where he took the Sandaime's bell test to become a genin, the same test that he gave to his students, one of which gave it to Kakashi, and Kakashi gave the test to Nartuo.

* * *

On the outskirts of the wall, two cloaked figured stood over, observing the damage that had been done.

"We don't need to destroy what's already suffered a lot of damage…what do you think?" one of the figures said.

"The village is at the end of its prosperity…we shouldn't feel sorry for it" said the other figure.

"Gaara's no longer here. Actually, do you still miss your old village? Itachi?" said the first figure.

"No…not at all" stated Itachi, the second figure.

* * *

"That asshole Sarutobi" cried Orochimaru from his secret base. Kabuto tended to his master's wounds, although there was nothing he could go about the arms.

"Well it wasn't going to be that simple" stated Kabuto. "Out of all the 5 kages, they say the Hokage is the strongest, however, two out of five isn't bad."

Orochimaru sent some killing intent towards Kabuto. "Stop saying comforting words…or I'll kill you!" hissed Orochimaru.

"We didn't even manage to get Sasuke" said Kabuto.

"That is no concern" said Orochimaru ominously. "He will come to me. We just need to give him a different kind of push…"

Orochimaru looked over at a crippled hand sitting on his desk. "If only we had gotten Itachi Uchiha to join us, then we wouldn't have this sort of problem. Because he's even stronger than me, that's why I left that organization…"

* * *

A whistle was heard by a team of scouting Sand ninja. The squad joined up, wondering what it was the whistleblower had found. "It's over here" he said.

"This…this is…" they all said in horror.

"They've been dead for a while…before the chunin exams" said the whistleblower.

"I see, so that's what happened" growled Baki. "That bastard!...Orochimaru!"

At the bottom of the ravine they were looking into, there lay the Kazekage…dead.

A complete surrender by the Sand to the Leaf was issued and Konoha accepted. Orochimaru was placed as the mastermind to the entire attack. Thanks to him, both villages were without a Kage.

**That's it for the invasion. Comments and reviews are greatly appreciated.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Here's the next chapter. It is rather long as there are a lot of important things that happen in here that I need to set up the next couple chapters.**

**Chapter 24: Meetings**

It was the day after the funeral and although things were hard in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, everyone was starting to settle down and get back to work repairing what was destroyed in the attack. By this time, word had gotten around about the battle between Team 7 and the Ichibi of the Sand. Most of the villagers acknowledged Sasuke as the sole reason for the defeat, however even he knew that if it hadn't been for Naruto, the demon would have won. There were a handful of villagers that acknowledged that the reports were accurate and that Naruto had played a vital role in the defeat of the Ichibi, particularly the group of villagers that he had saved during the invasion and the same ones who were starting to have a change of heart about Konoha's 'Demon Brat'.

The battle was still echoing in Sasuke's head. Naruto had managed to show off some amazing abilities there, including the summoning jutsu and that blue sphere that Naruto had shoved up Gaara's ass. Sasuke knew Naruto had access to the Kyuubi's power but the power Naruto demonstrated wasn't all Kyuubi. Making himself a jinchuriki was completely out of the question, after seeing what Gaara had become, but he had to find some way to increase his own power if he ever hoped to avenge his clan and kill his brother. A summoning contract was on his list of things-to-get and he already had an idea on how to get his hands on one, and that one jutsu of Naruto's had to be at least on par with his own Chidori. Naruto had found a jutsu that had surpassed him and now it was Sasuke's turn to come up with something to surpass Naruto. Of course Sasuke knew Naruto, being on his team and after all the small competitions they normally had when it came to training. When he surpassed Naruto, Naruto would find a way to surpass him and the cycle would just keep repeating, neither one of them willing to let the other one get ahead of the other. He realized that this was where he would get his strength from, the rivalry between the two of them.

It was getting late in the afternoon and Kakashi had called a team meeting, not at the usual training ground, but in a private meeting hall in the Hokage's tower. There was something that needed to be discussed and it needed to be discussed now. Team 7 arrived at the meeting with Kakashi already present. The fact that he was even early for this meant that this talk was going to be important and the team already had the idea that it revolved around a certain blonde-haired teammate of theirs.

"Kakashi, you're…early?" asked Sakura, coming into the room. Sakura had just been released from the hospital after they reset the broken ribs she had from Gaara's sand. Thankfully, those were the worst of her injuries and she was just bandaged and told to rest for a week to recover.

"Yes, well I've been meaning to talk to you about the events in this past exam" said Kakashi. "First, I must say that I am actually impressed by your performance in the exams. To be honest, I didn't fully expect the four of you to grow so much."

"Wait? Does that mean you didn't expect us to pass?" asked Sakura. This realization irritated both Naruto and Sasuke.

"To be honest, I nominated the four of you to give you the experience of these exams. It is rare that someone passes on their first time around. However, I knew you were ready, which is why I nominated you" explained Kakashi. "However, there was one person out of you that particularly caught my attention…Naruto."

"**I'm going to leave the five of you alone. Have fun Kit"** laughed Kurama as he retreated back into the darkness of his cage.

"_Hey! Get back here! You're as much a part of this as I am!" _shouted Naruto, but he got no response.

Naruto smiled and put his hand behind his head as the group's attention turned towards him. They knew this talk was comming. "When did you figure out?" asked Kakashi, referring to the Kyuubi.

"Well, you see…it happened back in the Land of Waves" said Naruto, explaining the story of how he and the Kyuubi met. "Wait, does that mean you know as well?"

"Well, I am your mentor, plus I've known longer than you have" replied Kakashi. "I suspected you realized it back in the Land of Waves when I felt that sudden burst of Chakra." If it wasn't for the fact that everyone on Team 7 knew exactly what they were talking about, this would have quickly become a rather awkward conversation. Kakashi turned to the rest of the team. "Based on your reactions, I suspect the three of you know as well, when did you find out?"

"Back in the Forest of Death, after Naruto tapped into the Kyuubi's power against that Orochimaru guy" replied Sakura. "After we were able to escape from Orochimaru and Gaara, we had already seen the chakra cloak that Naruto got and he decided to tell us."

"Chakra cloak? Naruto, how much power has the Kyuubi been giving you?" asked Kakashi. Even he knew that with jinchuriki, a chakra cloak required a rather large amount of power.

"Well, he's been giving me as much as he can without damaging the seal" replied Naruto. "He helped me out against Gaara and I was able to get the cloak to two-tails."

Kakashi looked at Naruto worried for the boy. "Naruto, two tails is a rather large amount of power to use without having the Kyuubi influence you. If you continue giving into him, he could break free and destroy Konoha, again."

"You see, the funny thing is that it's all a big misunderstanding!" argued Naruto. Now Kakashi was becoming increasingly worried, but also a little curious.

"What are you talking about?" questioned Kakashi.

"Well, you see there was this guy that manipulated him into attacking the village. He honestly wanted nothing to do but mind his own business, but that guy came after him and forced him to attack the village almost 100 years ago. It was the same thing 12 years ago when he was forced to attack the village again. Because of that, he was sealed inside of me. He just wants to get free and mind his own business…" Kakshi cut Naruto short.

"Naruto that is most likely a ploy the Kyuubi came up with to trick you. You can't listen to him he wants nothing more than to manipulate you" said Kakashi.

"He's not manipulating me. We came to an agreement and the two of us are working together, well at least the best we can with the seal as tight as it is" replied Naruto.

"And the seal is like that for a reason…" Kakashi was cut off by Sasuke.

"Kakashi, I even think what Naruto was saying is true. Against Gaara, Naruto was in complete control, unlike Gaara, even when he wasn't fully transformed" explained Sasuke. "Plus the Kyuubi apparently gave Naruto the power willingly to stop Orochimaru. Apparently he was trying to give me some sort of curse mark or something?"

"We'll talk about that another day Sasuke. Now Naruto, the Kyuubi is an evil demon and he's manipulating you to use more and more of his power so he can influence your actions more. I would like to believe that the Kyuubi is on our side, but you have no proof that it is. As such, I'm going to have to place a second seal on you to reinforce yours and block the Kyuubi from communicating with you" explained Kakashi, preparing the seals. At least he knew what had stopped Orochimaru from giving Sasuke the curse mark.

"_He doesn't believe me, what do I do?" _asked Nartuo.

"**Hmm, Kit make the hand seals U, Inu, Saru, Tora. Then put some chakra, about as much as you put into a normal summoning jutsu and say 'Contract Summoning Jutsu' that will summon the contract you and I agreed on" **explained Kurama.

Naruto did as he was instructed with Kakashi wondering what the boy was doing and on guard in case the Fox had anything to do with this. "Contract Summoning Jutsu!" he shouted as a rather large scroll, about the size of the toad summoning scroll, appeared before them.

"Naruto, what's the meaning of this?" asked Kakashi.

"It's the contract that Kurama and I came up with" said Naruto.

"Kurama?" questioned Kakashi.

"The Fox, his name is Kurama" said Naruto.

Kakashi was now a little more confused, but proceeded to open the contract. He was surprised at the contents of the contract. Basically, it clearly stated what happened to the Fox when he attacked the village and why he was sealed within Naruto and the former Jinchuriki. It also displayed the agreement between the two that Kurama would aid Naruto in exchange for his freedom when Naruto died. Furthermore, the Fox would not have a hand in Naruto's death and would furthermore do his best to ensure that Naruto would die of old age. The contract was signed in blood by both Naruto and Kurama. However, the one thing that caught Kakashi's attention was the name of the one responsible for the attacks on the village…Madara Uchiha.

"Naruto, how is Madara Uchiha connected to all of this, particularly the Kyuubi attacks 12 years ago? He should have died over fifty years ago" asked Kakashi.

"Wait?! Madara…Uchiha?" asked Sasuke, stunned upon hearing the name.

Kakashi briefly explained to Sasuke about Madara Uchiha, including his defection from the village after the Uchiha clan allied with the Senju clan to form Konoha. He then explained the fight between Madara and Harishima Senju where Madara used the Kyuubi in that fight.

"I don't really know, but Kurama said that he was being controlled by a Sharingan wielder and that the power of that person was the same as the man who fought with the First Hokage" explained Naruto. "Neither of us know how to explain it, I mean someone over 100 years old should be dead, but Kurama thinks that this man is alive.

"Alright" said Kakashi. "_I'll have to look into that matter. Perhaps Master Jiraiya knows more about it_." "But that still leaves your little…agreement. Who is to say that the Fox won't keep his end of the bargain?"

"Even amongst demons, blood contracts are binding" said Jiraiya, appearing out of the corner.

"Master Jiraiya, how did you get in here?" Kakashi questioned.

"I know how to get around a few privacy seals" explained Jiraiya.

"Pervy Sage!" shouted Naruto as Kakashi's sweat dropped.

"_Pervy Sage? So this is the person that trained Naruto? This is Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sanin?"_ thought Sasuke. Sakura also realized who had walked in and had punched Naruto over the head for referring to one of the greatest ninja in the Leaf, as a pervert. Little did she know, that Jiraiya was in fact a super pervert.

"Stop calling me that kid!" shouted Jiraiya. Inside the Fox couldn't stop laughing. "Anyways, I supervised Naruto before the exams. I checked and the seal is fully intact. He also seems to have rather good control over the Kyuubi's chakra when needed."

"Okay, but what is it about a blood contract with demons that is making you so sure?" questioned Kakashi.

"I'm no expert with demons, but I do know a lot about the seals used here. One thing is for certain though, if the Kyuubi doesn't keep his promise to Naruto and harms the village or anyone Naruto doesn't want hurt by him, the Fox will die. It's one of the few ways a demon can truly die outside of being killed by another demon."

Kakashi got it now. "So is there anything to worry about?"

"Regarding the Fox? No. I think it is safe to say that Naruto will have controlled access to the Fox's chakra. However, this does present other issues" explained Jiraiya.

"You mean…?" replied Kakashi.

"Yes" said Jiraiya.

"Huh? What are you two talking about?" said a confused Naruto.

"Naruto, there are people in this village who will try to take advantage of you if they knew you could use the power of the Kyuubi. That's why I told you to be careful in that letter" explained Jiraiya. "They have their own selfish agenda and will manipulate you to their will."

"Naruto, does anyone else know you can access the Kyuubi's chakra?" asked Kakahi.

"Besides Haku, Sakura, and Teme over there, no" said Naruto.

"Dobe" replied Sasuke to Naruto's insult.

"Although, I suppose Gaara might know, seeing as he is a jinchuriki as well" said Naruto. Kakashi and Jiraiya both understood that.

"Okay Naruto, just remember what we said about using the Kyuubi's chakra. Keep it to the absolute minimum as it will cause problems if certain people in the village know" said Kakashi.

"Alright, I guess that means I just need to learn some more cool jutsus like the Rasengen" said Naruto. Kakashi nearly face planted upon hearing the word Rasengan come out of Naruto's mouth. Kakashi asked Naruto where he leaned that from and Naruto pointed to Jiraiya. He then asked Naruto for a demonstration and Naruto did so, surprising Jiraiya that he had actually managed the jutsu in the three-four weeks time. "Ooh…speaking of which, Kakashi can you teach me that Chidori?"

Now it was Sasuke's turn as the eyes nearly burst out of his head. "Sorry Naruto, but I don't think you are the type of person to learn Chidori" said Kakashi, receiving a few complaints from Naruto. Jiraiya promised to explain later and Sasuke was relieved that Chidori was one technique Naruto would not be getting.

Jiraiya informed Kakashi that the village council had been called and that they had to leave to meet up. Kakashi knew what was going on, although he didn't think they would convene this early. As such, Team 7 had the rest of the day off to do whatever they wanted. For Sasuke and Naruto, this meant training. Sakura and Haku were different.

* * *

Kakashi and Jiraiya entered the council chamber. The entire council was there: Koharu and Homaru, the Hokage's advisors; Hiashi Hyuga, Chouza Akamichi, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, Shibi Aburame, Tsume Inuzuka, Asuma Sarutobi, and Murakumo Kurama, the clan heads; a few members of the civilian council; the feudal lord of the Land of Fire; and some old veteran called Danzo. They knew why they were there. The village needed the next Hokage and the council had been assembled to select the next Hokage.

Danzo spoke first, pretty much restating what most people though, that the Godaime Hokage was needed at this time. While Danzo secretly wanted to nominate himself as the candidate for Hokage, he knew that he had little support. It wasn't long before Jiraiya's name came up as a possible candidate and most of the council, especially the Feudal Lord, agreed with this decision.

"I'm sorry, but I must decline. I'm simply not that type" said Jiraiya, shocking most of the people sitting in the room. A few members questioned his decision.

"But Jiraiya, you are one of the Legendary Sanin" stated Koharu. "With the trouble of Orochimaru, we need a strong leader…we need you. If you are not the correct person for the job, then who is?"

"There is another person among the three Sanin" said Jiraiya. "That is Tsunade." This sent stirs around the council chambers. While she was qualified for the position, no one knew where she was or if she would come back to the village. Jiraiya even volunteered to go and look for her, stating that he would bring her back.

"Jiraiya, if you are leaving to find her, then you will need to bring several ANBU with you on your search party" said Koharu.

* * *

Jiraiya took this a different way than Koharu intended. "Don't worry, I'm not going to run away. That's a little excessive to have someone watch over me" said Jiraiya. "However, there is one person I would like to take along. I found an interesting new egg."

For now, the council agreed with this. If Jiraiya was able to bring Tsunade back, then they accept her as the Hokage, if not then they would have to come up with someone else.

Jiraiya went searching for his 'interesting egg', Naruto and it wasn't long until he found the blonde exiting Ichiraku ramen; however, Jiraiya noticed that he had a little stalker. A few meters behind Naruto, Hinata was ducking in and out into alleys and behind boxes, trash cans, and various objects as she followed her crush around, unbeknown to him. It was becoming obvious to Jiraiya that Naruto was completely oblivious to this girl. A closer inspection of her revealed her to be a Hyuga and the lack of a seal on her forehead indicated that she was from the main branch. This would make for an easier conversation as the one he now had to talk to was one of his former students.

Jiraiya jumped down to meet with Naruto. "Gah! Pervy Sage!" shouted Naruto.

"Don't call me that, you little brat!" shouted Jiraiya, ringing the boy by his neck. "Anyways, I was wondering if you were up for a little trip."

"Wait, trip?" said Naruto. "Why would I go? I need to convince Kakashi-sensei to teach me Chidori!"

"Well, we need to find this woman. Think of it as a mission. It's a 'special' trip and we'll even stop by the red-light district in Hima. Not to mention, I'll teach you more than Kakashi could ever teach you" explained Jiraiya, getting that perverted look on his face.

"_Woman? Red light district? He just wants to do that 'research' thing, doesn't he?"_said Naruto to the Fox.

"…**Humans…"** responded the Fox, trying to go back to sleep.

"And also, this woman is hot, she wants to meet you" said Jiraiya, patting Naruto on the back.

"You're trying to fool me Pervy Sage! Whatever you say, I don't want to!" shouted Naruto.

"Hah. She knows a technique that is much better than Chidori" scuffed Jiraiya. "But you're not coming. I guess I could ask Sasuke…"

"All right! Let's go!" shouted Naruto, getting that excited look on his face. "I'm going to my house to pack up my things, don't leave without me!" Naruto took off quickly, leaving both Jiraiya and Hinata, who had hid in an ally and overheard the whole thing, in the dust.

"_Naruto is leaving on a trip?" _thought a depressed Hinata. _"I wish I could go." _ Hinata began fantasizing herself on a trip, just her and Naruto for a few weeks. This caused her to turn red and nearly faint. Jiraiya caught the young Hyuga peeking out from the ally and just gave a slight smile. This was going to be an interesting trip.

* * *

Outside the Hokage Tower, Kakashi was leaving from the council meeting. Suddenly he heard a familiar voice. "Kakashi, my eternal rival!" said Gai, putting his arm around Kakashi and radiating his usual…Gai-ness. Zabuza had come at a bad time to find Kakashi. "We never tallied the count from our little contest. I had 52, what about you!"

"Oh, well looks like you win this one Gai" Kakashi admitted. "I only had 47." He remembered that he had to take some time off to assign the mission to Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru.

"Hah, Leaf ninja, you're so soft" laughed Zabuza. "52 is all you had? I had 68!"

Kakashi was indifferent, but Gai got that spark in his eye that usually means people should start running. "Yes! A second eternal rival has shown himself to join me along the road of youthfulness!" shouted Gai.

Kakashi then went to Zabuza's side and spoke quietly. "If you want to leave the village, I won't stop you" he said. Zabuza was wondering what Kakshi was referring to. In his first couple months in the village, he already had the pleasure of being assigned to multiple assassination missions and even got a bloodbath killing Sound ninja. He hated to admit it, but Konoha was pretty good for him. However, when Gai began shouting again, he quickly realized what Kakashi had said.

"The next time we meet Zabuza, I will show you the full power of my youth! Now, I will go do 5000 pushups for losing to you!"

"…" was all Zabuza could say. What the hell had he just gotten himself into? Kakashi just smiled and walked away.

* * *

Kakashi found himself at the local tea house in the village. Inside, the two figures from earlier were also sitting at the table. "Oh, hey you two guys look good together" Kakashi said, seeing Kurenai and Asuma walking towards him.

"Idoit! Anko asked me to pick her up some sweets" responded Kurenai. "Are you guys on a date?"

"What about you? Did Anko ask you to pick up some sweets as well?" asked Asuma.

"No, sometimes I stop by to pick up stuff, but I'm just meeting up with someone" said Kakashi. "I'm waiting for Sasuke." This caught the attention of the two cloaked figures in the shop.

"Huh? Kakashi, it's rare for you to be here first, not to mention twice in one day" said Sasuke walking up to him. He caught a glance from one of the cloaked figures in the shop. Something about this person did not seem right. However, before Sasuke could get a second look, they were gone. Kurenai and Asuma also noticed this and disappeared as well.

* * *

The two figures found themselves walking along a river in the village. "It's been awhile, Asuma-san, Kurenai-san" said one of the figured removing his hat. He was facing the two jonin who didn't look happy that he was here.

"You're originally from this village, why did you come back?" asked Asuman. "Itachi Uchiha."

"Hmm, so you are already acquainted with Itachi? Then I should introduce myself" said the other cloaked figure. "Kisame Hoshigake. Now then, we have all been acquainted."

Asuma grinned. "I guess we were meant to meet. Now I have the task of taking you on!"

"Itachi, your home village doesn't seem to like me very much" said Kisame.

"I've heard of him…Kisame Hoshigake. Originally of the Hidden Mist" explained Kurenai. "A Daymio killer accused of starting destructive actions against other clans. The Mist has been searching other clans to find this slippery shinobi."

"You people are S-rank criminals ranked in the bingo book" said Asuma. "You are pretty brave to come back to this village after THAT incident, Itachi."

"Asuma, Kurenai, please do not interfere with my affairs, you will only get killed" said Itachi.

"So how do you plan to back up those words? Either something is wrong with the way you think or you are just too full of yourself" said Asuma, pulling out his knives. At the same time, Kisame reached for his sword. "What is your purpose for being here?" Kisame slammed his sword into the ground in front of Asuma. Much to his surprise, they didn't flinch.

"Kisame, just do what I say and don't let them get back to the village" said Itachi. "But don't do too much, your work can be quite…excessive."

Kisame charged at Kurenai, chopping down with his swords. However, Asuma stepped in front, blocking the blow with his knives. Kurenai flipped through a few signs and began to disappear in a vapor. At that time, the bandages on Kisame's sword began to unfurl, revealing a scaly looking sword. Kisame pulled back and the scales dug into Asuma's shoulder, leaving him with a minor wound.

"My sword, Samehade, is now off to slice you into bits" Kisame said as he made another slash at Asuma, further increasing the wound on his shoulder.

Itachi and Kisame were wrapped up as Kurenai's genjutsu finally came into effect. They were pinned against a tree as Kurenai drove a dagger towards Itachi. She quickly found out that she was the one bound to the tree. Itachi had reversed the genjutsu on her. "_This is the genjutsu counter?!"_ She thought.

"Genjutsu of this level has no effect on me" said Itachi as he drove a knife into her, dispelling the genjutsu. She wasn't physically wounded because Itachi attacked her in a genjutsu, but she was stunned long enough for Itachi to kick her into the river, distracting Asuma. "As expected Kurenai, this is it for you."

Kisame and Asuma clashed. Kisame thought that he was just out of the reach of Asuma's knives, but he soon found out that he had been cut on the face. Looking at Asuma, he could see the knives glowing with a chakra blade coming out of them.

"Suiton: Water Shark Jutsu!" called out Kisame as he launched a large jet of water at Asuma, shaped like a shark. It collided with a jutsu that was the same as he had cast. "The jutsu is the same as mine!"

"Oh, it's just you" Asuma said as Kakashi stepped between him and Kisame. At the same time, a shadow clone stopped Itachi from harming Kurenai. "You just got here, huh?"

"No, I got here just a little bit ago" said Kakashi. Kisame sent another blast of water toward Kakashi and Asuma, only for his jutsu to be countered with the same jutsu.

"Kakashi Hatake" said Itachi, turning to the real Kakashi. Kakashi looked at Itachi. He was facing someone with the true Sharingan. This was going to be a difficult fight.

"Now it's time to dance" said Kisame. "I have a reason to show off my jutsu. With the exception of Itachi, this one has the Sharingan as well. He is well known as Copy Ninja Kakashi."

"The two people in the shop back there, I didn't think it would be Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigake" said Kakashi.

"Well, well you know my name" said Kisame. "I'm honored. However, you are asking for death. Anything to say before we fight?"

"Move Kisame" Itachi called out. He was a little shocked at first, but Kisame jumped to Itachi's side. Just as Kakashi's clone was about to take out Itachi, Itachi turned into a flock of crows, revealing himself to be a clone as well. Kakashi's clone was quickly dispatched by Kisame when he landed.

"Remember why we are here" said Itachi, appearing at his partner's side.

"Well, why don't you mind telling us why you are here?" asked Kakashi.

"We've come looking for something" said Itachi. Itachi threw a few shuriken at Kakashi. If it hadn't been for Kakashi's Sharingan, the subtle movements of Itachi's attack would have gone unnoticed and Kakashi would have most likely died.

"Suiton: Water release barrier!" Kakashi shouted blocking Itachi's shuriken. At the same time, water drills rose up out of the water and clashed with the barrier. Thankfully, Kakashi was alright, until Itachi stabbed him in the back with a kunai.

Kakashi turned into water, revealing himself to be a water clone. _Nice one, Kakashi_ thought Kurenai. "Huh? This Itachi is just a copy!"

"Kurenai, get down!" shouted Kakashi, leaping out of the water in front of her and tackling her as Itachi's clone exploded. Kakashi and Kurenai were uninjured, but Kakashi was breathing heavy as water rained down on them. Asuma quickly ran to their side. "Keep your guard up. This man became leader of the ANBU at age 13" warned Kakashi.

"Is that all he has?" asked Asuma.

"No, that is not his full power yet" replied Kakashi.

"You are not related to the Uchiha Clan. We are true masters of the Sharringan" claimed Itachi. "Still, your body is suitable for that eye, but it does not contain any of our blood." Itachi had his eyes closed. He slowly began to open them. "I will show you the true power of the Sharingan Masters!"

"It couldn't be!" shouted Kakashi. "Both of you, close your eyes now!" Kurenai and Asuma did so, noticing the panic in Kakashi's voice. Kakashi also closed his normal eye, leaving his Sharingan locked on Itachi. "Listen both of you; under no circumstance shall you open your eyes. If you look into his eyes, it's all over. Just listen to what I tell you. Only a person with another Sharingan could probably fight this fight…"

"That is true, only another master of the Sharingan could challenge me. Some resitance could be made to this Mangekyo Sharingan" said Itachi. "However, this Sharingan has a special eye jutsu. My illusion jutsu Tsukiyomi cannot be beaten. Only a Sharingan user with the same blood as me can defeat me."

"Sasuke!" exclaimed Kakashi, realizing what Itachi was hinting at. Itachi's Sharingan began to transform into a three-point shuriken as he activated the next level of his Sharingan. Suddenly, Kakashi felt the world around him grow dark.

* * *

Kakashi found himself in a dark world. Wondering where he was, he soon found himself chained to a post with his arms spread out. Standing in front of him was Itachi, who quickly multiplied to become about two dozen Itachis. Kakashi then felt a blade be jabbed into his gut.

"This is the world of Tsukuyomi. All of space, all of time, everything matter, everything is under my control" explained Itachi as he continued to stab Kakashi. "For the next seventy two hours, you will be stabbed by these katanas." For what felt like several hours, Kakashi was repeatedly stabbed by Itachi.

"I must say, I am impressed that you managed to hold out this long. Only seventy one hours, fifty nine minutes, and fifty nine seconds to go" said Itachi. It had only been the equivalent of one second and already Kakashi felt like he was ready to collapse into unconsciousness.

* * *

Suddenly, Kakashi dropped to the ground, sweating and out of breath. He felt like part of his soul had just been broken and that he was almost on the verge of dying. "Kakashi! What happened?" asked Kurenai.

"_It seemed like weeks in there, yet it was only seconds here"_ Kakashi thought, still struggling to stay somewhat upright even though he was on his knees in mental pain. "_Why didn't he just kill me?"_

"Heh…that jutsu causes a breakdown in spirit. It's surprising he's still alive" said Kisame. "However Itachi, you should be careful about using that 'eye' as it causes you harm as well."

"You're…looking for…Sasuke?" Kakashi barely managed to get out.

"No" replied Itachi. "The Yondaime Hokage's legacy."

"The…Yondaime's legacy? What…do you want with…him?" said a heavy breathed Kakashi. Both Kurenai and Asuma had a feeling what Itachi was referring to. _Naruto…_

*Flashback*

"It's been awhile" said Kakashi to Jiraiya_._ "First time you've come home in how many years?"

"Kakashi" said Jiraiya. "I am going to be keeping Naruto in custody. It was the role of the third generation to watch over him. It was a good decision by the Sandaime to have you watch over him. I guess someone is trying to get you involved as well."

"What is it you want to tell me?" asked Kakashi, who was leaning against a railing next to Jiraiya.

"I have been watching Orochimaru's movements since he left the village. That person will return to the village someday" explained Jiraiya. "Since it's already clear…that's the beginning of something. At first, it was just about Orochimaru…"

"What about him?" Kakashi continued to ask.

"That guy joined a certain organization" said Jiraiya. Kakashi was now trying to get the details on that particular organization out of Jiraiya. "Although I don't know the full details, from what I know, it's called 'Akatsuki'. It's a small organization composed of 9 shinobi. So far, there has been little movement. Most of those people are listed as S-rank criminals in the bingo book. And Itachi is also with them. They are up to something. Recently, Orochimaru defected from the organization. The members move in teams of two at all times, assembling jutsus and what not along the way."

"And they are after the Kyuubi? Are you sure of it?" asked Kakashi.

"It's very likely" stated Jiraiya. "After all, it's one of the Tailed Beast. It's some of the strongest chakra out there. Kakashi, this is Naruto's fate, to live always watching over his back. I will take Naruto and begin to train him. I want you to look after Sasuke. After all, Itachi is in that organization."

*End Flashback*

"You're target is…the Kyuubi, isn't it?" asked Kakashi. Both Kurenai and Asuma were shocked by this revelation. "You have…begun to move, you don't think we know? The name of your organization is 'Akatsuki', isn't it?"

"Kisame, take out Kakashi" said a calm Itachi. "It is time for these people to disappear." Kisame charged forward.

"Konoha Sennpou!" called out Gai as he landed a strong kick to Kisame's side, sending him back to Itachi.

"Who the hell is this?" asked Kisame.

"The Leaf's Prideful Green Beast" Gai proclaimed. "Might Gai!"

"What the…better yet…why don't I just mistake you for an exotic animal" said Kisame, still recovering from Gai's kick. As Gai arrived, Kakashi finally toppled over in pain. His mind had enough torment and needed to rest to try and recover, if possible.

"Gai! Don't look into Itachi's eyes!" warned Asuma. "That's what happened to Kakashi!"

"I already know about that. The way of fighting with Kakashi was done through the Sharingan" explained Gai. "I already know how to fight him. Both of you, open your eyes! It's alright as long as you don't look into his eye. Using the reflection is the only way that you are recognized and dealt with."

"The way you talk about it, so that's how it's done" realized Kurenai.

"That's pretty smart" admitted Asuma. "But there is only one person who can do that…you."

"There is a method to it, but…we don't have time" said Gai. "Get used to it now. Kurenai, take Kakashi to the medical center. Asuma and I will handle these two. I've already arranged for reinforcements…they will be here shortly."

"Heh…aren't you brave" taunted Kisame.

"Kisame, stop" ordered Itachi. "We did not come here to start a war…regrettably, let's leave." Kisame was slightly hesitant at first, but the two of them left, leaving the four Leaf jonin without their opponents.

* * *

"Oh, Sensei?" said Hiashi as Jiraiya entered the Hyuga compound. A few other Hyugas bowed to the well respected Master Jiraiya. "What brings you here? I thought you were leaving on a trip with Naruto?"

"I was, but something else caught my attention. I'm still on my way out, but I want to make a slight change to who I'm taking with me" explained Jiraiya. "I'm looking for a young Hyuga girl, main branch, midnight blue hair, you know her?"

"Oh you must be talking about my daughter, Hinata" replied Hiashi. This was getting even more interesting. He had met Hinata once when she was a baby, but didn't recognize her after all these years.

"Well, I'm thinking of also bringing her along. I planned on training Naruto while looking for Tsunade and I suppose I could offer her some training" explained Jiraiya.

"I suppose this means you are going to teach them chakra elemental manipulation?" asked Hiashi. Jiraiya nodded. While the Hyuga clan primarily focused on taijutsu, their members were also trained to a certain extent in ninjutsu, to help offset the disadvantage that range presented to them with the gentle fist. Every member in the clan had earth chakra, which complemented the Gentle Fist. Like the earth, the Gentle fist was powerful, firm, and unyielding. The Gentle Fist blocked the chakra flow of the body just like the earth did to the flow of water in rivers and streams. Hiashi figured that it was about time Hinata began to learn the earth element to help her progress in the art of the Gentle Fist and Jiraiya had been a good teacher for him in the past, despite some of his 'shortcomings'.

"Alright. Just let me go get some of the family scrolls that I believe will help her" explained Hiashi. It was at that time that Hinata walked into the compound. "Oh Hinata, good you're home."

"Father, what is Master Jiraiya doing here?" asked the young Hyuga.

"Jiraiya-sensei stopped by to discuss a training opportunity with you" explained Hiashi. Hinata was hoping that this was going where she thought it was. "Now, Jiraiya was the one who taught me and I felt that he did a very good job teaching me about the earth element that is common in all Hyuga. He's leaving on a journey for a few weeks and he has decided to bring you along and begin your training in elemental chakra."

"Hinata-sama, this is a good opportunity for you, I suggest you take it" encouraged Neji, who had joined the conversation for a few brief moments before leaving. Apparently, the elders of the clan wanted to speak to him about something.

"B-but why are you asking me? I-I thought you were taking N-naruto?" asked Hianta.

"I am, I'll be taking both of you with me. Is there a problem?" said Jiraiya.

"_I'm going on a trip with N-Naruto?"_ thought Hianta, going all red. "Eep" was all she could let out as she fainted to the ground at the very thought of being with Naruto for the next few weeks.

"I'll go prepare a few scrolls for you to take for Hinata's benefit, Jiraiya-sensei" said Hiashi. A rather cold and ominous look appeared in his eyes and his Byakugan activated. "I'm warning you though, do anything dishonorable with my daughter around, and let's just say you won't have chakra flowing to a certain part of your body." Jiraiya gulped at his student's threat.

"AHHHH!" A scream was heard from the nearby building that Neji had entered a few minutes ago. Jiraiya and Hiashi rushed over to see what the source of the scream was.

Neji found himself on the ground clutching his head and crying out in pain. "You have dishonored the clan by losing to that 'thing'" one of the elders said, activating the seal on Neji's head.

"What the hell are you doing!" shouted Hiashi, bursting into the room. "Let my nephew go immediately!"

"No! You failed to punish him for losing and dishonoring the clan, so now it is up to us to punish him" said one of the other elders.

Suddenly, the elders found themselves wrapped up by a tongue and thrown against the wall as the pain left Neji. Hiashi looked back to see that Jiraiya had summoned one of his toads to deal with the elders. Hiashi went to pick up Neji, who had fallen unconscious from the whole ordeal. He had finally let go of his grudge against the main house and this is what he had gotten. Both Hiashi and Jiraiya were disgusted. "If I may ask, why did you intervene, sensei?" Hiashi asked. He was grateful for Jiraiya's assistance, but curious as well.

"As a seal master, it sickens me to see seals used in that matter" said Jiraiya. The two proceeded over to Hiashi's house as the elders did their best to try and recover from being slammed into the wall. However, the force with which they had been thrown was rather large and they soon lost consciousness.

A few moments later, Hiashi came out with a handful of scrolls for Hinata's purpose, and one Jiraiya had never thought he would see. It was the scroll for the Caged Bird Seal. "Does this mean you want me to…?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yes if you could. You are the only one with the knowledge capable of removing the seal" explained Hiashi. "The elders have been growing out of control lately. Neji is not the first they have used the seal on unjustly, nor will he be the last if it cannot be removed. I beg you to find a way to remove it." The other side to Hiashi's request was that he was now looking at every possible means available to prevent him from having to seal one of his daughters within the next few years. If this meant finding a way to remove the seal, then he would do it. Also, he had made a silent promise to his brother's grave a few days ago to find a way to free Neji from that fate.

* * *

About an hour later, Jiraiya was at the gate with Naruto and Hinata, who still couldn't believe her luck. She would be spending a few weeks with Naruto. While Naruto still wasn't sure why Hinata was coming along, he was not denying that it would be nice to have someone who's not perverted coming along. Jiraiya was thinking of what was to come. He wasn't the author of the #1 best selling adult novels for nothing. It was obvious to him that Hinata had feelings for Naruto and It was even more obvious that Naruto didn't recognize those feelings, something that he would have to fix. It was time to play a little matchmaker.

* * *

**A/N: Regarding the Hyuga clan and the Caged Bird Seal, it is the duty of the elders to seal the Hyuga branch members as they are the ones in charge of protecting the clan's traditions. Hiashi, being the clan head, has the duty of managing the other affairs regarding the clan.**

**A/N: So I've introduced Danzo slightly in this chapter. I wont be bringing him back until later chapters so please hold off the Danzo bashing until then. I promise I'll give you a good reason to bash him later.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Elemental **

"Sasuke!" shouted Sakura, meeting up with him in the street. Sasuke turned towards her with his typical slightly annoyed look. Not only had Kakashi left him back there, but now Sakura was bugging him again. He was hoping to get in some good training today with Kakashi, but it looked as if that wasn't going to happen.

"Sasuke, I just wanted to thank you for saving me from that Sand…demon thing the other day" Sakura said.

"I'm not the one you should be thanking. If it wasn't for Naruto, we would all be dead right now" admitted Sasuke.

"No way, you're just being modest" said Sakura in disbelief. "Sure Naruto is getting stronger, but there is no way he could take on that sand guy. Even with the help of, well…you know."

Sasuke knew what Sakura was talking about, referring to Naruto's demon. "It's the truth" said Sasuke. While Sakura took everything in, Sasuke ran off to the training ground, hoping to actually get something done for the day.

He found himself at the training grounds and soon began using his Chidori to determine the extent of the power he could unleash with that technique. _"Damn it"_ he swore to himself. _"What do I have to do to become stronger? Even with his source of power, he shouldn't have that much. I need to catch up…but how?"_

Sasuke went to seek out Kakashi, hoping to get his sensei to train him a little.

* * *

"That guy still hasn't found Naruto" said Gai. The four jonin were in the Kakashi's appartment as Kakashi was trying to recover from the excessive mental strain of their previous encounter.

"In this village, finding Naruto is pretty simple" Asuma explained. "Plus Itachi knows his face." Gai hurried to shush him as Sasuke came knocking on the door and entering the room.

"Kakashi?!" he said, startled to see his sensei laid out on the bed like he had just been hit by a truck. "Why is Kakashi sleeping? And why are all the jonin gathered here?" he questioned.

"Is the story that Itachi has returned and that he's chasing Naruto true?" Aoba, another village jonin, said bursting into the room.

"Idiot" Kurenai said, face palming herself.

Sasuke got that look on his face as he slipped into avenger mode. Suddenly, he burst out of the room and began searching for Naruto, knowing that even Naruto stood no chance against Itachi. Sasuke arrived at one of Naruto's favorite locations, Ichiraku Ramen. He burst in there, but saw no Naruto.

"Old man, Naruto usually comes here for lunch, do you know where he went?" Sasuke asked Teuchi.

"Let's see" thought Teuchi. "Naruto stopped by just a few hours ago to grab some ramen before Jiraiya came and got him. Apparently they are going on some trip to find a certain woman."

"Jiraiya?" asked Sasuke, surprised that Naruto had left with him on a trip.

"Jiraiya is one of the Legendary Sanin" explained Teuchi. "Spotting him is easy. Just look for that big white hair of his." Much to Teuchi's displeasure, Sasuke went bolting out of the ramen stand in search for Naruto, without buying any ramen.

* * *

Kisame and Itachi were sitting on top of a rock, planning their next move in search of Naruto and the Kyuubi.

"You can fight how and where you want, but I don't know" said Kisame. "The time is wrong."

"Ah. To meet those two and kill them. It's a good place to fight" said Itachi. "So they can't increase the number of people they have."

"It was good we found him at the ramen shop, but now he's protected by one of the Sanin" Kisame explained. "That guy might be a match for the #1 Leaf ninja and the Mist's 7 strongest."

"Yes, but it is said every strong man has a weak point.

* * *

Unfortunately for Jiraiya, the first day's journey had been rather uneventful. Naruto had been blabbering on about why Jiraiya asked him to come along and Hinata, who he hoped would act as a buffer and quiet Naruto down, was a few paces behind them, too shy to do anything else.

"Eh, Pervy Sage! Why did you choose me?" asked Naruto. "What sort of jutsu are you going to teach me this time?"

"_Pervy Sage?"_ Jiraiya was irritated by this name. "Hey you! Don't you know what an amazing person I am? It's been said that I'm the Toad Sage. And that's not all. In the north, in the south, east and west…The Legendary Sanin's white-haired frog summoning child! The handsome man that can silence a crying child! He's Jiraiya-sama, that's me!" chanted the Toda Sage.

Naruto just looked back at him with an empty look. "Huh?" he said. _"What are we going to do with this guy?"_

"**I don't know, as long as you don't start introducing yourself like he does"** Kurama responded, also slightly irritated at the Toad Sage.

"So, Pervy Sage!" said an increasingly irritating Naruto. "Why did you bring us along? You're doing a sage class in cool jutsu and we were the only who ranks high enough to get in?!"

"Heh…" Jiraiya smiled, patting Naruto on the head. "It's because you resemble a certain former student of mine and Hinata's father actually was a student of mine."

'_**Hmm…I wonder. Naruto, could you be?'**_thought Kurama, who had also begun to pick up something familiar about Naruto.

* * *

Naruto, Hinata, and Jiraiya arrived at their first stop, Hima town. Hima town was known more for its red-light district and adult night life. However, the three of them were still able to find a normal hotel to stay in.

Suddenly, Jiraiya's pervert senses were tingling as a beautiful woman, with a slim and busty figure approached them, sending them a seductive look.

Naruto's sweat dropped and Hinata was left speechless. "Ahh!" Jiraiya called out, putting on his pervert face. "Naruto!"

"Huh?" Naruto said as Jiraiya was trying to get rid of the kids with him. "Here's the key to the room. Go up to the room and refine your chakra training."

"What?! Are you going to do adult stuff? You Pervy Sage!" shouted Naruto as Jiraiya tried to shut him up and shuffle him to the room.

"**Pitiful, absolutely pitiful" **commented Kurama at Jiraiya.

"Umm…N-naruto" said the shy Hyuga. "W-why d-do you call the great Master Jiraiya a p-p-pervy sage?"

"Trust me, he may act all cool and know some great jutsu, but in reality, he's just a big pervert" said Naruto, Hinata's face turning red.

The two of them found themselves in a rather large room and decided that they should just get working on their chakra control. Hinata had become rather relaxed in her meditation. Naruto on the other hand, was in a heated debate with Kurama regarding just how big of a pervert Jiraiya actually was. _"Damn…this sort of thing always happens when I'm training with Pervy Sage! Training my ass, I can see what he really had in mind!"_ complained Naruto.

Sasuke had just arrived at the same village that Naruto had arrived in a few hours ago and began frantically searching hotels for Naruto.

* * *

'Knock, knock' was heard on Naruto's door.

"Hmm, he's already been rejected and came crawling back?" said Naruto as he went to answer the door as Hinata was awakened from her meditation. He opened the door to see Itachi staring down at him. Naruto looked up with a mixture of puzzlement and fear. Who was this strange guy at the door?

"_Sasuke?"_ he thought as the man did have a striking resemblance to Sasuke. _"Wait, it's not him, but he's got the same Sharingan as Sasuke."_

"**Kit, I have a bad feeling about these two" **warned Kurama.

"Could this really be the Nine-Tails child?" asked Kisame.

"_Nine-tails?!" _thought Naruto. _"How did he find out? Was I not careful enough?"_

"**Yep, this could get ugly…"**

"Naruto, we would like you to come with us" offered Itachi. "Come out of the room."

"N-naruto? W-who are these t-two?" asked Hinata appearing behind them. Naruto was being hesitant here. The Fox was constantly sending him warning signs, hoping to buy time for the Perverted Sage to pick up on something and maybe come to the rescue. With the presence of Hinata, he knew he couldn't lash out with the Fox chakra. If there was one thing that Naruto had realized about Hinata, it was that she had been one of the very few people who had always been nice to him. He couldn't remember a time where she had ever insulted him or hurt him. In fact, she had tried to do the complete opposite and help him. Even he knew that she was one of the few people he could actually call a friend, even if she was a little weird, and he was afraid the Fox chakra would just scare her off like it did with most of the village.

"Itachi, it's time we got started" said Kisame. "We don't need him running around, we should cut off a leg." Kisame reached for his sword.

"N-Naruto!" cried Hinata as she now realized the situation they were in.

"Hmm…it's been awhile…Sasuke" Itachi said, his attention shifting down the hall.

"Itachi…Uchiha" Sasuke said, stepping around a corner into the hall that Naruto and the two Akatsuki members were standing in.

"You are…Today is a special day indeed. This is the second time I've seen another Sharingan user" replied Kisame.

Sasuke's face lit up with a massive amount of killing intent. "I will…Kill you!" declared Sasuke, activating his Sharingan

"Itachi Uchiha?" said Naruto starring up at the older Uchiha. "This is…that man Sasuke is always talking about!" "_Who are these people and what do they want?"_

"Hmm… you seem to be familiar with him, Itachi" said Kisame. "Who is this guy?"

"He's…my brother" Itachi replied.

"_This is the man…Sasuke needs to kill?"_ thought Naruto.

"**It would seem so. Where is that pervert? I can sense that these two are well out of yours and Sasuke's league"** said Kurama. **"It just sucks that your Vixen is here. That's going to make me helping that much more complicated."**

Itachi and Sasuke locked eyes, both Sharingan looking into the other's soul. "I've been waiting to say this…I've lived hating you…and I've only lived to kill you!" shouted Sasuke. "I have lived for this!" Sasuke activated his chidori and began charging full speed towards Itachi, tearing up the wall of the hallway in the process. Sasuke lashed out at Itachi with his attack, only for it to be deflected into the wall next to them. The two of them locked eyes, filled with hatred for one another.

"_This is bad…Kurama, I need some chakra if I'm going to save Sasuke"_ Naruto said.

With a quick flick of his wrist, Itachi snapped Sasuke's arm and sending him to the ground in pain.

"Sasuke!" shouted Nartuo. "Summoning…"

"Too late" smiled Kisame as he hit Naruto with his sword, draining the chakra that the kid had collected for the jutsu.

"_What the?! I can't feel my chakra!" _said Naruto in shock. "_Did you do something?"_

"**No, it's that sword of his I think" **replied the Fox.

"Heh, my sword, Samehada, eats up chakra" explained Kisame. "Now that your jutsu is gone, you shouldn't be any more problems. Now should I cut off an arm or a leg first?" Naruto tried to gather some chakra as Kisame swung his sword at Naruto. The attack was blocked by a toad wearing arm guards. Jiraiya had arrived just in time.

"You don't seem to know much about me" said Jiraiya. "I'm better than getting girls than they are at getting me. Even though I don't look like it, it's my specialty." Jiraiya had the woman from before draped over his shoulder. She was unconscious from something, most likely Jiraiya giving her some sort of drug.

"I, Jiraiya, this epitome of manliness! I will fall for no woman's feminine wiles!" shouted Jiraiya, beginning one of his introductions. "When you're someone like me, you only have to flash that sexiness to have woman fall to your feet!" After all was said and done, he was in his pose. Hinata's sweat dropped at Jiraiya's introduction.

"**Kit, I've changed my mind"** said the Fox, who almost face planted into the floor of Naruto's mindscape. **"I think we are better off going with that Uchiha and Fishface."** Sadly, Naruto kind of agreed.

"Oh yeah!" shouted Naruto. "That girl just winked at you and you were scampering after her! And now you're trying to look all cool and classy, you Pervy Sage!"

"Hey, can't you stop calling me that in front of others?" asked Jiraiya. Hinata was slowly realizing that Master Jiraiya may in fact be a big pervert. Why did she come? Oh yeah, Naruto.

"Screw that, it's those guys over there we should be worrying about, Pervy Sage!" shouted Naruto.

Sasuke was still on the ground in pain as Kisame and Itachi turned their attention to the Sanin. "So it's one of the Sanin, the great Jiraiya, eh?" asked Kisame. "You like beautiful women but we weren't thinking that such a simple method could successfully stall you."

Jiraiya set the woman down. "So you guys used genjutsu on her to get her to draw me away? Not a very manly way of doing things" claimed Jiraiya. "So you really are after Naruto!"

This realization shook Naruto. Itachi looked at Jiraiya. "No wonder Kakashi knew about this, you were the source of his information." Said Itachi. "To abduct Naruto…those were the orders given to us by the higher echelons in our organization."

"A-abduct N-naruto?" said Hinata, looking over at Naruto.

"Hmm, you won't get Naruto" said Jiraiya. "Because you two are going to die right here at my hand!"

"Don't do it!" Sasuke shouted, standing up. "This guy is MINE!" The hatred and rage was gathering inside him as he looked at his brother, the man who killed his entire clan.

"I'm not interested in you now, Sasuke" replied Itachi. Sasuke charged at Itachi in a blinded rage. Itachi quickly countered, slamming his fist into Sasuke's stomach, causing him to drop over and cough up blood. Itachi slammed Sasuke into a wall, causing him to cough up even more blood and Naruto was forced to look on as his teammate was beaten to a pulp.

"_Damn it…there is still such a gap"_ thought Sasuke as he was getting thrown into the wall. _"Why is there such a big difference?" _Sasuke fell to the floor, exhausted and ready to pass out from the beating; however, Itachi wouldn't even afford him that luxury. He picked up Sasuke and stared into his younger brother's eyes, activating his Mangekyo Sharingan.

* * *

Sasuke woke inside the genjutsu world of Tsukiyome. In front of him was his entire clan on their knees with Itachi standing behind them, sword in hand. "Sasuke, for the next twenty four hours, you will relive that day!" With that, Itachi began to slaughter the Uchiha clan in front of Sasuke…again.

* * *

"Aaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggggggggghh hhhhh!" Sasuke screamed out in pain.

"Itachi, I advise you against using your eyes so many times in a single day" warned Kisame.

Naruto began running towards them, hoping to save Sasuke. "Assholes!"

Jiraiya made a few hand seals and suddenly the hallway began to turn into a slimy pink tube. It was like they were inside something's stomach. "Ninpou: Toad mouth bind!" shouted Jiraiya. "Too bad, Itachi, Kisame. You are already inside my stomach!"

"Sasuke, why are you so week?" Itachi asked as the wall began absorbing Sasuke. "Still not enough…hatred!"

"I summoned the esophagus of the giant toad from Myoki Mountain" exclaimed Jiraiya. "I hope you wanted criminals enjoy being food for Iwagama!" Naruto began freaking out and Hinata was even a bit grossed out by what was happening. "Don't worry you two. Just stay still. It's my jutsu!"

Kisame and Itachi tried to flee before they were digested. "The wall of flesh is closing in!" shouted Kisame, panic setting in.

Jiraiya and Naruto followed them, only to see a hole in the wall with black flames burning around the edge. _"The black flamed of Amaterasu…surely the wall was torn apart by them" _Jiraiya realized. He pulled a scroll out and began to scribe a seal on it. After making a quick hand seal, the black flames were absorbed into it. "Fuuinjutsu: Fire seal, highest rank!"

Jiraiya recalled the esophagus and the hallway returned to normal. Sasuke was sitting against a way. He was in the same state as Kakashi was after taking the mental beating of Tsukiyomi.

"Dynamic Entry!" shouted Gai as he lashed out at an unsuspecting Jiraiya, sending him back into the wall. After a quick apology, Jiraiya informed Gai that he needed to be taken back to the hospital. Naruto was wondering if Sasuke would be okay and Jiraiya informed him that it was now more imperative that they found Tsunade as she was the only one who could fully heal Sasuke. Gai also mentioned that Kakashi had suffered from the same jutsu. Naruto tried to talk Jiraiya into letting him go after the two Akatsuki, but Jiraiya tried to shut him up. After some talking, Jiraiya finally got Naruto to realize that their best bet was to find Tsunade. Gai departed to take Sasuke back to the hospital to try and recover.

* * *

The three set off on their journey. And now Hinata was the one left wondering. "M-master Jiraiya, w-what d-did those men want with N-Naruto?" she finally asked. It was now that Jiraiya was regretting bringing her along.

"It's not so much of Naruto that they were after, it's well…I can't really say right now" said Jiraiya.

"I-is this a-about the K-K-Kyuubi?" asked Hinata. Everyone was shocked, frozen in place. Even Kurama was hit by this.

"H-H-How?" now it was Naruto's turn to stutter.

"W-well, w-when I was 8, o-one of the clan elders…well, t-they told me, h-hoping that I w-would h-hate you and stay away from you" explained Hinata. "B-but, I-I could n-never hate you Naruto. That only made me admire you more. You had a demon inside yet you were always so positive." Jiraiya knew this would make good ammunition against the Hyuga elders should it be needed.

Naruto's jaw dropped and so did the Fox's. _**"This Vixen is definitely a keeper"**_ Kurama thought to himself.

Naruto felt something warm inside him. He had no clue what it was, but it was there. It had came from Hianta's little confession about knowing his secret and the fact that even still, she wanted to be his friend. "Hinata, thank you. You don't know how much that means to me" replied Naruto.

Jiraiya hated to ruin the moment, but they had to move on quick. "Oh, and Hinata you know you can't refer to the Kyuubi inside of Konoha. We usually just call him 'Fuzzball'" joked Jiraiya.

"…**Let me out so I can rip that mouth of his off! I'm the Demon Nine-tailed Fox, not 'Fuzzball!" **shouted Kurama inside Naruto

"Hehe, you made Fuzzball angry" laughed Naruto. Kurama just growled at the two. _"Oh lighten up, it's just a joke."_

"W-wait…y-you c-can actually t-talk to t-the K-Kyuubi?" asked Hinata. Naruto sighed, he would have to do something about recording this conversation. As they traveled, Naruto told Hinata basically the same thing he had told everyone else so far, that the Fox was just misunderstood and that he really wasn't evil. Hinata, being Hinata, easily accepted what Naruto was saying. This was before Jiraiya confirmed to her the power of the contract between the two. "A-alright, but the Kyuubi, what exactly is he anyways?"

"The Kyuubi is an ancient demon. People of old would fear it" explained Jiraiya. "As to why they would want it? I don't know. However, I guess they are trying to find a way to harness and control its powers. They are going to keep coming after you, but I'll be there to protect you so you don't…"

"And that's why I need to become stronger!" claimed Naruto. "They hurt Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei and they would no doubt hurt other friends of mine. I need to become stronger so that I can protect them. Plus, I can't just let them have Kurama. I made him a promise and I won't let it go because that's my nindo!" This as well strengthened Hinata's resolve. She was going to get stronger with Naruto so that he wouldn't have to face this 'Akatsuki' group alone.

"_Heh, now that's Naruto for you"_ thought Jiraiya. "Just remember, we need to make YOU strong. You can't continue relying on the Kyuubi's power. I think the two of you realize that or else you would have gone full Kyuubi-mode back there. Don't worry, I said I was going to make you strong and I will."

"Alright! Then let's hurry and get started on finding this Tsunade so she can heal Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei and we can get to training!" shouted a hyperactive Naruto. He calmed down as something came to mind. "So this Tsunade, she's one of the Sanin? Like you? Then how old is she?"

"My age" Jiraiya smiled.

"Wow, she's old then. What's she like?" asked Naruto.

"Well, she's kinda annoying. She's a compulsive gambler and well known in lots of countries." Jiraiya continued on with his explanation.

"Well, she'll be easy to find if she's famous!" said Naruto.

"Oh yeah, she's famous alright. She's know far and wide as the Legendary…" said Jiraiya.

* * *

"I want to turn all my money into chips!" shouted Tsunade, slamming a case full of money down onto the table in a local gambling hall. The guys around the table just looked at her with odd looks.

"Who is she?" whispered one of the men to another.

"This person has a nickname, don't you know?" responded one of the other men.

"Nickname?" replied the first man.

"Yeah, the Legendary…Sucker!" the man said. Suddenly all the other men sitting at the table had a big grin beginning to show on their face. Tsunade's assistant, Shizune, started freaking out, realizing that they knew who she was and that they were going to be taking full advantage of that.

"Hmm, she may have a name, but I don't think she'll be easy to find" said Jiraiya. "She ain't the type to age gracefully, so she'll probably be using a special jutsu to change her appearance. She may be 50, but she'll probably look to be in her mid 20's. And, I've been hearing that she changes her age from 10 to 40 to 20 to get away from her gambling debts."

* * *

"**Humans. Some just can't seem to accept mortality"** snickered the Fox.

"_Hey, so how old are you?"_ asked Naruto.

"**Hmm, me? Well I've been around for a little over 1000 years"** responded the Fox.

"_Wow!" _said Naruto in awe. _"So how old is your father?"_

"**Well, the one I considered my old man died almost 1000 years ago. He was a mortal like you, but the first thing that I respected. I have some stories, but I'll save those for another day"** responded Kurama.

"Tsunade as a kid loved to gamble more than anything" continued Jiraiya. "Unfortunately, she sucked at it in both skill and luck. She earned the nickname 'sucker' a long time ago. Back then, she was always borrowing money and then running away…ahh those were the days."

"Heh, so you must miss those days" said Naruto. "Well, so how are we going to find her then?"

"Since we are going by foot, there are many ways of doing this…" Jiraiya said vaguely.

"That means we don't know…So how long is it going to take?" asked Naruto.

"We don't have much time to spare, and we will be spending most of that time…" stated Jiraiya. "On the two of you."

Naruto and Hinata were slightly confused as they came to the edge of the next town. After checking into the hotel, Jiraiya took the two genin to the outskirts of town. "So, Pervy Sage! What's this training? What makes it better than Chidori?"

"Well, you could say this is the same type of training that Sasuke went through to get his Chidori" explained Jiraiya as Naruto got excited. "Now, the first thing I want for you to do is teach Hinata here, your shadow clone jutsu."

"What?!" they both said in unison. "I guess I'm fine showing it to her, but why does she need the shadow clone jutsu?" asked Naruto.

"Hmm, you don't know about the other benefit of using shadow clones?" asked Jiraiya. Naruto questioned him as to what the 'other benefit' was. Jiraiya explained to Naruto that any knowledge and experience gained by the clones would transfer back to the original. "This training requires a lot of time, so we are going to use shadow clones to make the most of it. Think of it this way, if you train for an hour with three clones, that would be the same as three hours of training."

"Wow!" exclaimed Naruto. "So if I were to train with over a hundred clones, that would be a hundred hours of training in an hour?"

A hundred clones? A hundred Narutos? Hinata was having trouble comprehending this without turning bright red. Of course, a hundred clones was nothing for Naruto, who created over a thousand to beat up Mizuki once. If Hinata thought of that, she would most certainly faint.

"More or less, but you don't get the experience until you dispel them" explained Jiraiya. "This method will help both of you and you two will be using shadow clones to master each step of this training. I don't expect Hinata to be able to create anywhere near as many clones as you can, but even two or three will help."

"Alright, let's get to it then!" shouted Naruto. Jiraiya went into the town to collect 'information' on Tsunade's whereabouts, leaving Naruto to work with Hinata for the rest of the day.

Their training continued for the next day that they were in town and on that evening, Hinata finally got it as she stared at an exact, physical copy of herself. Despite not having a large chakra reserve, her superior control greatly helped with creating the clone. "Yeah! You did it, Hinata!" shouted Naruto, testing that the close was actually solid. Like its original, the Hinata clone even possessed the ability to faint when Naruto got too close. For the first time in her life, she actually saw what it was like to faint in front of Naruto as the original Hinata was a little embarrassed that she had been doing that now for a few years.

"Well, it looks like the two of you are done" said Jiraiya, returning to the outskirts of town to join them. He looked down to see the unconscious clone before it was dispelled.

"Y-yes, w-well I can only make a few, n-no m-more than two" said Hinata as she felt a rather large drain on her chakra reserves.

"So does this mean we can start working on that Chidori training?" asked Naruto, eager to get on with this awesome training Jiraiya had promised.

"Like I said, you are probably not the right type for Chidori" restated Jiraiya.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" asked Naruto.

"For jutsu, there are five basic elements: Fire, wind, water, lightning, and earth. These five elements are the foundation for all jutsu" said Jiraiya. "Most people have chakra that naturally leans strongly towards one of these natures. For example, the Uchiha clan was full of people with the fire affinity."

"Wait, but what about Sasuke? I thought Chidori was a lightning technique?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, well it turns out that Sasuke also has a strong lightning nature to his chakra as well" explained Jiraya.

"So it's possible to have more than one element?" asked Naruto.

"Yes. In fact, most jonin are able to use two or more elements. For example, my main element is fire, but I can also use earth and water elements with my jutsu" said Jiraiya. "Most people have one nature that they are particularly strong in and some people even have two. Just because you are strong in one element, doesn't mean you can't use other elements. With the appropriate training, you can master elements that you are not as strong with, although they will never be as strong as your main element."

"Alright, I think I get it. So I have a main element, but I can learn other ones as well." Jiraiya nodded. "Wow! Hey Hinata, do you know what element your chakra has?"

"W-well, my entire clan has an earth element, so I-I should as well" said Hinata. _"I hope my element is earth. What would father say if it wasn't? If I don't have an earth element, then would he see me as a complete failure again?"_ worried Hinata.

"You mean you don't know? Well then how do we check? And what is my element, Pervy Sage?" said Naruto, irritating Jiraiya.

"Calm down Naruto. We'll check with these cards." Jiraiya pulled out a few chakra litmus cards from his pouch. Jiraiya channeled some chakra into them and the paper burst into flames. "Just channel some chakra into them. If you're fire natured, the card will burn. Wind cuts it in half. Lightning crumples the paper. Water gets it wet. Earth crumbles to dust."

Jiraiya handed a card to Naruto and Naruto did as instructed, channeling chakra into the paper. When he looked at the paper, it was cut in half, indicating a wind nature. "Hmm, wind. It actually fits you. You seem to prefer close ranged attacks and wind will enhance the power of those attacks for you, at the same time, it also does give you some mid range capabilities."

"But wait, you're don't have a wind element. How are you going to teach me?" asked a concerned Naruto.

"Don't worry, I had a past student with a wind nature and I trained him just fine." Jiraiya reassured Naruto. "Just to let you know, I also suspect you have a strong fire nature as well. Just ask Fuzzball about that sometime when you get a chance."

"Wow! Really?" shouted Naruto. "That's awesome! I'm going to get so powerful! Sasuke won't know what hit him!"

Jiraiya turned to Hianta and handed her a card. _"Please be earth. Please be earth."_ She thought, closing her eyes and channeling chakra into her card.

"Wow Hinata, that's great!" shouted Naruto as Hinata opened her eyes. He card had not crumbled to dirt and instead it had split into two like Naruto's. Jiraiya's eyebrow rose as he examined what had just peaked his interest. This little Hyuga had a wind element, just like he had hoped Hiashi would have had.

Hinata began to panic a little. "Oh no. I don't have an earth element. What's father going to say?" worried Hinata.

"Huh? Why's that?" asked Naruto, now curious as to why she was freaking out.

"M-my c-clan is r-really strict with this sort of t-thing" she said. "The elders will s-surely l-label me a f-failure now."

"What?! That's just dumb. Wind is a great element…uhh, hey Pervy Sage, what's good about the wind element again?" Jiraiya nearly face planted.

Jiraiya bent down, trying to cheer the now depressed Hinata up. "The wind element is almost like a blade. To be honest, I was hoping that Hiahsi would have had a wind element and I can see the potential it has within the Gentle Fist. The idea is to make the chakra as sharp and thin as possible, increasing its cutting power."

"Y-you mean l-like my Protection of the Eight Trigrams?" asked Hinata, remembering how she had developed this. This actually interested Jiraiya even more and he requested her to show him that technique. After analyzing the attack, there was indeed wind chakra mixed into it. To have been able to unknowingly transform her chakra like that, Hinata was a natural when it came to the cutting nature of wind. "B-but Jiraiya-sama, w-why d-did you want my father to have a wind element?"

"Hmm. Think of it this way. The Gentle Fist relies on blocking the tenketsu and chakra flow of opponents. Just like the earth blocks the flow of water in a stream. That's why they Hyuga have strong earth elements" explained Jiraiya. "Now, if you add wind chakra to your gentle fist, you wouldn't be attacking the chakra network with a simple burst of chakra, but rather a blade of it. It's the same way as if I took a knife to a blood vessel inside you and cut it. However, unlike blood vessels, the chakra network is harder to repair. With enough refinement, you could develop a style that effectively destroys the opponent's chakra network rather than blocking it."

"R-Really?!" Hinata sounded surprised and now a bit excited. For ages, the Hyuga have been looking for a way to actually destroy an opponent's chakra network instead of just blocking it.

"Woah! That's so cool Hinata!" exclaimed Naruto, causing the girl to blush a little. "Hey Pervy Sage, if the wind element is that awesome, how come I haven't seen it more?"

Jiraiya chuckled a little. "A wind affinity is rare. As far as I know, there is only one other person in Konoha with a wind chakra nature."

"Really?! Who?" asked Naruto.

"Asuma Sarutobi" stated Jiraiya. "If you want, you can go ask him for advice when we get back, but like I said, I used to have a student with a wind element so I know how to teach the two of you."

"Well what are we waiting for then?! What do we do?" shouted a now hyper Naruto. Hinata smiled at the energy displayed by her crush.

Jiraiya went over to a nearby tree and picked a few leaves off the tree and handed it to the two of them. "Using only your chakra, I want the two of you to cut the leaf into two. I recommend you each use shadow clones as that will increase your experience.

With that, Jiraiya left the two to their training, much to Naruto's displeasure. Regardless, the two began training for the rest of the evening, creating their shadow clones. For Naruto, he had just over 100 clones, while Hinata only had 2 other clones, which had started off the session unconscious as the sight of a hundred Narutos.

It wasn't long until Hinata had her leaf cut in half. Having already developed her Protection of the Eight Trigrams, she was already able to sharpen her chakra to the point where she could cut the leaf with ease.

* * *

Neji had just woken up, the excruciating pain still pounding in his head from when the elders activated his seal. He heard a knock on his door and instructed whoever it was to come in. It was Hiashi. Neji wasn't sure what to think right now. On one side, Hiashi had talked to him the other day and was finally glad that Hiashi had revealed the truth about that night. On the other hand, the main family had just used the seal on him.

"Neji, I came here to apologize for the inappropriate and unjust actions of the elders" apologized Hiashi. "However, there is something I wish to discuss with you. Come to training ground 16 in an hour." With that Hiashi left and Neji was left contemplating what it was that his uncle wanted to talk to him about.

About an hour later, Neji was standing at training ground 16 with Hiashi approaching him. Hiashi activated his Byakugan and scanned the surrounding area, they were alone. "Uncle, if I may ask, what is this about?"

"Neji, I came here to tell you something. Something regarding the seal on your head" said Hiashi. This instantly caught Neji's full attention. "As you know, it is the elders who are in charge of branding Hyuga with the caged bird seal and recently, they have become more carefree about activating it. I just had a little chat with them and they have agreed to lay off activating the seal."

Neji felt relieved by this. "I am thankful for that, but what is to stop them in the future if they ever start abusing it again?"

"As of now, not much. The real reason I asked you to come here is that I am currently looking into a way to remove the seal." This shocked Neji. The removal of the caged bird seal? He would give just about anything to have it removed. "As you are aware, there is no current method to remove the seal. However, I have asked Master Jiraiya, my old master and the best seal master around, to look into finding a way to remove it. I have faith that he will be able to do so and once that day comes, I fully intend to have yours removed."

Neji was speechless. The head of the main branch was actually looking for a way to get rid of the seal that practically subjugated the branch families. "But…why?" was all he could say.

"I will admit my reasons at first were rather selfish" explained Hiashi. "At first, it was because I didn't want either of my daughters to suffer the fate. For the past few years, I figured that Hanabi would be the heir unless Hinata began showing some potential, which she did these past few months. The one thing I have always regretted, and you have helped me see this, was that the whole idea of the Caged Bird Seal drove my brother and I apart. I didn't want to see my daughters suffer that same fate, as the day would most likely come where they would have to compete against one another as to which became the heir and which one was sealed. I realized that there was no way I could let that happen."

"I see" replied Neji. "So you are looking for a way to save your daughters from that fate should the day come that it befell one of them."

"Yes, that was my original intentions; however, with the recent activities of the elders, if that seal is not removed, they could potentially drive this family into ruin, especially you" said Hiashi.

"Me?" asked a surprised Neji.

"Yes. You were born into the branch family; unable to become the heir, yet it is obvious that you have more potential than anyone in this clan. I can't let the elders take away the opportunities that you still have, and this is now something I want to do, for my brother and the one who reminds me so much of my brother" explained Hiashi. Neji felt a few tears come to his eyes as Hiashi mentioned his father. "Like I said before, I have dealt with the elders for now and you shouldn't have to worry for awhile. I am also offering to take you as my student to learn the techniques of the main family."

Now Neji was shocked. Hiashi had just offered him all the Hyuga techniques. No longer would he have to reverse engineer them like he did with the Kaiten or the Eight Trigrams. Neji gratefully accepted Hiashi's offer.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, Hinata has known about the Kyuubi for a few years, thanks to one of the Hyuga elders trying to frighten her away from Naruto.**

**A/N: Here is a little explanation on how Hinata was able to get the Shadow Clone technique down fairly quick. The jutsu itself is not entirely that difficult. What makes it a B-rank technique is the chakra requirement. Also, Hianta's Byakugan allows her to observe how Naruto moulded the chakra for the jutsu and thanks to her superior control, she was able to replicate the technique after about a day of training. Although Naruto did have to do the jutsu and slow it down for her at the beginning. This is nothing compared to the Sharingan in the sense of observing techniques, but it gives Hinata an edge in training chakra and chakra control. As her chakra reserves are not that large, the most shadow clones Hinata will be able to make for a while will be 2.**

**Hope you enjoyed. The training sessions in here were a little difficult to write, but hopefully I did them correctly, along with Hinata's revealing she knew about the Kyuubi. Reviews and comments appreciated.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy. **

**Chapter**** 26: Tsunade**

"You're Late!" screamed Sakura. She and Haku have been waiting on the bridge for about an hour and a half, waiting for Kakashi to show up. "Wait, you're not Kakashi-sensei."

"Oh, Zabuza-sama" said Haku, realizing that it was Zabuza who had shown up and not Kakashi.

"Impressive girl, you're able to tell people apart even if they are wearing masks" mocked Zabuza.

"_Why that little…How dare he insult me like that! Cha!"_ said Inner Sakura as Sakura became increasing irritated.

"Why are you here Zabuza-sama?" asked Haku curiously. "We were supposed to meet Kakashi-sensei today for our training."

"Kakashi won't be joining you for a little. I'm afraid he's fallen ill and is going to be in the hospital for a while" explained Zabuza. "I talked to him earlier today and he asked me to fill in for the two of you."

"Two of us? What about Sasuke?" asked Sakura.

"And Naruto, it's been awfully quiet lately" asked Haku.

"From what I've heard, that little blonde brat went on a short trip with that Jiraiya" said Zabuza. "The Uchihia is in the hospital as well. Apparently he's got the same illness as Kakashi."

"No! Sasuke!" cried Sakura as she darted off towards the hospital to see her beloved Sasuke. Zabuza and Haku's sweat dropped after seeing this. Zabuza was going to say that due to Kakashi's affliction, he would be in charge of them on a mission. Looks like it was going to be just he and Haku, which has perfectly fine by him.

* * *

It had been four days since Naruto and Hinata left with Jiraiya in search of Tsunade, the candidate for the position of Godaime Hokage. Hinata had gotten a good grasp on cutting her leaf while Naruto was really struggling. He had managed to put a small knick in the leaf, but despite training with nearly 100 clones, it still wasn't enough.

It was getting late in the evening and they finally came to the next town in their journey, a small town called Rakuza, which was about 50km south of Konoha. The group decided that they were going to settle down here for the next day. Naruto and Hinata could focus on their training while Jiraiya gathered information.

Late at night, the three of them had turned in for the night. Naruto, being the restless sleeper he was, rolled into a table, knocking a pot down on top of him and waking him up. Upon looking around, he saw that Hinata was not in her bed. At first, he thought that she just had to go, but then he noticed the window was open. He was sure the window had been closed when they went to sleep. Upon further inspection, he saw Hinata, sitting on the roof and staring up at the sky, thinking on something.

Naruto crawled out to join her. Hinata realized that Naruto was coming up behind her and began to turn red; almost bright enough to act as light on that night. "N-naruto? W-what are you d-doing up?"

"Well, I kind of got woken up" he said. "But what are you doing, sitting out here?"

"Just thinking" she replied.

"Huh? Thinking about what?" asked Naruto.

"N-nothing really, j-just the training from the previous days" said Hinata. "I-it's just, what will my father think when I tell him that I don't have earth natured chakra. Until about a month ago, my father saw me as a failure. In fact, he pushed me aside so that he could focus on my sister's training, who had more potential than me. I never was really good at the Gentle Fist and they saw me as weak. But, w-when you cheered for me in the preliminaries, I…I decided that it was time I became strong. And because of that, my father began to acknowledge me. He finally had hope in me as a shinobi and he sounded so happy when Jiraiya came and told him that he would train me for a few weeks. But now…I, well I don't even know how I'm going to tell him. Why do I feel that he's going to be disappointed in me?"

Naruto thought for a few moments. A lot of Hinata's past had been just like his, full of disappointment. It wasn't until just recently that both of them had begun to show who they truly were and to be honest, the last thing Naruto wanted was a sad Hinata. "Don't worry about that Hinata" he said. "I'm sure if you do your best and try your hardest, that your father will certainly be happy with you. I mean, just because you're a little different, doesn't mean that's a bad thing."

"But, what will my clan think?" asked Hianta.

"I'm sure everything will be fine. I don't really know much about this, but isn't a family supposed to support you all the way?" stated Naruto. "Besides, from what I've seen from you and heard from Pervy Sage, you having a wind element will be awesome!"

"Do…do you really think so?" asked Hinata, her spirits picking up.

"Yeah. I guess that could be why you say that you're not good at the Gentle Fist, which you are amazing at by the way. If you really want to impress your father, then create a style that works with your wind element and you'll be kicking ass in no time" encouraged Naruto. "Besides, I'm glad you have a wind element."

"You…you are?" she said.

"Yeah, I mean it would get rather lonely being the only one in the village with a wind element. Besides, now the two of us can work together to come up with some really awesome jutsu!" exclaimed Naruto.

"_The two of us? Working together?"_ thought Hinata as she blushed a little. Naruto turned to her, wondering why she always turned red and if she wasn't feeling good. "No, I'm fine. Thanks to you, N-Naruto."

"Me? What did I do?" asked an oblivious Naruto.

"You did what you always do. You make people feel better" said Hinata. "And you know what? I'm glad I came, even if I was disappointed with myself at first. I'm glad that I could finally spend some time with you, N-Naruto."

"_Even after everything that happened, being attacked by those Akatsuki freaks, finding out about the Kyuubi, and even after all these years, she doesn't hate me, she's never hated me? What is this feeling I get when we talk like this?" _thought Naruto. "Thanks Hinata, I'm glad you came along to. I feel like we've become close friends."

"_He…he thinks of me as a close friend?"_ this caused Hinata to blush a dark shade of red and Naruto thought she was getting sick. He suggested that they go to bed and they did so, the troubling thoughts had finally left Hinata's mind, and Naruto's head had stopped pounding from that vase. Unbeknown to them, they weren't the only ones awake.

"_You could have done better there, but not too bad Naruto"_ thought Jiraiya as he went back to sleep as well.

* * *

"Ohhh…ahhgg! My arms!" screamed Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru-sama, the medicine, quickly!" said Kabuto, running to his master's side.

"That kind of crappy medicine, I don't need it" hissed Orochimaru. "I mixed the medicine myself; it should make you feel at least a little better. "The burning pain…I never expected it to be so much!"

"Sarutobi…the Third Hokage, master…the wound from his final curse, no wonder it's so painful" said Kabuto.

"No need for further explanations…the woman, did you find her?" asked Orochimaru in pain.

"Yes, it seems she's at a place called Tanzaku town" said Kabuto. "However, it won't be easy to capture her."

"Is that so?..." hissed Orochimaru. "The best cure is always the hardest to find, right?"

* * *

Morning came and Naruto and Hinata were back to their training. Hinata was now at the point where she could effortlessly split her leaf, but Naruto was still struggling. Finally, he decided to ask for help.

"Hey Hinata, how did you split your leaf?" asked Naruto.

"Y-you need to make the chakra as fine and thin as possible" Hianta said, activating her Byakugan. "Just start channeling your chakra through the leaf and I'll use my Byakugan to help you out."

"Wow, you can do that? That's great!" complimented Naruto.

Naruto began to channel the chakra into the leaf and Hinata saw what was wrong. She helped Naruto make a few tweaks to his chakra and before long, he was able to produce a finer beam of chakra. It was nowhere near Hinata fine, but it was a definite improvement. It wasn't much longer before Naruto was able to generate a fine enough chakra to cut his leaf in half, thanks to Hinata's help.

* * *

Jiraiya was sitting at a bar in town, inquiring if anyone knew Tsunade. "Sorry, I've never seen her before" said one of the men.

"I know that person" said another man, catching Jiraiya's attention. "I even know her whereabouts."

"Well alright, looks like the next round is my treat then…" said Jiraiya. After a little over a week, they finally had a lead on Tsunade's location.

"That sis…she's rubbed me off quite a few times, you know?" said the man. Jiraiya knew where this was going.

"She's still losing, eh?" asked Jiraiya and the man just nodded.

"That Legendary Sucker is still gambling, even now" said the man.

"Where?" Asked Jiraiya.

"Tanzaku town" replied the man.

"Oh? That's not too far from here" said Jiraiya.

* * *

Jiraiya came up to the two genin, who were practicing with their elemental training. He asked them how it was going and they showed him the results. Hinata's was perfect and she was able to cut her leaf without a problem. While Jiraiya was impressed by this, he was not surprised as he suspected that Hinata had inadvertently refined her chakra into wind chakra before. Naruto on the other hand was nowhere near Hinata, but he had still shown some remarkable progress. He could completely cut his leaf, but it still required effort. However, he figured that a lot of Naruto's progress was a result of Hinata, being able to actually see the flow of chakra with her Byakugan.

"I know where Tsunade was last spotted and we should go now. It will take about two days to get there" said Jiraiya. After just over a week of searching, they had actually managed to get a lead on Tsunade's whereabouts and the two young ninja were making rather good progress on their chakra nature manipulation. "The two of you can refine cutting your leafs while we walk and I'll show you the next exercise when we get to Tanzaku town."

* * *

"Wow! Triple 7's!" shouted Shizune. Tsunade, the Legendary Sucker had just come up with the best roll on the slot machines.

"_How did I get Triple 7's? I've got a bad feeling about this"_ thought Tsunade.

"It's a miracle that you've actually won this time, why are you still mad?" asked Shizune, observing her master's frustration.

"Shizune, let's get out of here. I've got a bad feeling" said Tsunade.

"But this is a beautiful place, we should explore the castle more" begged Shizune.

"Then we'll take a quick look around and get out ASAP!" ordered Tsunade.

* * *

I know a bit about Tsunade, you see I was in the medic corps as well" explained Kabuto as he and his master walked up a flight of stairs through the forest.

"It's now become a standard procedure to include a medical specialist in each squad of 4. Prior to this, it was difficult for a group of shinobi to battle without any proper medical attention. You can't anticipate what will happen on the battle field, which is blindingly obvious" explained Kabuto.

"Hmm…that might be a good system for veteran fighters, but such a system would only increase the casualties of war…" hissed Orochimaru. "It's human nature that people won't realize the true value of something until they lose it. And whoever told the story of the medical specialist from the 3 Sanin, became the victims of that ninja."

* * *

"Ah, Tanzaka castle has such a fabulous view, even from the ground!" admired Shizune, looking up to the castle. "That's why it's called the treasure of arts!"

"Don't waste any more time, we've got to get out of here as soon as possible" said Tsunade, much to Shizune's displeasure. Suddenly, the castle fell to the ground in a heap of broken wood. Out of the smoke rose a giant snake with two figures on top of its head.

"Orochimaru…" said Tsunade in an angry tone.

"I've finally found you…" laughed Orochimaru.

* * *

Orochimaru and Kabuto were standing in a small courtyard facing Tsunade and Shizune. "It's been quite a while, Orochimaru" said Tsunade, not in the happiest of moods.

"I've been looking all over for you" responded the snake.

"What have you got with me now?" asked Tsunade. "You better not be here to reminisce about the old days."

"I have a favor to ask of you" said Orochimaru, trying to hide the twitching of his arm to no avail.

"_Erratic heartbeat, his face looks pale and feverish, and then there is that arm"_ deduced the medical specialist.

"Tsunade-sama, I'm guessing you've already figured out" said Kabuto.

"Hey, you can go find someone else, I'm not a doctor anymore" she replied.

"Heh, we can't do that you see…this wound, no one else can cure it" said Kabuto. "But you, Tsunade-sama, one of the Legendary Sanin, and a medical specialist…you alone can cure it."

"That wound on your arm, it's no ordinary wound is it? What have you done to it?" asked Tsunade.

"Heh, just a little memento from when I killed the Third, our old sensei" laughed Orochimaru. Both Tsunade and Shizune stood in shock.

"You really are…" growled Tsunade, making her 'I'm going to kill you' face.

"Heh…don't make that scary face at me. Something with form is destined to crumble. The same goes for people too, you should know this since…you've lost two of your most beloved" taunted Orochimaru. "Ahh, those were certainly horrible ways to die."

Seeing her master's pain of her memories coming back, Shizune revealed a needle launcher on her forearm, pulling back the strings and unleashing half a dozen needles towards Orochimaru and his apprentice. Kabuto blocked them and caught one, realizing that the needles were poisoned.

"Calm down Shizune" ordered Tsunade. Then she got a calm look on her face, accompanies by a smile. "Orochimaru, you haven't changed a bit. You know how I am, don't kid around with me…I'll kill you!" Tsunade slammed her fist into the wall behind them, reducing it to rubble.

"_Destructive, and fearsome"_ thought Kabuto. _"She's definitely single."_

"I'll say it once, get out of my sight before I kill you!" threatened Tsunade.

"Now please be reasonable. We can work out a deal" Kabuto said as Tsunade began her countdown. "Please calm down, it will be a good bargain."

Tsunade reached the end of her countdown and was ready to kill the two. "I can revive your dead brother and beloved with a forbidden seal I have developed" said Orochimaru with a dark and evil look on his face. Tsunade was frozen at this. "I see you haven't killed us yet, does this mean we have a deal?"

* * *

After a two day travel, the trio finally arrived at Tanzaku town. They figured the best place for someone to look was inside a gambling hall. Jiraiya began showing her picture around until he finally got a hit.

"I know that sis" said a man. "She was saying that she was going to get back her loss over there."

"There? Where's that?" asked Jiraiya.

The man Jiraiya was talking with threw two die into a cup. "We can't sell your info for free, you see?" said the man. "Let's gamble for it…if you win, I'll talk. If I win, you give me 10000ryo."

"Alright" said Jiraiya, accepting the man's wager.

"Pick, 'cho' or 'han'" demanded the man. Jiraiya chose 'cho'. The man began to unveil the die. The first die was a 2 and the second die was a 4, an even 6.

The three proceeded to the gambling hall where she was spotted. As Jiraiya was asking around, Naruto found a coin lying on the ground underneath a slot machine. "Hey, kid. Put the coin in that slot and just pull the lever" instructed a man sitting at a nearby machine. Naruto did as the man instructed, his curiosity taking over.

"Ding!" The alarm on top of the machine began to sound. Naruto had just hit the jackpot on that machine, triple red 7's.

"Help! I think I broke it!" shouted a freaking out Naruto as coins began to pour out of the machine. Half the hall's jaws dropped at Naruto's luck. Naruto frantically gathered up as many coins as he could.

"_What the?..."_ thought Jiraiya, observing Naruto's frantic grabbing of coins. _"Is this kid lucky or what?"_

After all was said and done, Naruto was about 100,000 ryo richer. He pulled out his precious Gama-chan wallet, which caught Hinata's eye. _"He…he still has the frog wallet I got for him three years ago?"_ she asked herself, getting a happy feeling inside as Naruto was happily stuffing his little froggy. Unfortunately, the frog wasn't big enough and he was forced to let Jiraiya hold onto the remaining money.

"**Hey Kit, remind me to bring you along with me the next time we Tailed Beasts end up having a poker night"** snickered Kurama. **"You're luckier than the Nanabi!"**

"_Huh? Poker?"_ replied Naruto.

"**Yeah, every couple of decades, the nine of us try and get together and gamble a bit"**

"_What exactly do you gamble?" _asked Naruto.

"**Our vessel's soul" **the Fox burst out in laughter as Naruto's face paled both inside and outside.

"N-Naruto? Is something wrong?" asked Hinata, catching the change in his face's complexion.

"Nothing…just never let me play poker with Fuzzball" said a fearful Naruto.

"**Hey! Who are you calling Fuzzball!"**

* * *

"Don't you want to meet them again?" Orochimaru asked as pictures of her little brother and her lover appeared in Tsunade's mind.

"Hmph, if I cure your arms, what are you going to do?" asked Tsunade.

"I'd hate to lie to you, so I guess I'll let you in on the truth" said Orochimaru. "I'm getting what I want…I'll obliterate the Leaf!"

* * *

"Hey! So where is this castle?" asked Naruto, looking around. This was also something Jiraiya wanted to know.

"What happened here?" asked a curious Jiraiya. Suddenly, they saw a guy running down the path. Jiraiya called to the man. "Hey, you over there. What the hell happened here?!"

"You guys should run away! There is a demon beast over there!" shouted the man as he continued to run.

"Demon?" said Naruto. _"Do you feel anything demonic around?" _Kurama just shook his head.

"What exactly do you mean by 'demon beast'?" asked Jiraiya, catching the man before he could get any farther.

"A-A huge snake toppled the building instantly!" shouted the man as he finally got free of Jiraiya.

"Hey, what kind of huge snake?" asked Naruto. "Back in my village I also encountered a snake beast!"

"Naruto, this is probably the same snake that you encountered before" explained Jiraiya as they ran off towards where the 'snake beast' was last.

* * *

"What?! Destroy the Leaf?!" said Shizune, becoming increasingly angry.

"Your answer is?" asked Kabuto. Shizune begged her to refuse. Tsunade thought on all the memories that she had of her brother and beloved.

"Tsunade-sama, you can't! Don't listen to the offer of these liars. Your brother and uncle wouldn't want you to do this either!" screamed Shizune. "Are the wishes of two people more…Tsunade-sama! Your dreams, your wishes, have you forgotten them?"

"Shut up, Shizune!" cried Tsunade.

"You don't have to answer now, however we will come up with a peaceful resolution" said Kabuto. "Also, this jutsu requires two bodies as sacrifices."

"Tsunade-sama! Kill them now!" shouted Shizune. "Kill these bastards! Orochimaru is weak! If I fight, we can easily kill these bastards!"

Orochimaru bit into his finger, producing a drop of blood and causing Tsunade to shiver in fear. _"Damn, he knows about THAT weakness!"_ swore Shizune to herself.

"I'm pretty weak right now, but I still know her weakness" explained Orochimaru. "You still haven't cured it completely…you're afraid of blood. We should get going Kabuto. Tsunade, we await for your consent; however, we would like an answer within a week."

* * *

The trio of Leaf ninja arrived on scene to see nothing but a collapsed castle and a busted wall. And Hinata had actually been looking forward to seeing the castle. They had been a little late and now they would have to search for her again. Thankfully, they had a trail.

As the three went into town to grab dinner, Jiraiya heard something that he had been hoping to hear. "More Beer!" ordered Tsunade, who was at a table inside the restaurant which they had just walked into.

"Hey! Tsunade!" shouted Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya?!" she responded. "Why are you here? In a place like this?"

"We've finally found you!" exclaimed Jiraiya.

"_This is the woman? Is she really 50?"_ thought a dumbfounded Naruto. Even Hinata was having trouble processing the true age of the young woman sitting in front of them. The three of them joined Tsunade and her student, Shizune, at the table. As the time passed, Jiraiya noticed something was wrong with Tsunade and he asked.

"Today, I met with someone who brings back memories" said Tsunade.

"Orochimaru? What did he want?" asked Jiraiya. Tsunade shot Shizune a glare not to say anything.

"Nothing much, just a little greeting…" replied Tsunade. "You too, why did you come to find me?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, the village has requested for you to become the Godaime Hokage" said Jiraiya. Naruto nearly choked on his food upon hearing this. Tsunade and Shizune listened on in shock. This was not what they had expected to hear at all.

Naruto spent the next few seconds coughing. _"The Godaime Hokage? What the hell, all the sudden?"_ he thought.

"The Third is…" said a solemn Jiraiya.

"So it's true. Orochimaru's work…" said Tsunade. "I heard, he told me."

"_Orochimaru!"_ thought a startled Naruto. "The big snake guy?! He's the one who killed the old man?! Who the hell is this bastard?!"

"He was one of the Sanin, with us" explained Jiraiya.

"What the hell? He was from the Leaf?" said a shocked Naruto. "Then why?"

"Jiraiya, who is this boy?" asked Tsunade.

"Naruto Uzumaki" responded Jiraiya. Tsunade was in shock by that name. She knew who Naruto was and she was surprised to see him there. "And this is Hinata Hyuga, she's Hiashi's daughter."

"Hey Pervy Sage, how come she gets to become Hokage?!" shouted Naruto. Jiraiya did his best to get Naruto down as Hinata kind of retreated to the background of everything, not wanting to be caught in the center of attention.

Tsunace reflected a bit on her past and what Orochimaru had offered her. "Impossible, I decline!" she declared. This startled everyone. Then Jiraiya let out a slight laugh. "I remember in the past, you said 'I decline' when I asked you out."

"Huh?! What's going on?" asked Naruto. "You just wanted her to come back to the village so that she could check on Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei, right? Yet you asked her to be the Hokage?! And she declined!"

"_Tsunade-sama"_ thought a worried Shizune. _"Is she hesitating because of Orochimaru?"_

"Don't worry so much Naruto, Tsunade here is the only person who can become the Godaime Hokage" stated Jiraiya, after taking another sip of sake from his cup. "She was the one who brought us victories in our battles…no one can master her techniques. Also, Tsunade is the granddaughter of the Shodaime, so she is the most appropriate one for the position. Besides, if she goes back to the village, she will be able to check up on those two…This was a decision made by the top members of Konoha, you have absolutely no say in it."

"Jiraiya, this kid seems worse than your previous apprentice in terms of looks, speech, and intelligence…" said Tsunade, slightly insulting Naruto.

"Well, it's tough for anyone to be compared to the Fourth" explained Jiraiya. "Because he really had the talent to become a top rate ninja. He was smart and reliable and handsome, like me too."

"But even the Yondaime died quickly" said Tsunade, quieting the mood at the table. "He gave up his life for the village…Life is different from money, it can't be risked that easily…whoever puts it at risk so easily is a fool!"

Naruto was about ready to jump out of his seat and beat Tsunade to a pulp. "My grandfather and the Second both focused too much on bringing peace to the village, more than anything else" explained Tsunade. "But as a result, they died in the middle of their dreams, like losers!"

"You've changed a lot Tsunade. I don't know what you've been thinking recently, but you've just said all that is on your mind" said Jiraiya.

"Well, I'm already in my 50's, age changes people" said Tsunade. "It's the same for Sarutobi. No wonder he died, he was too old to live for his dreams….Being Hokage is shit…only a fool would do it!"

That was the last straw for Naruto as he leapt out of his seat, ready to plant his fist into Tsunade's 20-some looking face. However, he was held back by Jiraiya before he could reach her. "Hey! Let go of me!" shouted Naruto.

"Don't you realize we are in a bar? Cool it down!" ordered Jiraiya. All around, people were staring at them, wondering what was going on. Finally, he just stood before Tsunade and talked. "I won't forgive anyone who says bad things about our Hokage and the Fourth! I don't care if she's a woman, I'm going to kick her ass!" The fire and rage was building back up again.

Tsunade stood up and looked him in the eyes. "You've got some guts to say something like that, brat. Let's take this outside!" challenged Tsunade. Shizune had done everything she could to diffuse the situation, but failed miserably. As for Hinata, poor Hinata, this was not what she was expecting when she met another of the Legendary Sanin.

The four of them went outside and Naruto faced Tsunade. _"Hmm, I'm one of the Legendary Sanin. I don't even need to take this boy seriously."_ Tsunade thought. Then she held up one finger. "This is all I will need, one finger should be enough!"

This enraged Nartuo who charged at her with his Kunai. Using that one finger, she managed to disarm him, knock his headband off, and send him back flying. _"Damn it, she did all that with one finger?" _he thought.

"**Yeah…that was embarrassing" **replied Kurama. **"Looks like you need help."**

"_Stay out of this! I'm gonna teach her a thing or two myself!" _demanded Naruto.

"Hey kid, I'll ask you one thing before you pass out…" said Tsunade. "Why…when you hear the word Hokage, do you get so excited?"

"Hmph…unlike you, I really want to succeed the Hokage name…and I will, because it's my dream to!" declared Naruto. Tsunade was haunted by the ghosts of her past at that moment, giving Naruto a small opening.

Naruto charged at Tsunade. Over the past few days, he had also been working on his Rasengan and had gotten it to the point where he could do it with one hand. Naruto formed said Rasengan in his hand, ready to show Tsunade what happens when she insults the name Hokage. Tsunade saw this at the last minute and created a fracture in the ground with her finger to stop Naruto. His Rasengan went slamming into the ground, creating a nice crater.

"Jiraiya! Why the hell did you teach him the Rasengan?!" shouted Tsunade.

"I taught it to him because he's my student and I felt he could master it, which he did" explained Jiraiya.

"It would have been better if you didn't. That way, silly kids won't joke about foolish dreams about 'becoming Hokage'" said a harsh Tsunade.

"No, you're wrong! Naruto can become Hokage someday!" Those words burst out of Hinata's mouth as Kurama's jaw practically dropped at the quiet girl's outburst. He had never heard her be so firm and confident on something. Tsunade shot her a death glare, but surprisingly Hinata didn't budge for once.

"Hmph, whatever. If you want that foolish position so bad, then you can have it" said Tsunade brushing off Naruto. Naruto was enraged but Jiraiya put his hand on his student's shoulder.

"This isn't the Tsunade I used to know. Let me talk to her and see if I can get to her" said Jiraiya. Naruto had no choice but to have faith in his teacher.

"Tsunade, why don't we get a drink together? It's been awhile" said Jiraiya. If it wasn't for the fact that it had been awhile, Tsunade would have thought Jiraiya was asking her out and probably done worse to him than she had done with Naruto. "Shizune, you, Hinata, and Naruto go find a hotel."

"_Master Jiraiya, it's up to you now"_ thought Shizune as she took the two genin to go find that hotel.

* * *

The bar tender handed the two Sanin their drinks and apologized for the delay. "You've become even more beautiful" complimented Jiraiya.

Tsunade blushed slightly. "You haven't changed a bit. It's only you that I don't date" said Tsunade.

"It's not like I'm interested…" said Jiraiya. _"Besides, she's a 50 year old lady."_

"What?!" shouted Tsunade.

"Nothing…" said Jiraiya, hoping he didn't get punched. The two of them had a little laugh over that. Suddenly, Jiraya got slightly more serious. "Are you worried?"

"About what?" asked Tsunade.

"Naruto is a lot like HIM, isn't he?" said Jiraiya, obviously striking a chord with Tsunade. "Are you afraid that the past will repeat itself?"

"Just shut up" demanded Tsunade in a harsh tone. "I just don't want any more trouble caused because of me."

"Going up to meet with Orochimaru, eh? That sounds like a lot of trouble" said Jiraiya, reading Tsunade like a book. "I could tell by Shizune's countenance…I don't know what sort of deal he offered, but I just want to make one thing clear…The past Hokages protected those who lived in the village. They reigned in troublesome times, yet the village still managed to prosper. They bet their lives on that dream…you should understand too." Suddenly, Jiraiya's tone got much darker and colder. "But, if you do anything to betray the Leaf, I will kill you!"

"That has nothing to do with me" said Tsunade, shooting Jiraiya a glare.

"Only a murderer would show no feelings knowing people close to them are dead…" responded Jiraiya. Tsunade was silent. "You're not like that, right? You do care for the safety of the people in the village, because that time…"

"Stop lecturing me already!" yelled Tsunade. "Why did you bring those brats along?"

"_They're even the same age. Their dream…their enthusiasm, was the same" _thought Tsunade.

* * *

Inside their hotel room, Naruto heard a knock on the door and Shizune stepped inside. "I'm sorry for coming so late, Naruto. But there is something I want to talk to you about."

"What are you doing here so late?" asked Naruto. "I need to sleep well so I can train all day tomorrow."

"I'm sorry, but I don't want you to misunderstand Tsunade-sama" replied Shizune.

"Feh…I don't care about that old lady!" said Naruto, brushing Shizune's comments aside.

"Tsunade-sama is nothing like what you think of her!" Shizune said, becoming defensive. "Please don't talk about her as if you know her." This got Naruto's attention. "Before she wasn't like this. She used to have a caring heart and she loved the village. But she changed…all because of that day."

"Huh? That day? What happened on 'that' day?" asked Naruto.

"Dreams, love, and hope…all were lost on that day" said Shizune ominously. "After that, she became lost and she…left."

Shizune explained to Naruto that Tsunade had given that necklace to two people before him, her little brother Nawaki and her lover, Dan Kato. Both of whom met gruesome deaths in the Second Shinobi World War. "Please understand Naruto. From that day, Tsunade has been struggling. Just give your master some time; I'm sure he'll come through."

"Naruto…Please let Master Jiraiya take care of her" asked Hinata, not wanting to see Naruto upset anymore. "You're always asking people to believe in you. Have faith in Master Jiraiya."

Naruto hesitated for a moment. "Yeah, I guess we could let the old pervert handle that lady. Besides, we've got more important stuff to worry about, like the next exercise in our wind training." Naruto smiled at Hinata, until he felt his stomach complain. "Awe man, I didn't have enough time to eat back at the bar. I'm going to find something to eat, you want to come Hinata?"

"_N-naruto wants to get something to…to eat? With me?"_ Hinata thought as she turned red. It took a good half hour for them to find some place that wasn't either closed or would let two kids in late at night. They had passed a ramen bar, but unfortunately for Naruto, it was closed. What kind of ramen bar isn't open at 10:00pm? Before walking into a local tea shop, Hinata had been red the entire time the two of them were walking through the village. It was then that Hinata's sweet tooth kicked in when she noticed that the shop sold a vast array of backed goods and sweets.

"Hey Hinata, what you said back there, about me becoming Hokage, did you mean it?" asked Naruto.

At the same time, Hinata was busy stuffing herself with some dango and had to clear her throat quickly, nearly choking. "Yes I did. I think you'll become a great Hokage someday" she said without stuttering at all.

Naruto managed a slight smile after all the events of the day. "Thank you, Hinata" he said as the young Hyuga blushed again.

* * *

Early the next morning, Jiraiya took Naruto and Hinata out to a clearing just outside the town, with a river flowing and a waterfall nearby. "Hey Pervy Sage, so what's next?" asked Naruto.

"That" said Jiraiya, pointing to the waterfall. "You will cut that waterfall using your chakra."

"What?!" both of them said. "How?" asked Naruto.

"Just like you did with the leaf. Channel your chakra into the waterfall and cut it" instructed Jiraiya. Using an earth jutsu, Jiraiya made two ledges come out of the cliff on opposite sides of the waterfall. He then summoned one of his toads to take a nearby tree and place it on top of the ledges. "The two of you will be standing on top of that tree, trying to cut the waterfall. I want both of you using shadow clones. Once you get this step down, we can begin teaching you some actually wind jutsu."

"Really! That's awesome. We'll be making our own super awesome wind techniques is no time!" shouted Naruto.

Jiraiya laughed a little and Naruto was wondering what was so funny. "It's going to take a lot more than cutting a waterfall before the two of you have full mastery over wind chakra to develop your own super awesome techniques" stated Jiraiya, receiving some objections from Naruto. "Look, to create these techniques you're thinking of, it will take months, if not years, to refine your chakra. After this step, you will be able to manipulate your chakra to a point where you can begin to learn some basic wind jutsu, but you won't be at the point to create the jutus you are imagining, yet."

"What?! Then why are we even doing this?" shouted Naruto.

"Because, just like the Rasengan, these exercises are the first steps towards creating something great" explained Jiraiya. "With the Rasengan, if you can't spin your chakra, you can't do the Rasengan. Same thing with this. You need to learn how to transform your chakra into wind chakra before you can do wind jutsu. Once you past the first step, then you can learn basic wind jutsu, but to get to something as cool as the Rasengan, it will take time and a lot of practice."

"Well what are we waiting for?" said Naruto, becoming rejuvenated at what Jiraiya had told him. While he jumped up on the log, the water was already soaking his jacket and he was forced to remove it, revealing his bare torso to Hinata.

"_N-n-naruto w-without h-his s-shirt on…"_ her mind went blank and her face became extremely red at the sight. What finished her off were the shadow clones. She had been getting better about keeping herself together around Naruto with the time they had to spend together on the trip, but this was something that she had not quite seen yet and it was this that caused her to faint for the first time since she had seen her clones faint during the training with Naruto.

Jiraiya stayed and supervised them for the rest of the morning and some of the afternoon. For the most part, he was busy writing (probably working on the next Icha Icha book). The waterfall was only big enough to fit about 7-8 people across and Naruto and Hinata both had to fit on the tree. This basically resulted in four Narutos and three Hinatas, as two clones were the most she could manage without passing out from chakra exhaustion. It began to get late in the day and there had been no progress on the waterfall. All both of them had managed to do was splash a bit of water in their faces every time they tried to focus a lot of their chakra into the waterfall. The training was quickly taking its toll on Hinata as she was forced to dispel her clones after an hour or so to conserve chakra. By early afternoon, Naruto was the only one on the waterfall as Hinata needed a break or else she would have collapsed from chakra exhaustion.

Believe it or not, even Naruto saw this as a time for a break, wanting to check out the ramen bar in town.

"Bleh!" was heard all over town as Naruto tasted the ramen in the shop. It was terrible, there was no way this could be ramen. It was cold, the noodles were stale, and it was everything ramen was not. This was going to be a long trip, a long ramen-less trip.

* * *

**A/N: Because Naruto does not take the bet with Tsunade to master the Rasengan (seeing as he already knows it), it has been difficult to try and develop the relationship between the two of them. Hopefully I do it okay in this chapter and the next.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: The Decision**

It was the third night that Naruto and Hinata began their training. Hinata had called it a night, but Naruto was determined to progress further in his wind manipulation training. Jiraiya said that it would take him years, yet he wasn't going to let that happen while Sasuke continued to make stronger lightning and fire jutsu. The past few days had yielded little progress and despite it being that late, he would push through until he had this exercise down.

"Hey brat, let me ask you something" said Tsunade, who had been observing him for the past few hours.

"Oh, it's you granny" said Naruto. A vein bulged out of Tsunade's head, obviously irritated at Naruto's comment. "What do you want?" he said coldly.

"Why do you do this to yourself. I'm a doctor and I can tell you're already on the verge of exhaustion" said Tsunade. "In a world like this, why do you keep doing what you're doing? It's pointless, unless you want to die."

"Because, unlike you, I actually care about the Leaf. I wouldn't even think about betraying it to some snake-freak" said Naruto. "And if you're wondering why I'm training, it's because I need to become stronger to protect my friends from danger. I don't know about you, but I'll never give up."

Yep, he was definitely the ghosts of her past coming back to haunt her in physical form.

* * *

It was the morning of the sixth day from the time that Tsunade and Orochimaru met and the two genin were making some progress on the waterfall. For it only being just over two weeks, you could say that they had actually made a lot of progress. The two who were once considered failures had gotten this far in chakra nature manipulation training in just a few weeks, although they had been using shadow clones so the true amount of experience actually totaled about a month for Hinata, and almost a year for Naruto. Naruto couldn't believe he never noticed this ability of the shadow clones before. This was just what he needed to eventually be able to work on those super cool jutsus that he had been having dreams about.

"N-naruto, I don't have much more i-in me for today" said Hinata, on her knees and panting. She had to dispel one of her clones for a small boost of chakra. It was only late morning, but she had never fully

"Come on, you can do this. Just one more try Hinata" said Naruto as his stomach growled. He just smiled. "And then we'll go get lunch." Hinata smiled at the blonde's enthusiasm.

"A-alright. Let's just take this one slow though" she said. "It's no use if we just rush right through it."

Naruto had to agree with her on this. He made another clone to take the place of the clone that Hianta had to dispel. The 5 Narutos and 2 Hinatas took a few minutes to gather their chakra and released it on the waterfall. This time, progress was definitely visible as they both noticed gaps in the waterfall where they were channeling chakra. They had begun to learn how to release their chakra to cut the waterfall, now it was only a matter of time before they were able to cut it themselves.

* * *

Tonight was the night before when Tsunade was expected to give Orochimaru his answer. Over the past week, thoughts had been echoing throughout her head. Thoughts about the possibility of seeing her loved ones again. Thoughts about helping Orochimauru. Thoughts about coming back to the village. Thoughts about Naruto. There had to have been another reason Jiraiya brought him along other than for training. He resembled THEM, her late younger brother and her lover, from the days when she still believed. Jiraiya had to have brought him along on purpose. Speaking of Jiraiya, he wanted to meet up again tonight to grab a quick drink.

"Glad you could join me tonight, Tsunade-hime" said Jiraiya flatteringly.

Tsunade remained silent but acknowledged him none the less, thoughts still swirling in her mind.

The two had a nice drink, but Jiraiya didn't notice that Tsunade had slipped something into his drink. After a few hours, Jiraiya got up and left the bar. "No matter what happens tomorrow, there's no way you will just be able to simply return to those days" he said to her as he left. Jiraiya knew. He must have weaseled it out of Shizune somehow.

* * *

Tsunade took one last look at the sleeping Naruto. He was exhausted and so was Hinata from the training. Hinata was now finally getting the chance to rest her tired chakra coils. This training would help them grow, but that still didn't excuse the fact that she was rather low on chakra at the present moment. Naruto had put in some more extra training after Hinata had called it a day, cramming as many clones as he could fit on the log and creating even more to practice on the leaf exercise. He was determined to get the waterfall exercise the next day.

Shizune was becoming increasingly irritated at her master. "Tomorrow…Please don't go!" she shouted. However, Tsunade was silent. "Why won't you say anything? Please answer my request Tsunade-sama! If you say you're going…"

"What will you do?" asked Tsunade. This caused Shizune to pause for a little and think.

"I will stop you, no matter the cost!" declared Shizune.

"Shizune! Think who you are talking to!" said Tsunade with a flare of rage in he eyes. She walked up to Shizune and gave her a good solid punch in the stomach, knocking her unconscious. Tsunade left the room, her decision has been made.

* * *

"Hey!" shouted Naruto to Shizune, who was slowly waking up after being unconscious for a few hours.

"Naruto?" She thought about what her master had said about Naruto not waking up for at least another two days. Finally, she snapped back to consciousness. "Oh no! Today, what day is it?!" Shizune began panicking.

"It's Monday, why?" said Naruto. Shizune was both relieved and surprised. She was relieved by the fact that today was the day of the exchange and that there still might be time to stop her master. At the same time, she was surprised that Naruto was still standing, good as new and fully energized. "Huh? What is it?" he asked.

"Naruto! Stay in the house!" she shouted as she darted out the window, only to see Jiraiya crawling back towards the window. He was not feeling good.

"Wait Shizune…" said Jiraiya, trying to do his best to stay up. "Damn that Tsunade…she put drugs in my drink last night. I can't even release chakra and my whole body stings. I can barely hold my chopsticks."

Jiraiya had made out of the bar last night, but the drugs kicked in and he fell asleep, waking up in some dark ally, head first in a trash can.

"**Like I said, humans are just sad, sad beings"** said Kurama. Naruto wanted to argue, but the Pervy Sage was not helping his argument.

"Uhg…in her fallen state, she's still a medical specialist. She's about the only one who can create a tasteless, odorless drug and use it against ninja" explained a weak Jiraiya. "But, even though I was drunk…to get me like that…Shizune, what you guys talked to Orochimaru about, it's about time you tell us."

Shizune began panicking again and told them to come with her. She explained what Orochimaru had offered Tsunade on the way there.

"Damn it…the answer has to be NO!" said Jiraiya as they rushed to stop Tsunade. _"She's still unable to let those two go and move on…based on the situation, I may actually have to kill her!"_

"Umm…Master Jiraiya, what is the problem, why are we in a hurry?" asked Hinata. Naruto also wanted to know the answer as to what that old bag-of-bones was up to. Jiraiya explained that she was asked to heal Orochimaru's arms, restoring his power, and that today was the day of the decision. He had managed to get Shizune to talk one night after taking Tsunade's apprentice out to the bar a few nights ago.

* * *

Tsunade was standing in the same ally facing Orochimaru. "So the answer is?" asked the snake Sanin.

Tsunade looked down, in deep thought. "I will heal your arms, in exchange you keep your hands off Konoha" said Tsunade.

"Heh, alright" laughed Orochimaru. He lifted his wounded arms towards Tsunade and she generated a green energy between her hands. However, a kunai forced them to jump apart. Orochimaru and Tsunade looked up to see that Kabuto had been the one to intervene.

"What is this…to come this far and betray me?" asked Orochiamru. "…Tsunade." Kabuto's attack had sent a clear message to Orochimaru, that the energy that she generated was not meant to heal him, but to kill him. "How could you come to an answer like this, Tsunade-hime, and try to kill me?!"

Tsunade stared down her former teammate with a look of killing intent. However, Orochimaru was left unfazed from this. He looked at Tsunade with his typical evil and sadistic look. "I trust you, Kabuto, from the bottom of my heart. Your loyalty and ability to see Tsunade's intended attack."

"Yes, we are both from the medical corps, so it wasn't too difficult to see that her chakra was full of intent to kill" explained Kabuto.

"Tsunade…I honestly intended to revive those two and I even agreed to spare the Leaf" said Orochiamru.

"Orochimaru…I knew that you keeping your hands off the Leaf was a lie. I knew that but…I…Those two people…Even just one more time, I wanted to see them. Even for just one more time, I wanted to touch them, to see their smiling faces" explained Tsunade as she started to tear up. "I'll really be able to see Dan and Nawagi again…the moment I felt that on my skin…I felt like a fool. Those two's…faces, from just remembering them…for me to become this blind…I loved them…Because I truly loved them, I wanted to see them and hug them. But I couldn't…Because of that brat, their dream that I had tried to forget has been reborn. The dream that those two bet their lives on…Having those dreams was also my wish. All things that have shape eventually crumble…you've said that. However, only this feeling will not decay." By this point, two waterfalls were running down Tsunade's face, one originating from each eye.

"So the deal is off…then we will be forced to do it" said Orochimaru as Tsunade snapped back to the current situation. With rage taking over her emotions, Tsunade leapt at Orochimaru and Kabuto. As she slammed her foot into the ground, it crumbled away, leaving a large crater in the place where the two traitors once stood. Kabuto and Orochimaru had just barely dodged that attack. "Hmm, now that I think about it, I've never fought against you before" said Orochimaru as Tsunade charged towards them.

"You bastards! I'll kill all of you now!" shouted Tsunade. Kabuto and Orochiamru just barely dodged her attack. They knew that if Tsunade could land one blow on them, it could be enough to kill them.

"Orochimaru-sama, this place is a bit too crowded for this type of fight" said Kabuto. "I think it is wise if we were to move elsewhere. Also, I noticed there is something up with Tsunade's servant. It is only a matter of time before he comes and joins the battle."

"He? Who is he?" asked Orochimaru, curiously.

"He's one of you, the Legendary Sanin. Jiraiya!" said Kabuto as the two of them retreated with Tsunade in close pursuit. Orochimaru was getting a little laugh out of this. This would be a fun reunion, despite Kabuto fearing for his life at the thought of two Sanin.

* * *

Shortly after, Jiraiya, Shizune, Naruto, and Hinata arrived on scene and noticed the carnage. This relieved everyone as they realized that Tsunade must have decided not to go through with the exchange and was instead trying to kill Orochimaru. They weren't sure of which way they went, but thanks to Hinata's Byakugan, they were easily able to pick up on the trail of craters in the ground and smashed things, obviously Tsunade's doing.

Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Kabuto came to a halt. Their battle was ready to begin. Running low on energy from running for his life, Kabuto popped a soldier pill into his mouth to replenish his chakra. He made a few hand seals and activated his chakra scalpels. He disappeared underground and reappeared just beneath Tsunade, hoping to tag her with his scalpels. If the scalpels hit, they would deal internal damage, almost like the Huyga's gentle fist. Tsunade dodged the first attack, but Kabuto quickly rebounded and attacked again, tagging her right arm and thigh, cutting the muscles in them.

Tsunade examined her injuries, quickly realizing that Kabuto had cut her muscles and she realized that he was trained in the medical arts as well. "I've cut your biceps and abdomen muscles. You won't be able to use your strength now" claimed Kabuto.

"Hmm…chakra scalpel. So why didn't you aim for my arteries?" asked Tsunade.

"Certainly with this chakra scalpel, I could have severed all your muscles and blood vessels, but maintaining the accuracy and power required for that in combat is extremely difficult" explained Kabuto. "Well, since I'm aiming for your neck, it shouldn't be a problem now."

Kabuto charged at Tsunade and hit her neck, just above the collar bone. He managed to cut her rokkankin, the muscles surrounding her respiratory area, making it difficult for her to breathe. Kabuto dropped his guard, thinking that he had Tsunade in a position where he didn't have to worry. However, Tsunade chopped the back of his neck, sending an electrical current through his body. Tsunade wasn't an ordinary medical ninja and Kabuto was beginning to realize that. Tsunade stood up and began to heal herself while Kabuto quickly realized that Tsunade had messed up the electrical signals in his body with that last blow. When he tried to move his right leg, his left thumb would move. "What is this? It's not my muscles, but my nerves?" asked a startled Kabuto.

"Hmm, seems like you've realized…yes it is your nerves. I changed my chakra into electricity, and sent the electric waves into your nervous system" explained Tsunade. Kabuto was quickly realizing that this was going to be a difficult battle. Much to Tsunade's surprise, Kabuto was able to regain control of his nervous system rather quickly and he charged at her with a kunai ready. However, before he could get in range, Jiraiya, Naruto, Shizune, and Hinata appeared before him in a puff of smoke.

"Long time no see…Jiraiya" hissed Orochimaru.

"Those wild eyes of yours. You haven't changed a bit, Orochimaru" said Jiraiya.

"What?! What is Kabuto doing here?" shouted Naruto, seeing Kabuto before them.

"Hello, Naruto" said Kabuto. Jiraiya realized that the two of them recognized each other.

Wanting to kill Kabuto, Tsunade barged through them and ran towards Kabuto. Before she could land her blow, blood went flying onto her and she froze in fear. Kabuto had cut himself to use Tsunade's own fear to immobilize her. As she stood in front of him, he just continued to spill blood from his wrist onto her. Seeing his opening, Kabuto punched Tsunade, sending her back towards Naruto and Jiraiya.

"What's going on? Why is Kabuto fighting Tsunade?!" asked a surprised Naruto.

"Naruto, look at his headband. He is Orochimaru's subordinate" explained Jiraiya.

"Hmph, that's right, I'm a spy for the sound village" admitted Kabuto. "And based on the data on you I collected from the chunin exams, unlike Sasuke, you have no talent as a shinobi!" This got Naruto's blood boiling.

Shizune ran over to her master and began to wipe the blood off of her, hoping to stop the shaking and cowering.

Naruto sent a glare towards Kabuto. "Heh, even if you do make a scary face like that, you are nothing more than an out-of-place genin. You have been relying on that thing inside of you, but with the three Sanin here, you are nothing. You are like a small bug…if you try something, I will kill you!" stated Kabuto.

"**Hey Kit, you want me to teach this insolent brat a lesson?"** asked Kurama, slightly insulted by Kabuto's comments.

"_Sorry, but I want to smack this bastard around myself!" _said Naruto, refusing Kurama's help. _"Besides, he doesn't know of us and I don't want Orochimaru thinking that what happened in the forest was something more than a mistake."_

Naruto charged at Kabuto, making a few shadow clones in the process. Jiraiya tried to stop him, but the drug was still having an effect on his system. However, thankfully Kabuto's right arm was in no shape to fight with because of that wound. Naruto had all four clones attack at once, but he was blinded when Kabuto splashed some blood at him. Naruto flew back, but Shizune managed to catch him, spitting some of her poisoned needles at him in the process. Kabuto barely had time to react and blocked them with his headband. Kabuto popped a blood-stopping pill, showing Shizune that he was a medical ninja too as he returned to Orochimaru's side.

"Shizune, handle four-eyes. I'll take care of Orochiamru" said Jiraiya. "But before that, I would like to ask you something about my body…"

"I'm sorry, but the effects will last for a few more hours" explained Shizune. "There is nothing I can do about it."

"Tsunade, just worry about healing yourself" said Jiraiya.

"Hey! What about me?!" shouted Naruto, not being able to get in on the action.

"You and Hinata protect Tsunade" ordered Jiraiya. Naruto objected, wanting to get in on the action, but a battle with all three Sanin involved was a fight Hinata did not necessarily want to get in the middle of.

"Naruto, Orochimaru is one of the three Sanin and the one who killed the Sandaime, only I can take him" said Jiraiya, bending down to Naruto. "The only way I can see you matching up even close against him is by using the Kyuubi and I would rather not reveal that secret to Orochimaru. He may have seen it in the forest, but for now, let's just hope he saw that as a fluke and that the Kyuubi actually trying to break free."

Simultaneously, Jiraiya and Kabuto, acting for Orochiamru, went through the motions for their summoning jutsu. After the smoke cleared, Orochimaru and Kabuto each stood atop a giant snake. Jiraiya, well…

"Sup" said Gamakichi, appearing as Jiraiya's summons.

"What?!" shouted both Naruto and Jiraiya.

"_Jiraiya is still affected by the drug. He can't control chakra well"_ thought Shizune.

"Haha, your stupidity still hasn't been cured. I'll attack first!" declared Orochimaru. "I don't think there exists anyone with as little talent as you, Jiraiya. It looks like Tsunade's been hurt by something."

"Orochimaru-sama. That technique requires a sacrifice. What if Tsunade was thinking ahead and gave him a drug to prepare him as a sacrifice" examined Kabuto. Orochimaru got a laugh out of that.

Naruto, biting his finger and going through the hand seals for the summoning jutsu. "Summoning Jutsu!"

"Ehh? The Kyuubi boy from the exam. Maybe I should have stuck around to kill him after all" said Orochimaru to Kabuto. "Hmm, I've never dealt with a power like that of the Kyuubi."

"Poof" Naruto's summoning went through and he was facing Gamatatsu, Gamakichi's younger brother. Gamatatsu was a small yellow toad, about the same size as Gamakichi.

"And it looks like I won't have to…since he doen't have any talent as a ninja" laughed Orochimaru.

"…**Really? Is that the best you can seriously do?"** questioned Kurama. Naruto didn't say anything out of frustration, only confirming Kurama's comment.

"Oh, Gamatatsu? What are you doing here?" asked Gamakichi.

"Oh, big brother. This is my first time being summoned, but I'll try my hardest" said Gamatatsu.

"Idiot! You'll just end up a snack if you don't run and hide!" said Gamakichi.

In their confusion, the snakes launched themselves at the group of Leaf ninja. Their attack was barely dodged and Kabuto had moved towards Tsunade and Shizune.

As Jiraiya turned to see Orochimaru, he made a few hand seals. "Doton: Swamp of the Underworld!" Below then snake, a pit of deep mud formed and the snake began to sink. However, because of Jiraiya's ailment, the swamp was not powerful enough to completely sink the snake.

Shizune launched a few needles at Kabuto, who dodged them with ease. He activated his chakra scalpel, but Shizune unleashed poison gas from her mouth. When the cloud cleared, Kabuto was nowhere to be seen. By surprise, Kabuto emerged from the ground and tagged Shizune in the ankles, severing her Achilles tendons.

Naruto and Hinata were busy recovering from the snakes attack. They had managed to avoid the worst, but it still didn't mean that they had completely avoided the attack. Making his way to Tsunade, Kabuto threw Shizune aside as a drop of blood landed on Tsunade, causing her to shutter some more. She looked around to see Shizune lying on the ground in pain and Naruto and Hinata struggling to get up after their near collision with the tail of that snake. This was looking like it was going to be Nawaki and Dan all over again.

Orochimaru charged at Jiraiya, extending his neck out to bite Jiraiya. "Ninpou: Underworld Spines!" Jiraiya's hair wrapped around him, covering him in a blanket of spikes. Orochimaru's head bit Jiraiya in the front of the neck, but his leg had also hit the spines as he impaled himself.

"Haha, there's that insanity of my old village" said Orochimaru. "You've become a companion of those kid and for the sake of the village; you've degraded yourself to chauffer? My talent of seeing through people is unsurpassed and those two are nothing but failures!"

Jiraiya smiled. "That's for sure. I wouldn't need a kid like Sasuke. A boy being raised as a natural prodigy from the beginning is no fun."

"So you're looking for someone like yourself?" asked Orochimaru. "I can't beat the sharingan user who is heir to the Uchiha clan. Why bother with someone like Naruto who hasn't got something like that? A ninja talent that allows them to master every technique in the world…That is what his ninja heritage entails. He only needs to encounter the techniques."

"Hmph, that's not what ninja talent entails. You still don't understand what it takes for a shinobi to be called a ninja" smirked Jiraiya. "I'll teach you one thing…the most important ninja talent is not the number of techniques one acquires. The most important thing is a spirit which never gives up!"

Kabuto threw a punch at Tsunade, which given her condition, would have ended it for her. "Protection of the Eight Trigrams" called out Hinata as she activated her defense and repelled Kabuto's attack. As that defense of hers already had some wind chakra mixed into it, it began to shred Kabuto's hand until he finally backed off. Because of his quick reflexes, he was able to avoid the worst, but there were some pretty deep cuts in his hand and it was bleeding almost as much as the self-inflicted cut he made. However, he was a medic by trade and wounds like this were easy to heal. He would have been able to heal himself is it wasn't for what was behind him.

"Rasengan!" shouted Naruto, lunging at Kabuto. Unlike Neji, Kabuto had the training and reflexes to dodge this one. Naruto regained himself and found himself next to Hinata, standing between Kabuto and Tsunade.

"Step aside. The two of you should just run. If you die here, your dreams will die as well" taunted Kabuto, sounding a lot like Neji from the prelims. "But, if you have a dream, then you cannot run away…so you're left with only one option…die!"

"I'm not dead yet! And you won't lay your fingers on Tsunade-baachan here!" declared Naruto. Hinata's resolve strengthened as well as the two of them prepared to fight Orochiamru's lackey.

"Both of you should just go" said Tsunade, not wanting to see anyone else die. She had to admit that Naruto was a lot like Nawaki and that day was one day she did not want to relive. "If you die, then it will all be for naught."

"Like I said before granny, I'm not giving up. I will protect those important to me and if you're so important to Pervy Sage, then I'll protect you as well. After all, I'm not going to die until I become Hokage" declared Naruto.

"I won't back down either. Like Naruto, I won't give up. That's my nindo!" declared Hinata. Naruto smiled a little at this.

"Fine…then die!" shouted Kabuto as he ran forward.

"Protection of the Eight Trigrams!"

"Ransengan!"

Hinata used her defense to stop Kabuto just as Naruto ran forwards with his Ransengan. Hinata's hit first, stunning Kabuto long enough for Naruto to land his attack. This sent Kabuto flying back aver 20m and slamming into a rock. However, Kabuto stood on his feet, shocking everyone.

"You…You took that attack…How can you still be standing?" said a shocked Tsunade.

"Heh, I collected chakra in my abdomen before impact and started healing right away. I'm the one who saved Orochimaru. It's useless to use that attack against me…my resilience is overwhelming" smiled Kabuto. He took a step forward but collapsed to the ground. The damage done had been more than he could heal. Their combined attack was effective.

Naruto and Hinata turned around to face Tsunade. After everything that she said and everything that had happened, they still came through. "Naruto, behind you!" shouted Hinata, catching something with her Byakugan.

Orochimaru had disengaged with Jiraiya and had shot towards Naruto with his Sword of Kusangai. He knew now that brat could not be allowed to live as he would become a major problem in the future, especially with Akatsuki planning on making its move soon. By the time Hinata realized Orochimaru, it was too late as her 360o vision was limited to only about 50m. Orochimaru was traveling too fast and he was locked onto Naruto.

Blood splattered all over the ground as the sword ripped through flesh; however, this was not Naruto's flesh. Tsunade had jumped in the way, seeing this coming before Hinata had. She took the blow through her chest, just to the left of her heart as Naruto and Hinata looked on in horror.

Jiraiya was nearby, trying to pull himself out of a crater that he had made when Orochiamru slammed him in the ground just before stabbing Tsunade.

"Tsunade…I wasn't trying to kill you" said Orochimaru. "Don't get in my way…if that brat survives, he'll cause a great deal of problems later on."

"No…I'll protect him, no matter what! I won't let it happen again!" said a defiant Tsunade.

"Baachan…" was all Naruto could get out. Tsunade had done a complete 180 from before.

"I've always been a horrible gambler, but there is something about this kid that is urging me to place my bets on him. For once, I'm sure I won't lose" declare Tsunade. "These kids are the future of Konoha, something you'll never understand."

"Fufu. What are you babbling about?" laughed Orochimaru. "Besides, being Hokage is worthless…only a fool would want it. If that's really what you want, then die like all the fools in the Leaf!"

Orochimaru removed the sword from Tsunade's chest and slashed her from the shoulder to just below the rib cage on the opposite side of her body. "Tsunade" cried Hinata and Shizune.

"You worthless trash, now die so that I can finish off the rest of you fools!" shouted Orochimaru as he took one more swing at her.

"No, I'll bet my life on these kids!" said a smiling Tsunade, giving Orochimaru a defiantly strong uppercut in the process.

"_What? Her trembling stopped?"_ thought the snake Sanin. Indeed, Tsunade had gotten over her case of hemophobia. Orochimaru looked up to see markings covering her face, emanating from the diamond on her forehead.

"Why am I doing this?" said Tsunade. "Because as of now, I am the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakaru!"

"_Tsunade-sama overcame her hemophobia!"_ thought a happy Shizune. That happiness didn't last long as she saw the seal on Tsunade's forehead. "Wait, Tsunade-sama! Don't release that seal, I'll heal your wounds!"

"Tsunade-baachan?" said a confused, yet now impressed Naruto. Perhaps she was Hokage material now.

It was too late. "Yin Seal, release!" shouted Tsunade as she flooded her system with a massive amount of chakra that she had been storing up. "Ninpou: Genesis Rebirth!" as she activated her jutsu, the wounds on her body began to close.

"Heh, seems like I'm not the only one developing new jutsu" said Orochimaru. "Care sharing what that is?"

"I've been gathering chakra into the seal on my forehead for quite some time now. I used that chakra to stimulate the production of various enzymes and increase cell regeneration and rapid reformation" explained Tsunade. "I can reconstruct any damaged parts and organs in my body…It's not just simple healing, its regeneration!"

"_Yes, but the number of times cells can divide is limited, meaning that using that technique shortens her own lifespan"_ thought Shizune.

"You two, I'll take it from here." Tsunade took some blood from her closing wounds and rubbed it on her arm. Orochimaru knew what was coming and jumped back to Kabuto's side who began performing the summoning jutsu. Jiraiya was already proceeding to do the same thing.

"Summoning Jutsu!" the three Sanin shouted at the same time. All three Sanin stood atop their respective summons. Tsunade on Katsuyu, Orochimaru on Manda, and Jiraiya on Gamabunta.

"Hey dad!" shouted Gamatatsu as everyone else was running for cover from the three giants.

"Hmm, Manda and Orochimaru. Tsunade and Katsuyu. You planning some sort of special reunion? Eh Jiraiya?" said the Toad Boss taking a smoke from his pipe.

"Don't crack stupid jokes when I call you for a tough job. It's about time to settle an old enmity" said Jiraiya. "Now, we are going to defeat Orochimaru!"

"Hey Orochiamru, what are you smoking?" hissed Manda. "Summoning me to this lame excuse of a land…Want me to eat your sorry ass?"

"Please Manda-sama, we'll thank you generously later on" pleaded Kabuto.

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?! Keep your dirty gas bags shut, you stupid brat!" Manda directed his insult towards Kabuto.

"Woah!" exclaimed Naruto and Hianta simultaneously. They were standing behind Tsunade on top of Katsuyu.

"Katsuyu, take these two to Shizune" Tsunade ordered. Out of all the boss summons, Katsuyu was the tamest. She obliged and split off a part of herself to carry Naruto and Hinata to Shizune. "Hold on you two."

"Huh?..." said a confused Naruto. He got his answer a second later as the split Katsuyu fell to the ground, crashing in front of Shizune and leaving Hinata wide-eyed and silently freaking out. The pair and Katsuyu landed in front of Shizune who had just finished healing her own wounds.

"You want me to turn you into toad jerky?" Manda said to Gamabunta.

"Hah, funny. I've always wanted a snake skin wallet" responded Gamabunta, reaching for his sword. Katsuyu remained quiet.

"Orochimaru! You've adopted an evil way that is too much! We are no longer comrades!" declared Jiraiya.

"Comrades? Don't make me laugh" laughed Orochimaru.

"Today is the last time we will be called Sanin together, Orochimaru!" shouted Tsunade.

The battle began. Katsuyu shot acid at Manda, who dodged to and wrapped Katsuyu up, squeezing her tightly. Tsunade gave the command and Katsuyu split into thousands of smaller slugs before reforming away from Manda. Gamabunta and Jiraiya charged at the snake with sword at the ready. Gamabunta lunged but Manda caught the sword with his mouth, disarming Gamabunta.

"Tsunade, get away!" ordered Jiraiya as Tsunade and Katsuyu did so. "Bunta…give me oil!" Gamabunta shot out oil and Jiraiya ignited the oil, producing a massive flamethrower that engulfed Manda and Orochimaru.

When the flames settled, all that remained was a charred snake skin. Manda had escaped. From underground, Manda shot out at Jiraiya and Gamabunta. However, Tsunade had grabbed hold of Gamabunta's sword while in the air and drove it down on top of the snake, piercing him through the roof of the mouth. Unfortunately, that blow did not kill the giant snake.

"_Woah. This battle is on a whole nother level. Is this Hokage level combat?" _thought Naruto, becoming even more excited about becoming Hokage one day.

Orochimaru lashed out his tongue, catching Tsunade around the neck. She reeled him in and delivered a bone-shattering punch to his face. Manda disappeared, cursing Orochimaru and threatening to eat him the next time he appeared.

"Tsunade, even if you do not cooperate, there is still one option left…there is still one way to revive my arms" claimed Orochimaru. It was then that Jiraiya and Tsunade saw it. Another face underneath Orochimaru's!

"I will surely destroy the Leaf…we will meet again, Jiraiya, Tsunade…" With that, Orochimaru sunk into the ground while Kabuto disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"_That face! Somehow he must have taken over another body!" _said a shocked and disgusted Jiraiya. _"No wonder he didn't feel like himself when we met."_

Tsunade jumped down from the sword, feeling the side effects of using her jutsu. Her body was starting to revert back to her 50-year old self. "Don't worry, after a bit of rest, I'll be able to revert to my younger self" explained Tsunade. "Let's rest in the village a few days before heading home."

* * *

The following evening, the five of them were sitting in the same bar where they had initially met. "So this old hag is going to be Hokage?" asked Naruto to Jiraiya.

"What are you irritated with, Naruto?" asked Jiraiya.

"Well, if you compare her with the 3rd, she's rough, selfish, loose with money easily pissed off, and stupid…" said Naruto. "Are you sure she can do it? I'm worried? Besides, isn't she a 50-year old hag? She's faking her youth. Someone like the Hokage shouldn't deceive everyone like that."

"Let's take this outside brat!" shouted Tsunade.

"Not again" said Jiraiya as everyone's sweat dropped.

They found themselves outside in the same ally as before. Like last time, Tsunade held up one finger, saying that was all she needed and called Naruto a brat…again.

"Stop calling me brat, dammit!" shouted Naruto. "I'll be Hokage someday!"

Naruto ran towards Tsunade, only for this fight to repeat the last. Tsunade flicked off his headband. _"One finger, again?"_he thought as he braced himself for Tsunade's monstrous strength. The pain he had been expecting never came. Instead, he felt something warm and soft press against his forehead. He opened his eyes to see Tsunade giving him a soft kiss on his forehead. He was a little confused as he gave him a light tap on the chest.

"Become a good man, and a respectable Hokage, brat" Tsunade said, smiling at him. Naruto looked back at her, putting his hands behind his head and giving her a big smile.

"Roger!...baachan" said Naruto. Jiraiya braced for the Armageddon, but it never came. Shizune had also been watching the whole affair and came up next to everyone. "Oh wait, now that you mention it, I almost forgot. Hinata we have to get that waterfall exercise down today!"

The five of them found themselves at Naruto and Hinata's training ground. The two genin proceeded to make as many clones as they could, which was 2 for Hinata and Naruto filled up the rest of the log. "Alright!" Naruto shouted as the two of them gathered their chakra. "On three…one…two…three!" With that, Naruto and Hinata poured their wind chakra into the waterfall, successfully cutting it. Naruto cheered, as he once again wrapped his arms around Hinata, causing her to blush but thankfully not faint.

"Now I see why you brought the Hyuga girl along" whispered Tsunade to Jiraiya.

"What?" laughed Jiraiya, trying to get off the subject. "I only brought her along because her father asked me."

"Oh don't get started on that. I remember the time when you hooked Hiashi up with that nice lady. Speaking of which, Hinata looks a lot like her" said Tsunade, now playing with a sweating Jiraiya. "I hope you weren't hoping to get anything for your books out of this, were you?"

"What? Of course not" gulped Jiraiya, taking a few steps back and knocking his pack into the water.

"Hey Pervy Sage! Watch where you're going, my money's in there!" shouted Naruto, retrieving Jiraiya's pack. He pulled out the box that Naruto had put his money in from a week ago, revealing the 100,000ryo that he had won from the slot machine.

Tsunade looked at the wad of cash wide-eyed. "Hey Naruto, where did you get all that money?" she asked nicely, obviously trying to get some for gambling later that evening.

Naruto just smiled. "I won it!"

"Wait, you won it? How?" she questioned.

"I don't know. I just put a coin into a machine, pulled a lever and all that money came out" said a still clueless Naruto. Jiraiya explained to Tsunade that the kid had managed to hit the jackpot on the slots the other day and got roughly 100,000ryo out of it. Tsunade was stunned at the kid's luck.

"Alright brat, after dinner you and I are going to the gambling hall and I'm teaching you how to play poker!" declared Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama!" shouted Shizune. She was obviously against this.

"Poker…" Naruto thought back to one of the conversations he had with Kurama, the one about gambling souls. "Ahh! I don't want to gamble my soul!"

Tsunade and Shizune looked at him with a confused expression on their faces. Jiraiya explained to them that apparently the Kyuubi told Naruto about a Tailed Beast poker night where they wager their vessels souls and Tsunade just laughed at Naruto's pale expression. "Don't worry about what the Kyuubi told you brat, this should be all you need." Tsunade pulled out 30,000ryo out of the box.

"Tsunade-sama!" shouted Shizune but her master just ignored her. Naruto was confused, more by how Tsunade knew about the Kyuubi but also about the idea of gambling the money with someone who constantly lost.

"Don't worry, I've known about 'Fuzzball' as long as the pervert here. Although as Hokage, I'm going to need to see that contract Jiraiya mentioned" she said.

"…**Uhg. Why do I have that feeling that everyone's going to start calling me 'Fuzzball' now? Damn it" **swore Kurama, putting his head down with his paws on top of his head. Outside the cage in Naruto's mind, the blonde jinchuriki couldn't stop laughing at the demon's misfortune.

Naruto ran through the seals and summoned the contract. Tsunade took a look over it and was genuinely surprised that the Kyuubi had actually agreed to this and that the two had practically befriended each other. Tsunade repeated what Jiraiya told him about using the Kyuubi power and that there were people even within the village that would try to exploit it for themselves. However, like Jiraiya and Kakashi before, the name Madara Uchiha worried her greatly.

Over dinner, Tsunade explained to him the general rules of poker. Afterwards, she dragged him to the hall and sat him down at a table. Most of the other men there were drooling. Not only had the Legendary Sucker shown up, but she also brought along with her some fresh blood.

"Well, well…what do we have here?" asked one of the men. "Are you here to play kid?"

"That's Naruto Uzumaki! And yes, I'm here to play" declared Naruto. He sat down and exchanged the money Tsunade had given him for chips. The first game was 5-card draw. As the cards were dealt, one of the men got a happy smile on his face. To the other players, this was a sure sign that he had a good hand. Placing his first bet, the oblivious Naruto was the only one who called.

"What'll you have?" announced the dealer.

"One" said the man with the good hand. The dealer handed him his card and his spirits jumped. That was just the card he needed.

"And for you?" the dealer said, turning to Naruto.

"Uhh, two I guess" said Naruto, handing the dealer two of his cards. The man was trying to contain his laughter. Today was his lucky day. He had a great hand and an oblivious kid with money flowing out the ears. He hated to do it, but the kid would have to learn sooner or later.

"Alright kid, I'll bet 30,000" said the man, pushing in enough that would force Naruto to go all in. Naruto called as everyone else at the table pleaded with him not to. It was too late. The man put down his cards, revealing a full house of 5's and 9's. Even Tsunade was feeling sorry for bringing Naruto into the game as he was.

"Does a flush beat that?" asked Naruto.

"Heh, sorry kid. If a flush is all you have, then I win" declared the man. In disappointment, Naruto put his five cards on the table and put his head down in defeat. Everyone nearly face planted in their seats.

"What?!" screamed the man in disbelief at Naruto's cards. Naruto picked his head up to see what everyone was so shocked about, not having a clue. Tsunade just walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"You won brat" she said, pointing at his cards.

"I did? But that man said his cards beat a flush" said Naruto.

"Well, your flush is special and as such it beats his full house" explained Tsunade. She pointed to his cards, a 10 of hearts, jack of hearts, queen of hearts, king of hearts, and ace of hearts. Naruto had managed to draw a royal flush on his very first hand in poker and doubled the money that he had come in with.

"_**Damn, this Kit really is luckier than the Nanabi"**_thought Kurama, cracking up at the look on the other man's face. "_**Definitely bringing him to the next Tailed Beast poker night."**_

After about an hour of playing, Naruto began to grow bored and left the table. Before leaving the casino, Tsunade surveyed the damage. Naruto had completely taken away three men's money and left one of them in such a bad state of shock and disbelief that not even the Kyuubi would be able to snap him out of it. Naruto left with almost 100,000ryo, more than tripling the money he came into the casino with.

Returning back to the hotel, Jiraiya was prepared to beat Tsunade's head in for taking Naruto to the casino. He was left dumbfounded when Naruto walked in with a case full of money. The first thing they were doing when they got back to Konoha was putting the 200,000 ryo that Naruto had won over the course of his trip in the bank, mainly to keep Tsunade away from it.

**A/N: Okay, so I managed two chapters today. Hopefully I did the relationship between Naruto and Tsunade well enough to cover for the fact that Naruto did not make the bet with her. **


	28. Chapter 28

**Here's the next chapter, enjoy.**

**Chapter 28: The Godaime Hokage**

The group remained in Tanzaka for two more days following Naruto and Hinata's completion of the waterfall exercise to fully rest from their battle against Orochimaru. Much to Shizune's objections, Tsunade had been trying to either drag Naruto back to the casino, or get him to lend her some of his money, which did not work so well seeing as Jiraiya was the one who was holding onto Naruto's money.

Naruto had spent most of those days trying to coax Jiraiya into either teaching him the next exercise for wind manipulation, or teaching him a wind jutsu. Jiraiya gave into the later, not wanting to move onto the next exercise as he felt that Asuma, the only other one in the Leaf with a known wind element, would be better suited for that. Jiraiya didn't come fully prepared to teach them actual wind jutsu, not expecting them to progress this far in their training, however, he did bring along one scroll with a rather basic wind jutsu, Fuuton: Gale Palm.

After examining the scroll, the idea of this jutsu was to compress the wind chakra in between clasped hands and unleash it as a powerful gust. The technique was a basic C-rank jutsu, but Jiraiya convinced Naruto that it was a good place to start. Regardless of the rank, Naruto was excited to finally be learning his first elemental jutsu. Being only a C-rank jutsu, it only took them a day to get the basics of the jutsu down. The hardest part was compressing the chakra between their hands before they infused it with the wind element. Believe it or not, the compression part was not too difficult for Naruto, as he has already had experience compressing and containing chakra with his Rasengan. Hinata followed closely behind with getting the jutsu down. The results were rather impressive for a first time as the two genin unleashed their attack on an unsuspecting tree, managing to rip a few larger branches off of it. In combat, this technique was not necessarily meant to wound an opponent, but knock them back with a great force of wind. It also showed promise as a defensive technique, being able to blow away most thrown projectile weapons.

* * *

When the time came for them to return home and Tsunade to assume her role as Hokage, they left Tanzaku town. From there, it was a two day walk and thankfully for Jiraiya, there was a hot spring village at the half way point. This was where they decided to stop for the night.

Inside the bath, Jiraiya and Naruto were in the men's bathing area with Shizune, Tsunade, and Hinata over in the woman's bathing area. Surprisingly enough, Jiraiya wasn't even attempting to peep. The barrier was perfect for that, being a wall of stacked bamboo and it would be rather easy to wedge a pencil in to give him an opening. However, there were two things preventing him from doing so. The first was that threat from Hiashi a few weeks ago. He liked a healthy chakra flow to certain areas of his body, but what really stopped him, was the second. On the other side of the wall was Tsunade. Even though he was a pervert, he wasn't a stupid pervert. The last time he had been caught peeping on Tsunade was the first time in his life where he nearly died and he didn't want to be spending the next month in the ICU with Tsunade being the one in charge of him.

"Wow Pervy Sage, I'm impressed you aren't peeping" said Naruto. Jiraiya was leaning back against the edge of the bath, taking a sip form a bottle of sake that he had brought with him.

"Kid, there's more to life than women" said Jiraiya. "Speaking of which, are there any girls back home that you, well…you know."

"Huh?…" said Naruto, as dense as ever.

"_Uhg, and I thought he was actually making progress these past few weeks"_ thought Jiraiya. "You know…are there any girls back at home that are special to you?"

"Huh? Girls that are special to me?" asked Naruto, still confused at where the old pervert was trying to get at.

"…" even the Fox was at a loss of words.

Jiraiya sighed. "By special, are there any girls that you like? You know, do you have someone who you would want to be your girlfriend?" said Jiraiya, finally getting to the point.

"Girlfirend? I don't want a girlfriend" responded Naruto, severely disappointing Jiraiya. "Although…there is one girl."

"Oh?" said Jiraiya, slipping a little bit into pervert mode. "And who might that be?"

"Gah! Not like that you pervert!" shouted Naruto.

"Jiraiya…" Tsunade was heard across the divider and Jiraiya froze in fear. Her voice was rather sweet sounding, which was usually followed by the 'you'd better run or you're going to die on spot' tone.

"It's not like that, Tsunade" pleaded Jiraiya. "Naruto and I are just having a little…talk."

"Hmph. You better not turn him into a pervert as well" warned Tsunade. Jiraiya turned his attention back to Naruto.

"Well…umm…her name is Sakura" said Naruto.

Jiraiya was slightly disappointed at this. "Ah, that little pink-haired girl on your team who is always fawning over Sasuke and using you as a punching bag?"

"But, she…well…" Naruto couldn't find a way to debate what Jiraiya was saying.

"I'm right aren't I?" asked Jiraiya, trying to push Naruto further. "Has she ever done anything truly nice for you?"

"Well…not really. There was this one time back in the Forest of Death when I told my team about Fuzzball, but after that, things went back to normal, with her still thinking about nothing but Sasuke-teme."

"So what you're saying is that she doesn't really care that much for you. At least not much more than a teammate" said Jiraiya. Again, Naruto tried to argue, but couldn't find the words. "Let me ask you something. Assume that she found out about the Kyuubi before that time, what do you think would happen?"

"Well…" Naruto was forced to think about this one. What did everyone else do? They hated him for it, and she would have most likely been the same. "Sakura, she probably would have hated me. Pretty much everyone in the village hated me for it, except the Old man, Teuchi, Ayame, Iruka-sensei, and…" Naruto's attention turned towards the divider as Hinata came to mind.

"Now that I think about it, Hinata knew and she never hated me. In fact, she tried to get closer to me, but I never saw it." Naruto was finally beginning to realize. "However, over the past few weeks, I feel like we've gotten to know each other better and know I'm beginning to regret not getting to know her back in the academy. And then there were these times when…well, I don't really know how to describe it. It was warm and I felt happy. Pervy sage, what exactly does that mean?"

"_Looks like he's beginning to pick up on it a little"_ thought Jiraiya. "I'm sorry, but that's something you'll need to figure out on your own." Naruto was a little depressed Jiraiya wasn't going to answer. "I will say this though, Naruto. When it comes to girls and women, find one who will always be there and support you."

It was at that point in their conversation when someone else joined the two in the hot tub. A man, probably in his early 40's walked in and took a seat directly next to the divider. Jiraiya knew an amateur when he saw one as the man tried to wedge a hole in the divider. "Naruto…let's get out" he said, pointing at the perverted newcomer. Even Naruto knew what this man was doing and actually agreed with Jiraiya. However, an idea was popping into his head, an incredibly evil idea, but this man deserved it.

"**Do it!" **encouraged Kurama.

Jiraiya walked into the changing room and before Naruto entered, he turned around and took a big breath. "Hey! Quit peeping at naked women, you Pervert!" he shouted loud enough for the women hear. A few shrieks were heard, followed by something no man will ever hear twice in their life.

"Tsunade-sama!" shouted Shizune, trying to calm the raging big-breasted blonde.

"**Jiraiya!..."** growled Tsunade, with red eyes that could easily be mistaken for Naruto's eyes when he goes into Kyuubi mode. She smashed through the divider as the women in the bath did their best to cover up. Tsunade looked around; trying to find Jiraiya, but all she saw was that old man. It was obvious that this was the pervert. **"So you like peeping on women, don't you…" **

All over the hot springs the sound of cracking knuckles and breaking bones could be heard. Jiraiya cringed upon hearing this, remembering the time when Tsunade beat him to a pulp. "Naruto, that was evil, but sadly that man deserved it. Someone who shamelessly peeps on women for no reason deserves that" said Jiraiya.

"What are you talking about, you old pervert. You peep on women as well!" argued Naruto.

Jiraiya turned his head away and crossed his arms as he pouted a bit. "Well, I have a reason. Peeping gives me inspiration to write my books" replied Jiraiya.

"**Sure"** said Kurama sarcastically. Naruto laughed with the fox.

* * *

The five of them were about an hour or two outside Konoha. His stomach had been bothering him all day. Despite having eaten only an hour ago, his stomach was craving something else…ramen. He still had the taste of that disgusting ramen from Tanzaku town in his mouth and he knew that there was only one cure for it…Ichiraku ramen, the most delicious ramen in the world.

Like Naruto, something was bothering Hinata; however, it wasn't her stomach. For the past few weeks, she had been able to easily accept that she had wind element chakra instead of the traditional Hyuga earth element. This was mainly due to Naruto distracting her from those thoughts. However, as she got closer to home, the thoughts of telling her father this crept back into her mind and slowly she began to retreat back into her shell.

Unfortunately for Naruto, there were places they had to go first before he could get his ramen and he was sure he could smell it all over the village, torturing him. Their first stop was the Hokage tower where Tsunade had to have a small meeting with the advisors, Homaru and Koharu. They announced that the inauguration would be three days from now, after the local lords and clan heads were able to assemble.

The next stop once they were in Konoha was the hospital. This is why Naruto had brought her home, to heal Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei and to have a look at Lee's condition. Tsunade woke Kakashi, scolding him a bit for falling like that to Itachi. Sasuke was next.

Naruto walked into Sasuke's room with Tsunade, startling Sakura. Who knows how many times she had visited him. Sakura's first thought upon seeing Tsunade was who exactly this beautiful woman was. Tsunade placed her hand on Sasuke's forehead and channeled some chakra into him. Sakura was relieved when he began coming to only a few minutes later. "Sasuke…" she cried out, embracing him as he sat up for the first time in a few weeks. While Naruto was relieved that Sasuke was going to be alright and that Sakura was happy, still…he didn't even get a thank you from her. Perhaps Jiraiya was right about her.

Standing behind Tsunade while she finished up with Sasuke was Gai, begging her to look at his student, Lee. Tsunade took a quick look at Lee and unfortunately, it wasn't good. While his arms and legs would eventually heal, he had numerous fragments of bone lodged within his spinal column. Were he to operate as a shinobi, not only would the fragments slow him down, but they would eventually tear through his neural framework, paralyzing him if not worse. She explained that the surgery was incredibly risky; with only a 50% chance of success and that she was the only one skilled enough to perform it. If it failed he would die. Even with the surgery being a success, there was no guarantee that he would be able to perform at the level required to be a shinobi, given months of intensive therapy to even get him back on his feet. Lee was now left with an incredibly difficult decision: Go through with the surgery and risk dying, or give up his lifelong dreams.

* * *

This was the part that Hinata was not looking forward to. Even though Master Jiraiya was accompanying her, she almost feared the upcoming meeting with her father.

"Ah, Hinata, Jiraiya-sensei, I heard the two of you arrived just recently and that Tsunade-sama was accompanying you" said Hiashi, greeting the two of them at the gate of their compound. "I trust everything went smoothly? I hope the training went well as well?" Hiashi looked down at Hinata, who looked at the ground and away from her father's attention. This indicated that something was wrong.

"Actually, I was hoping we could discuss that in private" said Jiraiya. Now Hiashi was curious. Did something happen? Or did Hinata not do well in the training. Hiashi guided them into his study, with Hinata silently following, looking for some way to get out of this. Unfortunately, nothing was going to save her.

"So is something wrong? Did something happen? Or did Hinata not…progress as far as I had expected?" asked Hiashi. "Were those scrolls too much for her?"

"Actually, the funny thing is…those scrolls were completely useless" said Jiraiya, trying to lighten the mood in the room. "I hate to say it, but she didn't even have the opportunity to look at them."

Hiashi shot a look of disappointment at his daughter. "So I am to understand that her training in the earth element was a complete failure?" said a disappointed Hiashi. Hinata retreated into herself even more.

"Sadly, that is the case. She can't use the earth element" stated Jiraiya.

"Hinata, from what I have heard, I am extremely disappointed in you. I expected you to at least be able to use a basic earth jutsu upon return. Explain yourself" scolded Hiashi. Hianta was about ready to burst into tears.

"It…it's be-because my element…well it's umm…not earth" she said.

"Not earth?" asked Hiashi, raising an eyebrow at her. "Well, then what element do you have?"

"W-wind" she said as Hiashi's eyes grew in shock.

"_Just like her mother"_ he thought, regaining himself. Hinata was preparing herself for the scolding of a life time for failing her father. "I see, then tell me, how did your training in the wind element go?"

"I would say the two of them progressed very far in the wind element. They got through the first two exercises in a matter of a three weeks, about a month faster than your old teammate" said Jiraiya.

"I see…" Hiashi said, thinking for a moment. "I must say that I'm impressed then, Hinata. The wind element is a difficult one to master. And sensei, you said the 'two of them', does that mean Naruto has…" Hinata's head picked up at her father's compliment.

"Yes, both of them have the wind element, which is rather surprising considering how rare it is" explained Jiraiya.

"F-father, you're…you're not disappointed with me?" asked a slightly confused Hinata.

Hiashi shook his head. "No I am not. This is something we can't control, and if I remember correctly sensei, you wanted me to have a wind element" said Hiashi, remembering what Jiraiya had said back in the day. "I have also seen the value in combining the wind element with the gentle fist. Unfortunately, the elders I am not so sure about..."

"Oh, about that" said Jiraiya, remembering that one little piece of information from the trip regarding the elders. Hiashi was now interested as to what Jiraiya was about to say. "Let's just say Hinata has known about Naruto's…well, err condition."

"You don't mean…" said Hiashi, as Jiraiya nodded his head. "How did she find out?"

"The funny thing about that is apparently one of the elders told her about it when she was 8" said Jiraiya. Ideas were flowing through Hiashi's head. One of the elders had broken the Sandaime's law. He had been looking for stuff like this to use against them.

"Hinata, who was it?" asked Hiashi, wanting to get names.

"It was Ihro" said Hinata. Ihro was the eldest and strictest of the three elders and now Hiashi had something on him that could one day be used against him, should he get out of line again.

"F-father, what's going to happen now?" asked a concerned Hinata. She wasn't only concerned for how he was going to deal with her, but also how he was going to handle the elders.

"Sensei, you said she got past the first two exercises for wind manipulation?"

Jiraiya nodded. "We finished that almost a week ago, but I felt that her and Naruto were better off learning the next exercise from Asuma. Also Hiashi, it appears as if she has some natural talent with the wind element."

"What do you mean?" asked Hiashi.

"You've seen her Protection of the Eight Trigrams, right?" asked Jiraiya. Hiashi nodded, seeing it during the final round. "That move is a wind style ability. She subconsciously mixed in the wind chakra while developing that, giving it its power."

"I see, so that's why it was so…different" said Hiashi, impressed by what Hinata had actually managed to create. He thought for a little and then turned to Hinata. "Hinata, I am afraid the Hyuga teachings will only work to a limited extent for you now."

"But what am I to do? I-if your instruction doesn't help, th-then how am I supposed to make you p-proud?" asked Hinata.

"I don't know. A few days ago, Neji mentioned to me that something was…off about your gentle fist" explained Hiashi. "I now see why. You are much more like your mother than I had initially thought."

"M-mom? W-what about her?" This was one of the few times she had ever heard Hiashi refer to her mother. When she died, shortly after giving birth to Hanabi, Hiashi was devastated and didn't talk about her much.

"Hinata, like you, your mother had wind chakra. I am happy to say this, you are constantly becoming more and more like your mother. Don't ever change that" Hiashi and Hinata smiled at each other, having a nice father-daughter moment there. "Hinata, from now on, you will be dividing your training between training in the gentle fist with me, training your wind element, and a final training exercise."

"Final training exercise?" she asked.

"Yes, the gentle fist won't do much use for you. With that, you need to begin to create a derivative style of the gentle fist that suits you. I know it will be difficult and I will be here to help you as much as possible, but it is now something that you will have to do if you are to have any hope against the elders in a few years" said Hiashi. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. I have faith in you. Now, why don't you go meet with Neji, he's been wanting to see your progress. I have some business I need to discuss with my sensei."

Hinata bowed and left the study. As the door closed, Hiashi activated the privacy seals around the room. "How is the progress on the seal coming?" Hiashi asked Jiraiya.

*Flashback*

It was the day after their fight with Orochimaru and Jiraiya finally had a chance to take a look at the Caged Bird Seal provided to him by Hiashi. "Wh-what the hell is this?" he said upon his initial inspection of the seal.

After examining the scroll further, he was growing more and more disgusted with the seal. It was worse than he had imagined.

*End Flashback*

"It's going to be difficult finding a way to remove it" admitted Jiraiya. "The inner workings of the seal are much more complex than I had thought. It's so entwined with the brain that most removal methods that I know would shred the brain to pieces within the first stages of the process."

"Then it is as I feared. Do you think you will be able to find a way to remove it?" asked Hiashi.

"Possibly. But it will take time to figure out how to unravel the seal from the bearer's brain" said Jiraiya.

"Fine. You are the best hope there is of finding a way to remove it, and if there is anything that you require, I'll supply it to you" offered Hiashi.

"Okay, at some point in time, once I am able to understand this seal more, I may need to examine a branded Hyuga" said Jiraiya.

"So long as the examination will not kill them, I have someone in mind" said Hiashi. Jiraiya knew who this was…Neji.

* * *

The following day, Tsunade was sitting in her office, going over the chunin exam notes left by her predecessor and a few of the judges. Analyzing each of the Konoha contestants, it was clear that most of them had the skills required to be a chunin, but only two individuals stuck out as being ready to fulfill the duties associated with the rank of chunin…Shikamaru Nara and Haku Yuki. Unlike the rest of the rest of the field, both candidates showed an uncanny ability to adapt to the changing conditions of battle. Tsunade was extremely surprised that a Nara had even made it to the final round at such a young age. Normally, it wasn't until they were 15-16 before they were finally forced to put forth the effort.

Haku was another surprise to her. Before leaving the village, the Yuki clan and the Hyoton did not exist in the village, yet Haku was here. Upon further examination of the records, Tsunade saw something even more surprising…Zabuza Momoichi was a registered ninja of this village. The reason why he was a ninja of this village was even more surprising. She would have to meet personally with him, however her schedule was already filling up and the advisors and clan heads had been pushing her to decide the results of the chunin exam.

Based on the data collected from a single round of fights, Tsunade made her decision, calling in Shakamaru and Haku and awarding them their promotion to chunin rank. The reactions from the two were completely different. On one hand, Shikamaru was hoping that by forfeiting the first match, he wouldn't be considered for a promotion. He just wanted to be an ordinary ninja and here he was, reaching the rank of chunin by age 12. There was only one word to describe this…troublesome.

* * *

Later that day, Sasuke was discharged from the hospital after waking the previous day from the almost comatose state Itachi left him in after using the Tsukuyomi on him. Walking from the hospital to training ground 7, where Kakashi had called a team meeting, there were a few questions echoing in his head as he thought about his defeat at the hands of Itachi. Why was there still such a difference in their skill? Why was Itachi interested in Naruto? Where could he get more power so that the next time he saw Itachi, he would be able to kill that man?

Team 7 arrived at the training ground. Kakashi's intention was to discuss the new Hokage Tsunade which kept Haku and Sakura's interest for a little. Naruto was easily distracted as he had just spent practically the last two weeks with her. Sasuke was busy brooding.

"Kakashi-sensei, is that a chunin vest Haku has on?" asked Sakura, noticing Haku's slight change in attire.

"Yes, it appears as if Haku has made chunin" said Kakahi.

"Wait?! Who else got chunin?" asked Naruto, hoping that Tsunade chose to promote him as well.

"Just me and Shikamaru Nara" replied Haku.

"What? Shikamaru?" the rest of the team said in unison, surprised that Shikamaru had actually managed to get promoted and they didn't. Haku had to explain that he wasn't really sure on the promotion process, but said that Tsunade promoted them based on the notes left by the judges and the Third before invasion began. Naruto would have to have a word with Tsunade-baachan later on why he didn't get promoted. Naruto spent the next few minutes complaining that he should have gotten promoted as well. After all, he had been training extensively for the past few weeks.

"Exactly what kind of training, dobe?" asked Sasuke.

"Chakra nature manipulation, I think is what Pervy Sage called it" replied Naruto. This caught the attention of everyone on the team. Chakra nature manipulation was something that usually wasn't taught until one became a chunin, not to mention that was a type of training that Sasuke thought that only he had gone through, and now Naruto had done it as well.

"Chakra nature manipulation?" asked Sakura. She was smart, but this wasn't something that was taught in the academy in depth as they didn't want the students rushing into this particular type of training. Kakashi then had to explain in depth the five different elements, explaining how everyone had at least one elemental affinity that was strong and that some people had two, using Sasuke as an example as he had both a lightning and fire nature to his chakra. "Wait, so then what nature does Naruto's chakra have?"

"Wind" said Naruto, smiling a bit. This surprised Kakashi as he explained that wind was a rather rare affinity. "Hey Kakashi-sensei, speaking of which, how does wind match up against Sasuke-teme here?"

Sasuke scuffed at the comment. "Well, actually I'm glad that you mention it. You see, each element has a certain element that they are strong against and a certain element that they are weak against. You have a wind element, which would give you an advantage over Sasuke's lightning because wind acts as a natural insulator" explained Kakashi. Naruto cheered and even rubbed it in a brooding Sasuke's face. "Don't get too excited Naruto, I said Sasuke has two elements with the second of his, fire, actually being the element that wind is at a disadvantage against." Now it was Naruto's turn to pout. "Wind fans the flames, making them more powerful."

This caught Sasuke's attention. "What do you mean makes the flames more powerful? I thought the element that has the advantage cancels out the other" he asked.

"Yes, well that is normally the case, but the relationship between wind and fire is special. Think, if you fan a fire, it only becomes bigger" explained Kakashi. Team 7 got this analogy. "For this case, let's say Naruto were to use a wind jutsu to try and cancel out a fire jutsu of yours, most likely he would only make the flames more powerful and he would be hit with a stronger fire. The same goes for using fire in conjunction with wind. Now, if the two of you are facing an opponent, and you use a fire jutsu while Naruto uses a wind jutsu, he will make your attack stronger."

This interested Sasuke. Perhaps the dobe wasn't so useless after all.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, what about Haku's ice-style? What category does that fit into?" asked Naruto.

"Ah, now there is an interesting point, care to explain Haku?" said Kakahi.

"Ice-style doesn't fit into any of the five categories, in fact it is a combination of two elements: wind and water" explained Haku.

"Combination of wind and water? Wait, does that mean that if I learn water I could use ice style?" asked Naruto.

"No. The ability to combine two different nature chakras into a new nature is extremely rare and it is considered a bloodlimit. The Shodaime's wood style was another example" explained Kakahi. "This is something that is passed down through a specific lineage, such as Sasuke's Sharingan or the Hyuga's Byakugan. Also, not even the Sharingan can copy jutsus produced from a bloodlimit, so I can't copy Haku's Hyoton."

"Alright, but then does that mean Haku can use wind as well? I know he can use water, but can he use wind?" asked Naruto.

"I can, but I've only trained my wind chakra to an extent where I can use ice natured chakra. I've really only focused mainly on my Hyoton, and to some extent the Suiton" explained Haku.

"That brings me to my next question Naruto. Normally the first exercise, cutting the leaf, would take months to complete, yet Jiraiya informed me that you can already use a wind jutsu. How did you complete the first two phases in a matter of weeks?" asked Kakashi.

Naruto smiled. "Shadow clones."

"I see. It looks like you've discovered the real purpose behind the shadow clone technique" said Kakashi.

"Real purpose?" asked Sasuke. What was this 'real purpose' and how did it give Naruto such good results? He had to know.

Kakashi explained that shadow clones transferred the memories and experience back to the original upon being dispelled. This resulted in the experiences from training being multiplied by the number of clones created. This was just what he needed. Fortunately, Naruto had the shadow clone jutsu, and he had the Sharingan. All he had to do was have his Sharingan active the next time Naruto used his shadow clones and he would be able to copy the jutsu.

Fortunately, Naruto was about to do just that. Sasuke hurried to activate his Sharingan as Naruto used his Shadow Clone Jutsu to use them to show the results of using them. Sasuke had it, the tool that would help him with his training. He made the same hand seal Naruto and mimicked the chakra flow that his Sharingan picked up with Naruto. Kakashi's uncovered eyebrow rose when he saw what Sasuke was trying to do. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" shouted Sasuke as five Sasuke clones popped into existence. Naruto began freaking out.

"What?! How the hell can you use the Shadow Clone Jutsu?" he shouted at Sasuke. On the other hand, Sakura was fawning over the fact that there were now six Sasukes in front of her.

"I was wondering when you would finally copy that jutsu from Naruto" said Kakashi.

"What? You mean he copied me?!" shouted Naruto.

"Why? You got a problem with that dobe?" asked all six Sasukes in unison. It was at this time where Naruto would get the last laugh as Sasuke began to feel the chakra drain from using the jutsu. The clones dispelled and Sasuke fell to his knees, panting with Sakura running to his side.

"Now you also see why it's a jonin-level technique. The amount of chakra it uses is very large. Although I'm impressed you were able to make 5 right off the bat like that" said Kakashi, smiling at Sasuke's foolishness.

"Kakashi-sensei, then how come Naruto can make so many?" asked Saukra helping Sasuke to find his feet.

"Because, if there is one place Naruto had the two of you beat, it's in the amount of chakra he has" said Kakashi.

"What? Really? How much does Naruto have?" she asked again.

Kakashi thought for a second. "At this point in time, about 50x more than I do and almost 100x more than Sasuke" explained Kakashi.

"W-what?!" the rest of Team 7 said, while Naruto just smiled. "How?"

Kakashi explained that it was the Fox that allowed Naruto's chakra to develop to the extent that it was at. This was an acceptable answer to them as they were well aware that the Kyuubi itself was a being of immense chakra.

While their meeting came to an end, there was one thing left that Sakura wanted to know. There was a reason it wasn't taught at the academy and this was pretty much it. "Kakashi-sensei, so what is my element?" she asked. Kakashi's head dropped. He had been hoping to get out of this.

Kakashi sighed and handed her a piece of chakra litmus paper. He explained to her how the paper works and used the remaining members of Team 7 as an example. Sakura did as she was instructed and channeled the chakra into her paper. The paper burst into flames, indicating she had the fire element.

The meeting came to an end and Team 7 was dismissed. As Naruto turned to walk away, he was stopped by Sasuke. There was one more thing Sasuke needed to know. "Naruto, why was Itachi after you?" he asked in a demanding tone, wanting to know why Itachi had no interest in him.

Sakura wasn't entirely sure what Sasuke was talking about. In fact, she didn't even know who this Itachi was.

"Sasuke, Itachi is your brother right? The one who you want to kill?" asked Naruto. It finally came to Sakura. Itachi was THAT man. The one he said he lived to kill when the team met for the very first time with Kakashi-sensei.

"Yeah, that's right" said Sasuke coldly. "Why was he interested in you?"

"I don't know why they want him, but they were actually after Kurama" said Naruto.

"The Kyuubi? Why would he want the Kyuubi?" asked Sasuke.

"I don't know exactly why they want it, but apparently he's part of an organization known as Akatsuki and they are after the Kyuubi" said Naruto. "At least that's what Pervy Sage told me."

This made sense to Sasuke. If there was one thing he knew was that if Itachi ever got his hands on the Kyuubi, then there would be no chance of him defeating Itachi. As such, he would have to get stronger to ensure that didn't happen. He had a few things on his to-do-list, including a summoning contract that had been on his mind ever since Naruto summoned Gamabunta to help them fight Gaara. He had an idea on where he was going to get one and fortunately, he had to make a trip there in a few days.

* * *

Unfortunately for the rest of the senseis of the Konoha 13, their teams were also on the same discussion of elemental chakra manipulation.

Hinata told her team about what she had been working on and Kiba immediately began asking Kurenai about chakra nature manipulation until finally he convinced her to help them find out what their elements were. After all was said and done, Kiba had a fire element and Shino had an earth element.

Neji had told Tenten about the training that he had been doing with Hiashi, learning earth chakra manipulation as was common with most Hyuga his age. As a result, Tenten's constant nagging forced Gai's hand and he decided to test her element as well. After explaining what each element was, Tenten was really hoping for the wind element as that would go hand-in-hand with her use of weapons. Now, two wind users within a few years was extremely rare for Konoha, but three would have just been unbelievable. Unfortunately for Tenten, she did not have a wind element; however, the lightning element she had was a good second choice as she would eventually be able to use it to increase the piercing power of her weapons.

As for Team 10, now that Shikamaru was a chunin, it was actually time for him to learn elemental manipulation. Unfortunately for Asuma, once Ino realized that Sakura had found out what her element was, it was only a matter of time before Ino came begging Asuma to help her determine hers. After some begging from Ino, he finally gave in. Shikamaru, who was supposed to be the only one to learn about this ended up with a fire nature to his chakra, which suited him rather well. Fire created light and light created shadows. This would work out perfectly for him. Chouji found out that he had earth natured chakra, which was common amongst the Akamichi clan. Ino discovered she had a water nature to her chakra. Upon realizing that she had the elemental advantage over Sakura, there was no way she would let Sakura hear the last of this one.

For the senseis of the Konoha 13, this was exactly what they were hoping to avoid. Sasuke, Haku, Neji, and Hinata should have known because of their clans and Shikamaru because he was a chunin, but everyone else should not have known until they were at least chunin. Unfortunately, now they were stuck with teams begging them to help them in their elemental chakra nature training.

* * *

It was the day of September 20. The day after the hype of elemental chakra manipulation, and the day that Tsunade was to be inaugurated as the Godaime Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Tsunade stood atop the Hokage tower with the entire village in the square below, cheering her on. She had on the ceremonial Hokage robes and the Hokage hat. Naruto stood down below with his team. That would definitely be him one day, up there being inaugurated as the Hokage and cheered on by the entire village.

"From this day forth, I swear to lead and protect Konohamagakaru with my very life as the Godaime Hokage!" announced Tsunade as the entire village let out a big cheer.

* * *

**A/N: Hoping I did the meetings between Hiashi, Hinata, and Jiraiya and the one with Team 7 correctly. Also, even though everyone knows their elemental affinity, doesn't mean I'm going to be giving them elemental jutsu. Until they become chunin, most people won't be learning chakra naure manipulation (the only exceptions to this are Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata, Neji, and Haku). Shikamaru will begin his training (although I probably won't be covering his training except maybe in a short flashback), but then again he is actually ready for this being a chunin.**

**A/N: Regarding who I made chunin, Shikamaru obviously made chunin in cannon. I made Haku a chunin as well, given that he does in fact have the abilities of a good tactician (as stated by Zabuza in the cannon Land of Waves). Also, a few of the village elders may have helped push the decision**** in favour of him being a chunin, trying to secure the last known bearer of the Hyoton bloodlimit to the village. Haku will still remain with Team 7, but he will also be going off on his own missions as well now.**

* * *

**Special: Clans of Konoha, the Hyuga Clan**

Alright, So I figured I would start detailing how I would handle some of the clans in Konoha within this fanfiction. I will start with the Hyuga clan, as they have seen the most exposure and I will be involving a few more individuals of the clan in later chapters.

As you know, the Hyuga's bloodlimit is the Byakugan. The Byakugan is one of the three great dojutsu. This dojutsu gives the wielder an increased sense of vision, allowing them to see for many kilometres in a single direction or providing them with a nearly 360 degree field of vision within approximately a 50m radius. The Byakugan also grants a form of x-ray vision, allowing the bearer to see through most solid objects. The third and greatest ability of the Byakugan is the ability to see the flow of chakra and an opponent's chakra network with remarkable clarity. This makes their fighting style, the gentle fist extremely effective.

The Hyuga clan is comprised of mainly taijutsu using shinobi, although some, especially the branch family members, tend to employ ninjutsu as well. The most common chakra nature amongst the Hyuga clan is earth; however, there are some individuals, such as Hinata, who don't have earth natured chakra. The earth element can even be seen in their Gentle Fist style of fighting, which is seen as strong, forceful, and strict. Like the earth blocks the flow of water in a river, the gentle fist blocks the flow of chakra within the body.

The Hyuga clan is divided up into two main classifications of families, the Main Branch and the Side Branch. For the purposes of this story, the Main Branch will consist of three families. The head family of the Main Branch is the family in which Hiashi, Hinata, and Hanabi fit into. It is from this family that the clan head comes from. The elders from each of the three families make up the clan counsel. The head family consists of Harabi (Hiashi's father, age 60), Hiashi (age 36), Hinata (age 11-12), and Hanabi (age 6). The second family of the Main Branch consists of Moriko (age 62), Doranji (age 30), and Shini (female, age 6). The final family in the Main Branch consists of Ihro (age 65), Kenjo (age 39), Shinji (age 13, male), and Kanumi (age 4, female). The oldest members in each family form the counsel.

In each family, when the eldest child (if there is more than one) reaches the age of 17, they are tried by the clan head and the council to determine if they are suited to one day assume the role that they were meant to play in the clan (either head or elder). Should they pass, the younger of the siblings is branded into a branch family. However, should it be deemed that the younger of the siblings is more fit for such a position, then the eldest will be branded and the younger child will be instated as the heir of that family.

The duties of the clan head and elders are divided as such. The Clan Head is in charge of most of the affairs, both internal and external. The elders serve as more of an advisory council; however, they are the body in charge of placing the Caged Bird Seal on the branch members. They also hold some minor powers/privileges in the clan, but can be overridden by the clan head in most cases.

Every other member of the Hyuga clan that is not a member of the Main Branch is a member of the Side Branch. Members include Neji, Ko, and many others. It is the duty of the Side Branch to protect and serve the Main Branch. As such, the Main Branch has branded the Branch Family with the 'Caged Bird Seal', which gives the Main Branch the power of absolute fear of death over the branch family. With a simple hand seal, a Main Family member can activate the seal, causing excruciating pain, neurological damage, and if active long enough, death to the targeted Branch Member. The Caged Bird Seal is nearly impossible to remove; with the only known way to get rid of it is death. Jiraiya is currently looking into a way to remove it, but the seal is so entwined in the Branch member's brain that tampering with the seal even the slightest bit will most likely kill said person.

Because of the virtual enslavement of the Side Branch, this has led to a growing rift between the two parts of the clan. The only members of the Main Branch that the branch families truly respect are Hinata, because she has always shown kindness and respect towards them, her sister Hanabi, and Hiashi to a lesser extent, due to his efforts to keep the stricter elders in line from exerting their powers as Main Branch members unjustly on the Branch members.

Despite this rift, the Hyuga clan is currently the strongest clan in Konohagakaru. Before the Uchihia Massacre, a major rivalry existed between the two clans for superiority in the village; however, that has changed and the Hyuga are unmistakably the strongest clan in Konoha (Sasuke is the only known member of the Uchiha clan still loyal to the village).

* * *

**Comments and reviews appreciated. Also, if there is any confusion with how I'm going to handle the Hyuga clan in this story, let me know and I will try to clear it up, either in a PM or as a side note in another chapter.**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: First, I am sorry that it took this long for me to update. I have been caught up with real life for the past few weeks and have been having trouble finding time to write. I did not mean to leave you all hanging around, but I had no choice. Now that things have settled down, I should be able to update on a weekly basis, if not sooner.**

**This story has passed the 100 favourite mark, so thank you to all of you who have enjoyed my story so far.**

**Here is the next chapter. This chapter is a bit more Sasuke centred (although Naruto and Sakura are included), along with some Hinata moments near the end of the chapter. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter 29: Here Kitty Kitty**

A few days have passed as Sasuke was finally getting the hang of using shadow clones for training purposes. This was just what he needed. Despite only being able to use four clones for the basic exercises and lower level jutsu, and no more than two for the higher level jutsu and Chidori, the results were just what he had been looking for. He found the most use for training with them when he went to practice his weapon usage or taijutsu, as the memories of how he moved and the slight adjustments me made came to him. He also knew that when it came time to work on a new jutsu, that they would shorten the time that he would be required to take to learn the jutsu.

Sasuke was wandering through town, looking for his team mates The other day, he had asked Sasuke about the details about obtaining and summoning contract and that he was going to try to obtain the Cat Summoning Contract. This contract was something that was passed throughout the Uchiha clan, but only to those who completed a certain task. For Sasuke, his task was to collect the paw prints of numerous cats. Itachi had started him on this journey, but Sasuke stopped collecting the paw prints with only two left to go when Itachi betrayed the village and murdered the entire clan. Until recently, the Cat contract was something Sasuke really wanted as it reminded him too much of Itachi. However, with the recent display of power that Naruto had showed with his own contract, Sasuke's mind had changed. Now he wanted the contract. The two prints he had left to collect after their battle with the Shukakau were Matatatbi, the Nibi, and Nekomata, the boss of the ninja cat underworld.

To him, it was almost like fate was shining down on him to complete the task and get the contract. In fact, he had met Yugito, the jinchuriki of the Nibi, during the exams and after a quick, yet intense, sparing match after the whole ordeal with the finals was concluded, she and Matatabi agreed to give Sasuke the Nibi paw print. As of now, he only had to collect the paw print of the Cat Boss, Nekomata.

After some convincing by Sasuke that he was ready for a summoning contract, Kakashi allowed him to go; however, since this was outside the village, it would have to be on either a mission or clan business and he would have to take his team with him. Thankfully, he had to meet with Nekobaa, an old woman who lived in an abandoned city in the south of the Land of Fire. Nekobaa was an old cat lady and friend of the Uchiha clan. She was also the primary supplier of ninja tools to the Uchiha, giving Sasuke his excuse to pursue the contract. With her lived Denka and Hina, two ninja cats. These two were the ones who initially issued the task to Sasuke and it was they that kept the Cat Summoning Contract. After his long hiatus from collecting paw prints, Sasuke was finally determined to complete the collection and earn the contract.

At this time, Haku was on a mission, now being a chunin. He still didn't understand why only those two got promoted, but then again, his match was stopped in the middle by a giant snake rampaging through the village. Sakura was the one he was looking for as she was the harder of the two to find. Naruto, on the other hand, would most likely be one of two places: the Ramen shop or the training grounds.

After about 1hr 45 minutes, a frustrated Sasuke finally found Sakura. She was hanging around Ino's shop, spreading gossip when she should have been training. Now for Naruto. Thankfully for Sasuke, Naruto was at the training grounds; at least someone was doing something useful.

"Fuuton: Gale Palm!" he shouted, practicing his new jutsu. It was at this time that Sasuke and Sakura came on scene. Sasuke saw the jutsu coming and was able to duck behind a tree to avoid the gust of wind. Sakura on the other hand, didn't quite have the reflexes and was knocked flat on her back. As a result, she began trying to beat Naruto as she always did when he did something stupid, but was stopped by Sasuke. In Naruto's defense, they had walked in on him unexpectantly. Sakura wasn't willing to argue with Sasuke.

After a quick explanation as to why they were going, the three reported to the Hokage tower. They informed the Hokage of their intentions, to retrieve the necessary supplies to restock the Uchiha supply and to obtain the Cat Contract. If it hadn't been for a long day of paper work, Tsunade would have questioned Sasuke's decision to face Nekomata. The paper work was already killing her as the stuff that she had yet to catch up on from the previous weeks before she came back to the village just kept piling up. She was in no mood for arguing with a hot-headed Uchiha…in fact, the only things she needed right now was a drink and a long nap.

* * *

After about a day's journey, the trio of Leaf genin found themselves at an abandoned town and the home of Nekobaa and her granddaughter Tamaki. Upon entering the old lady's shop, Sasuke was confronted by two cats, Denka and Hina. To pass, they asked for a treat. Sakura was a little freaked out by a talking cat, but it was no different than a talking toad to Naruto. Sasuke knew how to deal with them and pulled out a tube of catnip from his pocket. The two ninja cats allowed the trio to pass.

"Sasuke? Is that you?" said Nekobaa, taking a look at Sasuke. She hadn't seen him since after that dreadful night almost three years ago. She was sitting on the floor, sipping some tea and playing with about a dozen regular cats around her. "After all these years, what finally brings you here?"

"Sasuke?" said an excited girl, about the same age as the three genin. She wore and orange sleeveless shirt and had shoulder length brown hair, matching the color of her eyes. Taking a look at Sasuke, the girl blushed a little. This caught Sakura's eye and Inner Sakura began flipping out.

"Hello Tamaki" greeted Sasuke. He then turned back to Nekobaa. "I'm surprised you are still in this place. The town is abandoned."

"Yes, well this place has always been a good home to me and I have nowhere else to go" replied the old cat woman.

"You could always come to Konoha" he replied.

"So Sasuke, what brings you here?" asked Tamaki, looking at him while Inner Sakura began to flip out even more.

"I've come to finish my task" he said, pulling out a book.

"Ah, your Paw Encyclopedia" said Denka, opening the book. "I was hoping you would come around to completing it one day. Hmm…let's see here…Wow, I'm impressed you got the Nibi's print. Looks like all you need is…"

"What is it he needs?" asked Sakura, curious to the ninja cat's pause.

"He needs Nekomata's paw print" explained Denka as Tamaki gasped slightly.

"Nekomata?" replied Sakura.

"Yes, he's the boss of the Cat Underground and an extremely strong foe. It will be hard to even get near him, let alone getting his paw print" explained Denka.

"Umm…so what's so special about getting a paw print? Why would this Nekomata make such a big deal about it?" asked Sakura.

"Because pinky, to a cat, giving out our paw print is just as bad and just as embarrassing as if you had a picture taken of you…naked" explained Hina. "We cats value our cleverness and someone having our paw print is a sign that we've been outsmarted. It's extremely degrading." Sakura got the analogy. She of all people, wouldn't want a picture taken of her naked.

"So then why does Sasuke need to collect these paw prints?" she asked.

"It's so that I can get a summoning contract" said Sasuke.

"Summoning contract?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah, it gives you the ability to summon a creature to your side to aid you in battle" explained Naruto, already familiar with summoning contracts. "I guess it's like the contract I signed with the Toads, only this one is for cats."

"What? You have a summoning contract?" asked Sakura, completely surprised. She did not see the giant toad Naruto summoned to save her and as such, she didn't know he had one. _"Even Naruto has a summoning contract"_ thought a depressed Sakura.

"Cha! Then we'll just have to find one as well. One that is stronger than Naruto and Sasuke's. Then Sasuke will notice us!" declared Inner Sakura.

"So Sasuke needs to go find this Nekomata cat, defeat him, and get his paw print…piece of cake" said Sakura.

"It's not that simple. Besides the Nibi, Nekomata is the strongest of the ninja cats. Not to mention, you need to sneak into his heavily guarded fortress" explained Denka.

"Here, you'll need these" said Tamaki, handing everyone a pair of cat ears on a head band. He also explained to the group the location of Nekomata's fortress and that those ears would be enough of a disguise to get them inside.

Team 7 made their way to the south of the Fire Country, near the border of the Land of Rivers, and the costal location of Nekomata's fortress. Standing on a cliff overlooking the fortress, Sasuke explained their mission, to obtain a paw print of the Boss of the Ninja Cats, Nekomata. With their mission set, the team placed the cat-ear headbands on their head. Naruto and Sasuke both doubted if this would actually work; after all, their disguise only consisted of two ears. Sakura on the other hand was thinking on how cute she looked with the cat ears on, causing the two boys on the team to doubt their disguise even more.

Nonetheless, Team 7 approached the door to the fortress to find two larger ninja cats standing guard. The two guards gave them a suspicious look and Naruto was preparing for a fight. "I don't think I've seen you two around here before" questioned one of the guards.

"Well, you see we are kind of new" said Sasuke, trying to bluff their way through.

The guards took a look over the three 'ninja cats' standing in front of them, worrying Sasuke that their disguise was failing. "Well then, if you're new here, you know what that means" said the guards, reaching for their weapons. Team 7 braced themselves, fearing that their disguise had failed. The guards flipped a button on the bottom of their weapons and a feathery tail popped out of the tip of the weapons. Team 7 nearly faulted. "Is everything alright?" asked one of the guards as Sasuke motioned to the team to just play along. Team 7 got into 'cat-mode' and began playing with the toys the guards had given them until the guards hustled them into the fortress. They still weren't sure what had happened but their disguise had actually worked.

The team split up, hoping to find Nekomata's location within the fortress. For Sasuke, he was intending to find Nekomata. He didn't mention it, but he was figuring Naruto would eventually mess something up and draw the attention of the entire fortress, giving him a clear shot towards Nekomata. On the other hand, he was actually relying on Sakura to be able to pick up some information.

Wandering around the castle, Sakura found her way into a bar/restaurant within the fortress. Sitting down at the bar, the bartender and another cat in the area took notice to her presence. In their eyes, she was a pink-haired female feline and a rather attractive one. The bartender handed her a complimentary drink and a can of tuna-flavored cat food while the other cat sat down next to her and ordered the same thing. After a few moments, waiting for his drink, the patron cat actually began flirting with her. However, once the food arrived, it appeared as if he was much more interested in the food in front of him than the female 'cat' sitting next to him. Sakura used this time to begin questioning him about the whereabouts of Nekomata, even using the food that she had refused to touch to sweeten the deal. Eventually, the patron let it slip that Nekomata could be found in the highest part of the fortress. Sakura took her leave while the cat was too focused on finishing the extra meal to notice her leaving.

Naruto wasn't exactly sure where he was, but wandering around the castle, he found himself in a room where a few cats were sitting around a table playing poker. One of the cats motioned for him to join, but Naruto stated that he didn't have anything to wager. One of the cats, who had a rather large stack of chips, offered Naruto a few chips to get him started, stating that all he had to do was pay him back once he won some chips of his own. Naruto agreed and sat down at the table, joining their game. Since the night in the casino with Tsunade, Naruto had been taught by her the rules and different hands of the games and now he wasn't completely oblivious to what was going around him. Naruto won the first hand, and the second, and even the third, surprising the cats with his lucky streak. "Hey you're not half bad. I haven't seen you around before, are you new?" asked one of the cats.

"Yeah, I actually just got here" mentioned Naruto.

Another cat picked up on something else about Naruto. "Hey, you smell kind of funny…almost fox-ish" said that cat. Cats and foxes weren't exactly the best of friends, although their relationship was better than that of cats and dogs, or cats and rodents. "Did you manage to beat one up on your way here?"

Naruto let out a hollow laugh, as this comment caught Kurama's attention. "Yeah, come on, tell us how you beat up one of those stupid animals" mentioned another cat. The questions from the remaining cats just kept pouring in and Kurama's patience was drawing thin.

"**Kit, I know you're trying to help your friend, but we can at least smack a few of these fish-brains around while we are waiting on your friend to finish up"** said Kurama, wanting desperately to shut these cats up.

"So come on, how did it go?" asked a cat again. Not sure what to say, Naruto just brushed the top of his head as he would normally do in a situation like this. However, this time Naruto had on the cat ears and doing so caused them to slip off his head. The cats stared wide-eyed at the now revealed ninja.

"Huh? Is something wrong?" asked Naruto, looking at the cats.

"**Finally things are going to get fun"** said the Kyuubi.

Sakura had managed to meet up with Sasuke and had revealed the location of Nekomata. "Good, now all we need is for Naruto to create some sort of distraction" said Sasuke. Right on que, the alarms in the compound began to sound and they thought that they heard a cat cry out 'human!' This was what they were waiting for as Sasuke and Sakura slipped past the guards who were rushing to where Naruto was. The two found their way up the stairs, leading to a door that was guarded again by two cat guards.

"Hey you two. Apparently there is a human in the complex, shouldn't you be helping out?" asked one of the guards. Sasuke and Sakura looked at one another and nodded.

"Cherry Blossom Blizzard" whispered Sakura as the two guards were enveloped in her genjutsu. Sasuke used this time to knock them out and tie them up, clearing their way to Nekomata. They opened the door, stepping into a rather large room with a large cat-figure sitting behind a screen at the other end of the room.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu" shouted Naruto as he was working to fend off wave after wave of ninja cats coming after him. Suddenly, Naruto felt a few small bursts of demon chakra flood his system._ "Hey, what are you doing? I'm actually doing fine here"_ asked Naruto to the demon Fox inside him.

"**These furballs insult me and my kind and you expect me to just sit aside Kit?"** explained Kurama.

"_Uhg, fair enough"_ said Naruto as even more chakra flowed into him. It wasn't enough to induce the fox-cloak, but it was enough to cause Naruto to take on a few fox-like features and enhanced senses. Needless to say, the ninja cats weren't too much of a match for the demon-powered blonde.

"Ah, Sasuke Uchiha. Grandma has been telling me so much about you. I was wondering if you would finally show" said the giant cat from behind the shade. "I know why you're here and I'm sorry to say but I will not be giving you my paw print."

"That's fine by me. Just means I'll have to beat you and take it myself" replied Sasuke. He then turned to Sakura. "Let me do this on my own. I don't need help to beat this guy."

"But Sasuke, let me…" replied Sakura.

"No. Itachi beat him years ago and now I need to do the same. If I can't, then how am I supposed to catch up to him?" replied Sasuke. Sakura could say any more as Sasuke began his battle.

Nekomata stepped out from his shroud to face his opponent. Looking at the Cat Boss, he was about tbe size of a two story building with white fur that had black markings over it. His tail was split at the end, making it appear as if he had two tails, although the tails fused into one about half way down.

The room grew dark as the two began and shadows of cats began to dart towards Sasuke. Not knowing what was going on, the first cat made contact with Sasuke and left a deep scratch in his left arm. The second cat was running towards Sasuke and he responded by firing a Great Fireball Jutsu at the shadow cat. Sasuke's attack didn't help as the cat just jumped through the fireball and landed another blow on his left arm, just above the elbow.

Sasuke realized that this had to be genjutsu if his ninjutsu had no effect on the shadow cat. He activated his Sharingan and it quickly cut through the effects of the genjutsu. The scratches on his arm dissipated along with the genjutsu that Nekomata had cast. "Ah, the Sharingan" commented the giant cat. "It has been awhile since I've seen it, but the Sharingan won't do you much good if your body can't keep up with me."

With that, Nekomata took off after Sasuke, darting towards him at high speeds. Sasuke's Sharingan could keep up with the cat's movements, but Sasuke realized that he was still lacking some of the speed and agility that would be required to fully dodge the cat's attacks. He was able to dodge the attack to a point where he took minimal damage, but was still sent flying halfway across the room.

Recovering quickly, Sasuke made his charge towards the Cat Boss. The cat swung his claws at Sasuke, forcing him to dodge by jumping upwards onto the ceiling. Nekomata took his tail and lashed out at Sasuke while he was clinging to the ceiling using his chakra, throwing him across the room.

"Sasuke!" shouted Sakura and Naruto, who had just arrived at the Cat Boss' room after finishing up the hoard of cats in the floors below.

"Stay out of this. I've got everything under control" said Sasuke as he struggled to his feet.

Nekomata laughed. "You think you can win? You can barely stand on his feet" taunted the cat. "Your brother could do better than you."

"Don't compare me to Itachi!" shouted Sasuke, making a quick hand sign. "Explode!" As Sasuke said that, a few explosive tags on the ceiling exploded, causing a pile of rubble to collapse on top of Nekomata, trapping him underneath. While Sasuke was clinging onto the ceiling, he had set a few explosive tags before being flung off.

With the Cat Boss down, Sasuke took out a rather large scroll to collect his prize. Nekomata's paw print. The trio set out to leave the room. Before they could exit, they heard a laugh come from the cat just behind them. "Haha, smart and cleaver, just like your brother" said the cat. Team 7 prepared for round two. "Don't worry, the fight is over Sasuke. I believe this is actually what you came for." Nekomata pulled himself out of the rubble and over to his seat. He reached inside and pulled out a rather large scroll that Naruto recognized as it was similar to the scroll that Jiraiya had given him.

"Wait, is this?" asked Sasuke.

"Yes. This is the Cat Summoning Scroll" commented Nekomata. "You have proven that you are cleaver and strong, just like us cats and as such, I will offer you our contract." Sasuke nodded, accepting the contract. Like Naruto and the Toad Contract, Sasuke signed his name in blood on the contract, and performed the summoning jutsu. When the smoke cleared, Hina and Denka sat in front of him.

"Well, it looks like you accomplished what you set out to do" said Hina. "I hope you use our contract wisely."

After some more chatting amongst the cats, Team 7 set out with their mission accomplished. The next morning, Kakashi had arranged for a team meeting to see Sasuke's new summon. At the meeting, Sasuke performed the jutsu in front of Kakashi, showing that he could in fact summon cats.

* * *

At the mission hall in Konoha, Team Karutsu had just returned from their mission. Karatsu was a jonin instructor assigned to his team of genin the year before Neji graduated the academy. The strongest member on his team was Shinji Huyga, the eldest son of Kenjo Huyga, grandson of Ihro Huyga, and the heir of that family of the main branch. Shinji already possessed the talent to advance to chunin and Karatsu had been pressured by the Huyga clan for years to let him participate. However, Karatsu felt that the other two members of his team, Umi Retani and Hokono Funi, both descended from civilian clans, were not yet ready for such an exam. As such, the potential of this Hyuga had been 'held back' despite the fact that he was only 13 (the typical age for most genin to take the chunin exam for the first time is around 16, however, there are cases where younger genin that have shown talent have taken the exams when they were younger. This was the case with the Konoha 13 and Kakashi).

The mission Team Karutsu had just finished was none other than the mission nicknamed as the 'Genin's Bane', also known as the Capture Tora mission. The Fire Daimyo's wife was busy suffocating the poor cat and the team was relieved that was finally done.

"Poof!" Tora disappeared from the Fire Daimyo's Wife's arms in a puff of smoke. Team Karutsu just stared at the whole event wide-eyed and fearing what was most likely going to happen next.

"Tora?" said the lady, looking around for where her cat may have gone. "Oh dear, she seems to have gotten lost again. Children, I don't suppose you could go fetch her again for me" asked the noble lady. They shot a look at Tsunade, asking her to send some other team, but the Hokage just motioned for them to complete their mission, as it was no longer complete. The team sighed and dragged their tired feet out the door for round 2 of the chase.

* * *

"Gah!" shouted Naruto, realizing what cat Sasuke had just summoned. The rest of Team 7 had similar reactions and as quickly as Tora disappeared from the Fire Daimyo's Wife's arms, Team 7 disappeared from the scene, not wanting to become involved with THAT mission ever again. They eventually regrouped at Ichiraku's. Naruto had been the one to go there first and by the time the rest of the team had arrived, he was already sipping down his first bowl. There was no point in dragging him off now, and everyone else was agreeing they could use a bite to eat that didn't taste like cat-food.

"Sasuke, we are going to need to work on controlling which cats you can summon. I want to make this very clear…never summon THAT cat ever again" scolded Kakashi. "You understand, right?"

"I completely understand. That contract is more dangerous than it seemed" replied Sasuke.

* * *

Hinata sat in her room, trying to think about something that was coming up that was very important. Today was October 7, three days before the birthday of one Naruto Uzumaki. The past few years, she had known pretty much what to get him many days before his birthday. Last year, she had gotten him that pair of goggles that he used to wear back in the academy. The year before was that famed orange jacket that he was always wearing (the pants, he had ended up getting separately after he realized just how much he liked the jacket). The year before that one was when she got him Gama-chan, his frog wallet. Four years ago, which was the first year she really began to take notice of him and develop a crush on him, the time in the academy when he saved her from a group of bullies. For that year, she simply got him a loaded Ichiraku's gift card, noticing how much he liked the place. After that, she realized just how lonely he really was and that she was the only one who had gotten him presents for his birthday besides the Third.

Every year since four years ago, she got him a present and the idea for the present usually came from the observations that she made while err, stalking him around town. Each year, she told herself that she would personally hand the gift to him and let him know that there was someone in Konoha that was glad he was there. However, every time, she was too shy to carry through with her intentions. She wanted so bad to let him know that those gifts he had been getting from an anonymous person were from her.

"Nee-san?" It was around this time that Hanabi had come looking for her sister. She hadn't seen Hinata for a few hours and Hinata did not realize that she had been in her room this long.

"Oh, hello Hanabi" responded Hinata.

"Nee-san, why have you been in your room for these past few hours?" asked the younger Huyga.

"It…it's nothing. I was just thinking…" said Hinata.

"About what?" asked Hanabi, getting a rather devious smile on her face. "Oh, I see. Naruto's birthday is coming up isn't it? What are you going to get him this year?"

Hinata's posture quickly straightened and she began to blush, indicating to Hanabi that she had guessed spot on. "H-how did you know?"

"To be honest, you aren't very good at keeping your feelings from him a secret, especially in this clan. At least half the clan knows you get him something for his birthday and even more know that you kind of like him" said Hanabi, causing Hinata to turn a darker shade of red. "So, what are you going to get him?"

"I…I don't know" said Hinata, lowering her head. "The past few years I have been able to find something that he really wants, but this year it has been more difficult. I want to give him something that shows him that I care for him, but I just can't seem to think of it."

Hanabi thought on this for a little. "Hmm…well, you are a really good cook. From what father has told me, he's usually been alone on his birthday. Not to mention, it doesn't seem like anyone comes around to celebrate with him or even bring him a cake…"

Both Hinata and Hanabi got the same idea. If Naruto has never had a birthday cake before, Hinata would make him his first one, and hopefully not the last one she would be making him. This would be special and something he would remember. "Oh, and you're going to give it to him personally this year, aren't you?"

"W-what makes you say t-that, Hanabi? I-I always give h-him his present" lied Hinata.

"No, you just leave it at his door and then hide around the corner" said Hanabi, calling Hinata's bluff. Hinata's head dropped.

"Am I really that bad?" asked a depressed Hinata. Hanabi just nodded.

"But you WILL give this to him and not just leave it at his door, right?" asked the smaller of the two.

"I-I umm…" stuttered Hinata as she began to play with her fingers.

Hanabi shot her a little glare, trying to get her sister to gather the courage to finally tell Naruto how she felt. After all, what were sisters for? "You're right, Hanabi. I need to show Naruto how I feel about him" admitted Hinata.

"Good, now that that's settled, let's get to baking that cake!" exclaimed Hanabi as she raced off towards the kitchen. Despite being a confident shinobi prodigy from one of the most esteemed clans in Konoha, Hanabi was still a six year-old girl, and like all girls her age, they liked helping their mothers (or big sister in Hanabi's case) with baking in the kitchen with the hopes that they would get the remaining cake batter from the bowls.

"Umm…Hanabi. Naruto's birthday isn't for 3 more days. The cake needs to be fresh" said Hinata. This put a dent in Hanabi's plan to get some free cake batter as she would now have to wait a few days, as Hinata wasn't going to make it until the day of Naruto's birthday so that she could give it to him fresh.

* * *

In a shady building, somewhere in the dark alleyways of Konoha, around 40 civilians had gathered together for a meeting. After a few minutes of waiting in a crowded audience chamber, one of them stood up and proceeded to the podium. "I hereby call this meeting of the Committee of Concerned Citizens Regarding Demon Affairs in Konoha to attention" announced the person at the podium. "Unless any of you have any matters you wish to share, I would like to proceed with the preparations for this year's Demon Hunt. This will finally be the year where we finish off the 'Demon Brat' and fulfil what the Yondaime had set out to do."

* * *

**Hopefully I'm not overdoing it with the Catch Tora Mission. Any ways, reviews and comments are appreciated.**


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer **(figured I should start adding these before each chapter): I do not own Naruto or its characters.

* * *

**Chapter 30: October 10**

The day was October 10. It was the day of the anniversary of the day when the Yondaime sacrificed himself to save the village from the wrath of the Kyuubi. On this day, the entire village celebrated the Kyuubi's destruction and the service that the Yondaime gave to this village. It was a joyous day, filled with cheers, festivities, and fun. However, for one person in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, October 10 was the worst day out of the year. This person was Naruto Uzumaki.

Today was Naruto's birthday, they day he would turn twelve. Today should be a happy day for him. Today should be a day of celebration. However, for the past 6 years, since the first time he actually participated in the festivities of the day, the day of October 10 was a day of fear and hiding. Now, the villagers had never been fond of Naruto, in fact they hated him; however, he could usually tolerate this as they normally just looked down on him with scorn and hatred. Usually, these were just looks and he would not be in any sort of danger. This day was different. He had first attended the festivities of the day when he was 6. For the week, he was in the ICU wing of the hospital (the injuries he sustained would have put a normal person in the ICU for months; however, Naruto's increased healing factor helped out). The next five years were not too much better. While he had not been admitted to the hospital, the villagers would pick this day in particular to hunt him down and try to kill him before the ANBU could arrive to save him. He never understood why. Why did they hate him so much? Why did they want to kill him? Why did they always refer to him as that 'Demon Brat'? It wasn't until recently that he found out why…the Yondaime never killed the Kyuubi and in fact sealed the Kyuubi inside Naruto. Naruto knew the Kyuubi never meant to harm the village, but the villagers didn't know that and they would probably never understand.

Naruto had gotten up early in the morning and was preparing himself for the upcoming day. He had to get out of his apartment quick and go find some place on the outskirts of the village so that the villagers wouldn't find him and he would be able to perhaps get in some training. This was the only thing about today that Naruto was looking forward to…an entire day of training with no one to bother him, hopefully. However, there was one more thing that he found himself enjoying about this day in particular. It was on this day, about 4 years ago that he found out that there is actually someone in the village that cares enough for him. Four years ago, he found a wrapped gift card to his favorite place, Ichiraku, tucked underneath his door. At first, he thought it was the village playing a joke on him, getting his hopes up by giving him an empty gift card. However, he soon realized that card had enough on it for practically a month's worth of ramen. He was ecstatic. The next year, another present was left by his door. This time, it was Gama-chan, the frog wallet that he had looked at in the store for days on end. It was wrapped the same way as the gift card was, hinting that it was from the same person. The following year, wrapped the same way, was a box containing his signature orange jacket. Again, this had been something that he had wanted for weeks before his birthday, but he had never been able to afford it. He asked the Old Man, the Third Hokage, who was one of the very few who actually cared for Naruto, if he had gotten him the jacket. The Sandaime indicated that it wasn't him. This only made Naruto happier, knowing that there was actually someone else in the village who cared. Last year was just as good. He got the pair of goggles that he had desperately wanted, which were again too expensive for him. While he no longer wore the goggles, replaced by his Konoha headband, he had a special place for them on his shelf. His only regret is that he didn't know who it was that had given him these presents so that he could thank them properly.

Naruto was just about ready to head out when he heard a knock on his door. He was cautious as a knock on his door today was usually proceeded by a loud crash of the door being smashed in and an angry mob chasing after him. However, a familiar voice that he trusted followed the knock. "Naruto, are you in there?" Naruto opened the door to reveal Kakashi-sensei.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?" asked Naruto.

"Just thought I'd stop by and wish you a happy birthday. And to give you these." Kakashi handed Naruto a pack of twenty coupons for a free bowl of Ichiraku. "I'm sorry to say that I wasn't really sure what else to give you."

Naruto smiled at his sensei's present. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei" said Naruto. However, these were not wrapped like the presents from the past years and Kakashi's laziness proceeded him as the coupons had been slightly crumpled in his back pouch, while they were still a present and they were still valid, he could tell that Kakashi was not the person that had been giving him gifts all these years. Before leaving, Kakashi informed Naruto that Iruka wanted to meet up with him later for dinner. Iruka-sensei was one of the other few in the village who Naruto could truly trust on this day. Naruto took off for training ground 40, located on the outskirts of Konoha, and off-limits to civilians. It was here that he was hoping to get some time by himself, at least until Iruka wanted to meet up with him. Iruka had told Kakashi to pass onto Naruto to meet him inside the Hokage tower at around 8 and he would bring Ichiraku take-out. This was fine for Naruto as the Hokage tower was actually one of the most secure buildings in the village and the shinobi population wasn't the ones behind the numerous lynch mobs that he had to evade every year on this day.

Before leaving, Naruto transformed, learning long ago that it wasn't safe for him to look like Naruto while traveling through the village today. For some reason, he transformed himself into Sasuke and took off. He was doing fine. No angry mobs, no distractions, and he was almost out of the actual village portion of Konoha. Once he reached the training grounds, it would be smooth sailing. However, he hit a bump when Sakura spotted him and took off after him, thinking that he was actually Sasuke. Naruto was trying to lose her, not wanting any unwanted attention for today, even if it was from Sakura and passed through. It was unfortunate that his path took him through training ground 9, where the real Sasuke was training. Also, Naruto wasn't watching where he was going and crashed into Sasuke. Sakura just stood there, looking at the pile of Sasukes. One of them dispersed, revealing it to be Naruto and Sakura suddenly became enraged that Naruto had transformed into Sasuke. She thought it to be some trick of his to get her to go out on a date with him.

"Naruto…" growled Sakura, cracking her knuckles. Sasuke wasn't pleased either that Naruto had transformed into him…again.

Naruto let out a slight gulp. "Sakura, please you don't understand" said Naruto.

"Oh yeah, you were trying to use Sasuke's appearance to get me to go on a date with you" she said.

"No that's not it. And please, keep it down" begged Naruto.

"Oh yeah? And why should I" asked Sakura, growing increasingly irritated. "You've done this before…remember the first day as a team? Yeah, I knew it was you."

"No wait, please Sakura" said Naruto slowly backing away.

"Sakura, just hold on a moment. Something doesn't seem right" said Sasuke, stopping his pink-haired teammate.

"Huh? What do you mean Sasuke? Aren't you angry that he transformed into you again?" asked Sakura.

"Well yeah, but something is different about Naruto today. He seems completely on edge, like he's worried about something" explained Sasuke. "At least give him the chance to explain himself."

"Uhg fine. Alright, out with it Naruto" demanded Sakura.

Naruto took a deep breath and let out a slight sigh of relief. "You know what today is, don't you?" asked Naruto. "It's the day where the entire village celebrates the Yondaime's defeat over the Kyuubi. However, because of my…well, condition, many of the villagers choose today to hunt me down and try to kill me."

The faces of Naruto's teammates froze with horror. Naruto explained the first time he went to the festival that was held in the evening and how he ended up in the ICU for weeks. "I was taking Sasuke's appearance so I could get to the training grounds on the outskirts of the village and away from the villagers for today" explained Naruto.

Sakura regretted getting mad at him and Sasuke just nodded, letting Naruto be on his way towards the training ground he was planning on staking out for the day. "So Sasuke, since we're here…together…do you want to go to the festival later tonight?" Sakura asked, trying to get Sasuke to go out on a date with her by going to the annual festival that was scheduled for later that evening.

"Don't you have anything better you could be doing? Like training?" said Sasuke, deflating Sakura. He took off himself to go meet up with Kakashi. Kakashi had arranged to train him today to control the cat Sasuke could summon as he couldn't be summoning THAT demon ever time he wanted to summon a cat. After all, even the jonin senseis never enjoyed being stuck with the infamous 'Capture Tora' mission.

* * *

"_Today's the day. Today's the day I finally let Naruto know there is someone in this village that cares for him"_ thought Hinata as she traveled through the village carrying the necessary ingredients she needed for Naruto's very first birthday cake (or at least she hoped it was his first). She made her way to the compound where Hanabi was impatiently waiting for her. This was her opportunity for some free cake batter, and no self-respecting six year old was going to pass this up.

Hinata began the preparations for making the cake. The first thing that needed to be done was the pan design. She had gotten a special kit a few years ago that allowed her to create custom pan shapes and she went ahead assembling it. The cake itself wasn't that large as she planned on making a double-layered cake and the kit only had so many pieces. At least from her experience, the perfect amount of layers on a cake was two. Not enough and the cake wasn't as filling while too many and there was an increased chance of the cake falling apart. The second step to making the cake was deciding the shape of the cake. This is where her obsession with the blonde boy took over and she began assembling her pan kit in the shape of Naruto's head. The bottom half of the pan was round with the top half having spikes coming from it, resembling his hair. The third thing to decide was the type of cake to be made. She opted to go with the more traditional white cake as she still wasn't sure on Naruto's preferences, despite stalk…following him all these years. The fourth thing that needed to be decided was the type of icing to use. To her, it had to be a butter cream type as it was simply the best and nothing compared to it. The last and final touches on the cake were the most important. This was the decorations on the cake. It couldn't be too plain, nor could it be too much over the top. The look of the cake was just as important as the taste. The two factors had to balance with one another perfectly or the entire cake itself was ruined.

After all her planning was done, Hinata, with the help of her younger sister, took to beginning the cake. Directly after the ingredients were mixed together, Hinata was called into the other room by her father. The bowl of delicious cake batter was way too much for Hanabi to resist, and without anyone to stop her, she quickly went to work.

* * *

Naruto was jumping through the trees. He was only a few more hops away from his desired training location. He let out a sigh of relief as he discovered that no one was there when he had arrived. The first hour of his personal training session was nothing more than a series of warm-ups and katas that he was performing with a clone. In a few past meetings, Kakashi-sensei had suggested that Naruto should try to refine his taijutsu as it was still rather sloppy, despite taijutsu being one of his better subjects in the academy. He had been given a book on basic taijutsu practices from Kakashi and he figured it wouldn't hurt for him to go through it.

Afterwards, he proceeded to a bit of weapons training and this was what he was looking forward to. Jiraiya had mentioned that the wind jutsu he had learned, the Futon: Gale Palm, worked well in conjunction with projectiles, helping to propel them forward at an increased velocity. This took up about two more hours of his training as he worked on getting the jutsu off quick enough to be of use in increasing the speed of projectiles. It was going to be difficult for him to throw the shuriken himself and cast the jutsu before the kunai and shuriken made contact. However, he was quickly finding that if a clone was the one doing the jutsu, he could manage to make the jutsu effective. Next step would be to add that in with his Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu; however, that would have to wait as he heard someone jump down behind him. Naruto feared that someone had found him, in particular someone who was a part of Konoha's Annual Demon Hunt™.

* * *

Somewhere in the village, a crowd of roughly 100 villagers had assembled; knives, swords, pitchforks, and anything sharp at hand. This was the year that they finished what the Yondaime Hokage had begun 12 years ago. This was the year they were finally going to rid the village of the 'Demon Brat'.

Unfortunately for the patrons wielding pitchforks and larger weapons they were forced to trade them in for much smaller knives as they couldn't go marching around with pitchforks and torches waving through the air. That would draw too much attention to the ANBU, even if they would have received the support of most of the civilian population. Besides, pitchforks were out-dated, belonging in the era of the old black-and-white monster movies.

It was nearly time. The group of villagers participating in this year's demon hunt would break up into teams of four and scour the village for him. One found, the remaining teams would be notified and they would swarm the location, finally putting an end to the menace that had plagued their village for the past twelve years. There was only one thing left to do. All the villagers gather 1000ryo each and put it into a pot. The one who delivered the finishing blow to the demon child would receive the 100,000ryo that was gathered by the group. Of course, the purse was nearing 1,000,000ryo as the pots from the previous years carried over.

* * *

"Yo"

"Gah! Pervy Sage!" shouted Naruto, realizing who it was who had jumped down behind him. "Don't scare me like that."

"Oh, sorry. I guess this day in particular must have you on edge" said Jiraiya. Naruto decided now would be a good time to take a break as Jiraiya began to unpack some food from his pack. The two sat down underneath a tree and enjoyed their lunch together. Shortly after, Jiraiya reached into his pack and pulled out three wrapped objects, handing them to Naruto.

"Huh? What are these?" asked Naruto.

"Just a little something to say happy birthday. Even you deserve that much" said Jiraiya. Besides Jiraiya, The Old Man, his mysterious admirer, Iruka-sensei, and Kakashi-sensei had so far been the only ones to acknowledge his birthday. Naruto didn't know what to expect as he sat there staring at the wrapped presents, almost like he was analyzing them. "Huh? What's the matter Naruto?"

"It's just…nothing" said Naruto. Jiraiya could tell that he probably wasn't used to getting presents. In reality, Naruto was examining the packages. They weren't wrapped that well and Jiraiya apologized, never being that good at wrapping gifts. That meant Jiraiya wasn't the unknown gift-giver. Regardless, Naruto thanked his pervy teacher and began opening the presents. The first one turned out to be a jutsu scroll and Jiraiya told him that he should begin working on that jutsu next in his wind-nature training. Opening the scroll it read Futon: Whirlwind Fist. After further examining the technique, he discovered that this was a high C-rank technique that encased his fists in a swirling wind, blasting the opponent back upon impact. The second present was a pair of kunai. However, these weren't ordinary kunai. Naruto stared in awe as he saw that these kunai were three pronged. He had never seen anything like these and the felt different from ordinary kunai. They were more dense and sharper. Jiraiya told Naruto to channel some of his wind-natured chakra into the kunai. Naruto did as Jiraiya said and he saw a bluish-white chakra blade extend from the blade of the knife.

"Pervy sage? What are these?" asked Naruto, both curious and amazed.

"Those are special kunai composed of a metal that channels chakra easy. They also take on the property of the chakra channeled through them" explained Jiraiya as he picked up the other knife and channeled some of his fire chakra into the knife. The knife began to glow a deep red and even whitish color. Being the curious kid he was, Naruto actually proceeded to touch Jiraiya's blade only to burn himself. Jiraiya laughed at Naruto trying to cool off his hand. "With your wind chakra in particular, an extended and sharpened blade is created. Why don't you see and cut through that tree with one of those." Jiraiya pointed to a tree, a little over a foot in diameter and Naruto stared in disbelief. How could a simple knife cut through a tree in a single blow?

Naruto proceeded to the tree and focused some wind chakra into his blade, aimed for the tree and swung. A small cut was made in the tree, but it looked as if nothing else had happened. "See, you can't cut through a tree with just a knife, no matter how cool it looks." Naruto spoke too soon as he was forced to avoid a tree that was falling directly where he was standing, giving both Jiraiya and the Kyuubi a laugh.

After some more admiring of those knives, Jiraiya explained to be careful with those. They weren't ordinary kunai and were expensive. They weren't meant to be disposable like ordinary kunai. Naruto proceeded to the final package. It was rectangular in shape and about the size of a book. Thoughts on what it was were going through Naruto's head and he was hoping it wasn't what he was thinking. Jiraiya got a devious smile on his face. Naruto carefully opened the package. It was what he had feared as he read the title…'Icha Icha Paradise'. Naruto nearly faulted as the Fox burst out in laughter.

"What the hell is this, you old pervert?! I'm not into this kind of stuff. I've already had the unfortunate pleasure of seeing Kakashi read this dirty book and if you think you're going to turn e into a pervert, you're mistaking!" shouted Naruto, completely forgetting that he was there so no one would find him. Jiraiya couldn't stop laughing and let the joke go on for awhile before removing the dirt cover on the book. The book enclosed by the cover was entitled 'The Tale of a Gutsy Ninja'. "Huh, what's this?"

"That is my first book, and don't worry this isn't an adult novel. I wrote this before I became an author of the Icha Icha series but to be honest it didn't sell too well. However, I actually feel you might like this, besides there is something about this book that might interest you. Naruto was intrigued and took a look at the first page, and much to his surprise there was something about this book that interested him…the main character's name was Naruto.

"Perv Sage…Thank you" was all Naruto could get out.

"No need to worry. It is your birthday after all" said Jiraiya. "Now, Tsunade said she had something for you as well, but she's going to be busy all day with paperwork so I wouldn't stop by until later."

"Ok. I'll stop by after I get ramen with Iruka-sensei then" said Naruto.

Jiraiya stayed with Naruto and supervised his training for few hours. In reality, he was busy writing…something about getting the next Icha Icha to the publisher in the next month. Throughout the rest of the afternoon, there were a few thoughts going through his head. Pervy Sage, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei, and Tsunade all cared about his birthday, not to mention the Ichiraku's who had designed a special bowl of ramen just for him on this day. Would anyone else? His team? The other members of the Rookie 9? Hinata? That last name concerned him the most. Out of anyone he could think of, her name had the biggest impact on him. Would she care?

* * *

Later that evening, Naruto snuck back into the village to the Ichiraku's. Iruka had failed at getting a secure room inside the Hokage tower, but Teuchi and Ayame had agreed to let them eat in private inside the house portion of their shop. Naruto transformed himself, this time into someone who wouldn't get every fan-girl's attention. He transformed himself this time into Shizune; after all, who would attack the Hokage's assistant. The trip to Ichiraku's was smooth and he got there without drawing any attention. After letting Teuchi know who it was, he was let inside where Iruka had just arrived a few minutes before. Iruka however, had a friend with him. Fortunately for Naruto, this was one friend that was just that…a friend.

"Hey Konohamaru, whacha doing here?" asked Naruto.

"Iruka-sensei told me it was your birthday and I asked him if I could come wish you a happy birthday" replied Konohamaru. "Besides, it beats walking around the village being called the 'Honorable Grandson' by everyone in the village."

"_I'd rather be called that than the 'Demon Brat'" _thought Naruto. Naruto hadn't seen Iruka-sensei or Konohamaru in awhile so there was lots to talk about, including his little adventure to bring Tsunade back and the new stuff he learned. Iruka was impressed that Naruto had already begun training with the wind element, making Konohamaru's desire to learn cool jutsu such as that even greater. Iruka was going to have a handful with this next generation Naruto, as some had dubbed Konohamaru. Konohamaru had picked up Naruto's mantle of prank master after Naruto had left the academy. Of course, Konohamaru's pranks were nothing compared to Naruto, but he was still young.

After awhile, Teuchi and Ayame closed shop and joined them, not that they didn't see enough of Naruto already. It was getting late and Naruto figured he had better go see Tsunade-baachan before it got too late. Before he could reach the door, Iruka caught him and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto, I have a bad feeling. I'm coming too, but we need to get to the tower quick" said Iruka. Naruto nodded, knowing what Iruka was hinting towards. Konohamaru on the other hand, didn't have a clue. Iruka told him to trust in his sensei and Naruto transformed into Shizune as the two exited the Ichiraku's.

* * *

Camped outside the Ichiraku's was a group of this year's Demon Hunt. They had seen Shizune enter the ramen-makers' home and that would have been alright…if it hadn't been for the real Shizune passing by them just a few minutes past. These villagers knew this was one of Naruto's favorite spots in the village and figured he would show up here eventually. With 'Shizune' entering the house in the back and the real Shizune passing them a few moments later without any sign of the Shizune inside the house leaving, they deduced that the Shizune inside the house was in fact the 'Demon Brat'. Seeing this, they notified the rest of the lynch mod and positions were taken up surrounding the house.

Suddenly, what they had been waiting for came walking out of the door. Despite standing next to Iruka, there was Shizune, or the 'Demon Brat'. The villager picked up a rather large stone and tossed it towards Naruto, hitting the transformed ninja in the face and dispelling the transformation.

"Oww! What was that fo…" Naruto trailed off as he opened his eyes to see about two dozen villagers in front of him, killing intent spilling out from the very core of their souls and blades in hand.

"_Shit…"_ swore Naruto.

"**Kit…RUN!" **advised Kurama. He couldn't fight the villagers as hurting them would only make them see him as more of a demon. No, he had to get to the tower. He would be safe with Tsunade-baachan, and hopefully Jiraiya was there as well.

One of the villagers couldn't take it anymore and jumped at Naruto, only to be smashed in the face by a large frying pan. "What the hell are you doing?" screamed Teuchi, coming to Naruto's rescue. "This is the kid that kept you safe. You're going to go against the will of the Yondaime?"

"No, I'm here to finish what the Yondaime started. This village has been plagued by this monster long enough!" shouted one of the villagers, who had clearly lost it.

"Naruto, go with Iruka and get to the tower. I'll hold them off as long as I can" said Teuchi.

"Teuchi…" Naruto trailed off.

"Go!" shouted Teuchi as the crowd rushed him. Naruto and Iruka make their way towards the tower, pretty much running for dear life.

"_Please be alright Teuchi" _thought Naruto as he and Iruka raced along rooftops and through alleyway. At every turn, they encountered a few more villagers, intending to corner and end Naruto. Both Iruka and Naruto knew they wouldn't get there before the mobs closed them in. Iruka did what he had to in order to ensure the boy he had begun to look at as a brother made it to the Hokage safely.

"Iruka-sensei! What are you doing?" shouted Naruto as Iruka charged forward, creating an opening in the dozen or so villagers that were forming a wall in front of them.

"Just go! I'll catch up!" shouted Iruka. Naruto hesitated a little at first but knew that Iruka was only doing this for him. Naruto took off towards the tower, sprinting at full speed. As such, he didn't notice the final lines of defense the mobs had set. Before he knew it, one of the mob's traps had tripped him, sending him from the rooftops into an alleyway full of trash.

Naruto recovered as quickly as he could, but it was too late. A crowd of at least three dozen villagers had gathered around him, trapping him in the ally. One of the villagers stepped forward. "A fitting place for a worthless piece of trash like you to die…Demon."

* * *

**So umm...yikes. It seems the village has finally snapped. Figured I would work on adding cliffhangers to my work so hope you enjoyed. **

**What's going to happen to Naruto? How about Teuchi and Iruka?**

**Reviews and Comments are greatly appreciated**


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters.

* * *

**Chapter 31: Love and Wrath**

It was late at night and the festivities had already begun for this year's annual festival, celebrating the sacrifices the Yondaime Hokage made to keep this village safe, twelve years ago. Walking through the crowds was an eleven year old Hyuga, looking for a particular blonde that had not been seen all day. She had just finished up the present that she had been working all morning. She would have had it finished sooner, but she hit an…unexpected speed bump by the name of Hanabi.

*Flashback

"Hanabi!" shouted Hinata, or at least as loud as was possible for Hinata.

Hanabi looked up from the large batter bowl that her face had been buried in. The evidence of her crime could be seen all over her face. To be completely honest, if it hadn't been for the Huyga eyes she possessed, Hanabi could have been mistaken for an Akamichi at that point in time. "What's wrong Nee-san?" asked the younger Huyga, trying to act all innocent.

"That…Did you eat all of the cake batter?" asked Hinata, starring at the empty bowl.

"Umm…No, there's still a little batter in there" responded Hanabi, pointing to the small drops of batter on the side of the bowl. Hinata picked up the bowl and was almost ready to cry as her work had been wasted just like that.

Hiashi entered the kitchen to see what the fuss was about after hearing Hinata's shriek. It didn't take a genius to see what had happened as Hinata was on her knees on the verge of crying, holding an empty bowl, with Hanabi sitting on the counter with batter all over her face and a satisfied smile on her face.

"Hanabi, it's time for training" called out Hiashi. He was well aware of what Hinata was doing and figure this would give her a second chance at making Naruto's cake…this time without Hanabi interfering. Besides, this was his punishment towards Hanabi for not being more considerate. Have you ever tried training on a belly full of raw cake batter?

Hanabi tried to argue but it was no use against her father. Before leaving the room, Hiashi turned and gave his older daughter a smile, receiving one back from Hinata. She quickly went back to work starting over making the cake. By early afternoon, the cake was baking in the oven and she was able to start the decorating only two hours later.

*End Flashback*

Hinata was walking through town with the cake in a box that she had on her back. She had asked the bake shop just down the street from the Huyga compound that she normally visited and they were glad to loan out one of their delivery boxes to their best customer.

Initially, she was calm and happy, getting to see Naruto for the first time in days; however as time passed, she realized that she was going to be seeing Naruto. Quickly, the shy and nervous Hinata began to return as she became hesitant about actually going through. Perhaps she should wait for next year to tell him that she was his mysterious admirer. Those doubts were quickly shot down when she saw the exact person she was thinking of dart past her. However, this wasn't a casual run. This wasn't even how Naruto would run after he pranked the entire ANBU HQ. No, this time, Naruto was running for dear life as a crowd of around 20 villagers followed in pursuit wielding knives and screaming for the 'Demon Brat' to die.

Sadly, she knew what was going on. Every year, the lynch mob came by the Huyga compound asking for the Huyga's help in tracking down Naruto. Each year, the Huyga's declined, thankfully. Having the Byakugan at their disposal would have done wonders for the mob.

"No…they found him this year" she said quietly to herself. She had felt relieved when every year she heard the disappointment from the mob, not even getting a sighting on him, but it appears as if this year they had managed to track him down and there was simply one thing on their mind…blood.

Hinata took to the rooftops in pursuit of her crush, hoping there was something she would be able to do to help him. Looking on, Naruto was gaining ground as he made his way towards the Hokage tower. _"Go Naruto, you'll be safe there"_ she thought to herself. However, her Byakugan saw it. The villagers had set up a line of defenses between Naruto and the tower and unfortunaly, he got caught up in one of their traps, tumbling to the ground and crashing head first into a dumpster. "NARUTO!" she shouted. If anyone was around, they would be shocked that the shy little Huyga could actually scream that loud. Hinata bolted off towards where Naruto was, hoping it wasn't too late.

* * *

Naruto was racing towards the tower. Everything seemed to be going fine…that is until he ran into one of the mob's trip-wires they had set up. This sent him tumbling into the alley below and into a pile of trash. Picking himself out of the trash, Naruto looked up to see what he had not been hoping to see. Naruto was surrounded by approximately 40-50 members of the lynch mob with the rest of the villagers just watching. The remaining members of the mob were beginning to make their way to the location where he had been trapped.

"What a fitting place for the demon that has plagued our village for so long to meet his end" said one of the villagers as he stepped forward. A few more joined Naruto until about 6 of them were charging for Naruto, knives at the ready and the death of 'Demon Brat' being the only thing on their mind.

"Shit!" was all Naruto could say.

"**Damn kit. I didn't want it to come to this but…huh?" **said Kurama as he sensed another presence enter the fray. He was just about ready to pump Naruto full of his chakra, hoping that would be enough to fend off the attackers. That was the last thing that he wanted to do as it would have only given the mob more reason to believe that he actually was the Kyuubi.

"Protection of the Eight Trigrams!"

The attackers were forced back into the crowd. The wind chakra digging deep into them, causing some severe cuts on their arms and torsos.

Naruto opened his eyes, wondering why he hadn't been stabbed yet. To his surprise, there was someone standing between him and the attackers, taking a defensive position. Hinata had come to his rescue.

"H-hinata?" said a surprised Naruto. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I came to save you" she said, all nervousness gone from her voice as her determination to protect the person most precious to her overtook her.

A few of the mob stepped forward, growling in anger that they had hit a wall in their attempt to kill Naruto. "Go away Huyga, you had your chance to join us. Now that we found this Thing, we don't need those eyes of yours" said one of the villagers.

"I'm not here to help you. I'm here to protect the one that's most precious to me!" declared Hinata.

A few of the villagers paused for a moment, the burst into a fit of laughter. "Isn't that sweet. The Huyga princess has fallen in love with the Demon" taunted one of them.

"Love?!" said a surprised Naruto as it finally hit him.

Hinata took a deep breath. It was now or never. "Yes Naruto. I love you. I have always loved you. Ever since that day when you stood up for me in front of those bullies."

Two thugs stepped forward and drew their knives. "Pfft. Looks like we'll be doing you a favor. Anyone who thinks they could love a Demon deserves to die just like that piece of trash!" said one of the thugs. He then thought for a minute. "Do you even know why he is the piece of trash he is?"

"Yes! I know why HE IS the greatest person in this village. He has sacrificed himself all these years to keep you safe and all you've done is repaid him with neglect and hatred" responded Hinata.

"Well, then. Since you know, I have no regret killing you now if you still choose to stand with the Demon." The two thugs charged for Hinata. One of them was going to run her through while the other made a break for the Demon. Naruto was still in shock at what Hinata had just declared.

"Hinata!" shouted Naruto, not wanting to see her die to these losers. Hinata ducked underneath the first thug's blade, landing a strike with her gentle fist to the man's chest and sending a burst of chakra into his heart, damaging it to the point where he clutched his chest as his heart began to spaz into cardiac arrest. That just left the second bandit. Hinata back flipped away from the man and assumed the Eight Trigrams stance.

"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms!" she called out as all 64 strikes hit the man's tenketsu. He crumbled to the ground, unable to move. This was not the failure of a clan heir that most of these villagers knew. This Hianta that they were facing now could easily give the Huyga prodigy, Neji, a run for his money.

The mob had but one option left…an all out assault on the pair. One of the villagers led the charge as the rest followed. This was it. Not even Hianta's Protection of the Eight Trigrams could fend off nearly 100 angry villagers forever.

"Boom!" The entire village shook and the building crumbled to the ground. When the dust settled, the villagers had stopped in their tracks to see who had now arrived on scene. The first thing they saw was the mangled corpse of the lead villager, his entire back smashed in and lying in about a five-foot deep crater. The villagers froze in fear as they were now facing something more terrifying than the Kyuubi itself.

"**What the hell do you think you are doing, mindlessly attacking shinobi of this village?!" **shouted Tsunade. She was pissed. No, she was more than pissed. The amount of killing intent that she was letting off would have been enough to send the Kyuubi cowering with all nine tails tucked between his legs and she was probably holding some back to prevent most of the villagers from dropping over dead before she could get some sort of twisted explanation out of them. **"What's worse is you're actually trying to kill them!"**

"H-hokage-s-s-sama" some of the mob stuttered out, realizing they were now in deep shit. "N-nothing, w-we were just…"

"**Just cut the crap you worthless piece of trash! I know what you were trying to do!"** she shouted. One of the villagers was stupid enough to use this opportunity to sneak up behind them, hoping to stab Naruto in the back. He felt something slimy wrap itself around his neck as he tried to let out a scream. On the rooftops above the scene, a little over two dozen ANBU had arrived on scene, including Kakashi.

"Tsunade-baachan!" shouted Naruto, extremely happy to see her.

Tsunade turned towards Naruto and Hinata, who had taken a few steps back and was helping Naruto out of the trash. "Oh and happy birthday brat!" said Tsunade with a cheerful voice and facial expression. As quickly as it changed before, her mood did a complete 180 again. The villagers took a slight step forward, seeing Tsunade's slight distraction however they were stopped when she turned back to them, slamming her fist into the wall next to them and burying most of the mob in rubble. **"Now, are you going to admit to breaking the Sandaime's laws about harming Naruto or do I need to let Ibiki and Anko have their way with you?"**

"We did nothing wrong Hokage-sama" defended one of the villagers.

"Oh really?" said Jiraiya, stepping out from the shadows with that one villager caught by one of his toads. "Now surely you were up to something. After all, you don't want to end up like this guy." Jiraiya turned to the man his toad had captured. He placed two fingers on the middle of the man's forehead and made a quick hand seal. "Ninpou: Toad Transformation!" With a puff of smoke, he transformed the man into a little green toad, causing some of the villagers to scream out in horror.

"We're sorry Hokage-sama. W-we p-promise w-w-e'll behave" begged a few of the villagers. Some of the more hardened villagers kept their resolve, determined to let the Hokage know their disliking of her handling (more like pampering) of Naruto.

"**Can it! ANBU, take these traitors away!" **ordered Tsunade. **"And summon Ibiki and Anko to get whatever info out of them regarding this…lynching."**

Jiraiya walked up behind Naruto and Hinata and placed his hands on their shoulders. "Pervy Sage!" shouted Naruto. Never had he been so happy to see his perverted teacher. Kakashi jumped down in front of them.

"Naruto, are you alright?" he asked.

"I am now. Thanks to everyone. Especially you Hinata" said Naruto, causing the Huyga to blush. He wanted to ask her something regarding what she had just said moments ago, but this wasn't the place for said questions.

"You should also thank Konohamaru" said Jiraiya, pointing to the roof behind him. "He was the one that came and got us." Naruto looked up to see a smiling Konohamaru.

* * *

At the tower, Naruto was inside Tsunade's office with Hinata. Tsunade figured it was best he stay in the tower for a few days, at least until it settled down.

"Hey Hinata…about back there…what you said…did you…did you mean it?" asked Naruto, referring to Hinata's little confession to the villagers.

Hinata shot straight up and turned red. That boost of confidence that she had back there had left her after Tsunade had intervened. _"Come on Hinata, just say it. Tell him you meant it. This could be your chance to finally get him. Use the package, it will help"_ she thought to herself, trying to gather up every ounce of courage she had to confront Naruto. She took a deep breath and jumped off of the couch to grab the package she had been carrying. Surprisingly, it was unscathed. She walked over to Naruto and pulled out a box that Naruto recognized. It was a wrapped box, just like the ones he had received for the past four years from his 'mysterious' admirer. It was neatly wrapped and had the same white paper with lavender swirls that the presents from before had. Hinata was his admirer. "Yes, I meant every word and more. I do love you."

Naruto stood in awe at what had just occurred. No one had ever told him that before. I mean sure, he could tell what love was and that there were people in the village who loved him, like Iruka-sensei and the Ichirakus, but no one had ever said it directly to him before. Over the past months, he had been developing some sort of feelings for Hinata, but he had never been so sure what they were…until now. _"Is this a dream? Did one of the mob actually get to me and I'm dying? Someone pinch me, wait…don't…Ouch! What was that for you damn Fox!" _

"**Haha, you asked for it Kit, but no, you are not dreaming. Now leave me alone and go to your little vixen"** said Kurama.

"N-naruto?" said Hinata. Not seeing any reaction from Naruto, she began to worry. _"Oh no. He's not responding. Does this mean he doesn't like me? What do I…eep!" _

Before Hinata could say anything, Naruto was embracing her and crying as she blushed a light, but warm shade of red. "Hinata, thank you" he said. "You have no idea what that means. Thank you for everything!" Hinata didn't want it to end, but Naruto let go. However, it didn't stop there. Naruto took one look at Hinata and their eyes connected. _"Wow, I never realized until now, but her eyes are actually really beautiful."_

Hinata's heart just about stopped as she was realizing what was happening. She had been fanaticizing about this moment for years. _"Oh my god! Stay conscious. Don't faint. This is it"_ was going through her head. She was trying her very hardest to keep herself conscious. Naruto and Hinata began to inch closer to one another, eyes slowly closing as they prepared for their lips to embrace one another. And then it happened. Hinata's dream had just come true as she felt Naruto's lips press against hers. They were a little rough, but warm and soothing at the same time.

Naruto felt them, Hinata's lips press against hers. Warm, moist, and soft. Back in the academy, he had dreamed of getting a kiss like this from Sakura, but he could never imagine it feeling this good. And it was from Hinata. Perhaps if he hadn't been so oblivious back then.

Suddenly, the door to the office opened as they were mid kiss. "Damn, I swear, even when I'm not the target of her frustration, she still finds a reason to punch m…" said Jiraiya walking into the office. He stopped mid-sentence after seeing Naruto and Hinata scramble to get apart from one another. Hinata went completely red as the room temperature rose a few degrees from the heat she was emitting due to this embarrassment. Her world went dark…

"Ohh, and what do we have here?" asked Jiraiya, getting a perverted look on his face.

"Gah! Stop it you old pervert!" shouted Naruto, knowing that expression all too well.

Jiraiya laughed at the blonde's reaction. At least he wasn't denying anything. His tone got less perverted. "Well, well it's about time" he said.

Naruto looked down, knowing exactly what Jiraiya was referring to. Jiraiya could obviously sense some regret in the eyes of his blonde student. "Huh? Naruto, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. It's just all these years…I never noticed…I just. Why do I feel like I should have known? I feel like such a complete loser for not noticing her before" said Naruto as he began to piece the last pieces of the puzzle together that was the feelings he had for Hinata.

Jiraiya gave Naruto a warm smile. "Don't worry about it anymore. What matters is that I think the two of you will be very happy together. Just don't ruin it" said Jiraiya, as he slipped into pervert mode a little. "Now, if the two of you ever want to help provide me with material for my books…"

"BAM!" Jiraiya was sent sailing out of the office, leaving a gaping hole in the wall behind the Hokage's desk. Tsunade had walked into the room just as Naruto and Jiraiya were having their nice father-son-like chat, at least until it turned perverted. "Pervert!" shouted Tsunade. _"Hmm, that might be a new record"_ Tsunade silently congratulated herself. She turned to Naruto who was just staring in awe at the hole in the wall that his teacher had just been sent through. "Now you're not going to do anything that old pervert would do, now will you?"

"No, not me. I'm not a pervet, Tsunade-baa…Hokage-sama" said Naruto, squeaking out the more formal of the names for Tsunade.

"_Remember to punch Jiraiya around to scare Naruto into not referring to me as –baachan"_ she noted to herself. Tsunade picked up the unconscious Hinata and placed her on the couch. Tsunade took a moment to get the events of the past hour or so with the interrogation out of her head and went to her desk, pulling out a wrapped present for Naruto. "Happy birthday Naruto" she said, handing Naruto the wrapped package.

He opened up the package and a chorus of angels began to sound in his head. It was a book, but not just any book. This was 'The Ramen Passport to the Shinobi Nations', a very rare book but one that Naruto had dreamt at getting his hands on. Every ramen shop in here had a very special ramen that was only given to people with this passport and it was the objective of whoever held one of these books to eat the special dish at every ramen shop listed. Besides becoming Hokage, this was Naruto's dream. "Where did you…"

"I picked it up traveling and figured I would find a use for it eventually" explained Tsunade.

"_No, don't wake up. It was such a good dream, the two of us kissing"_ thought Hinata as she began to wake. When she opened her eyes, she realized that she was in the Hokage's office with Naruto holding a book that Tsunade had obviously given him as a present. It couldn't be. She was in the same room where her 'dream' had taken place and besides the fact that she was now on the couch, it was too real. Was it real? Did she really kiss him?

After hearing a slight sound, Naruto turned to see Hinata who was slowly sitting up. He turned to her and gave her a warm smile taking a seat next to her. Naruto gave her a quick peck on the cheek, telling her enough. It was real. It had actually happened. Her blush was no longer the nervous red that it had used to be had Naruto been so close to her before. It was now more of a faint rose-colored, but warm blush. Figuring that she might actually be able to touch him in a rather romantic sense, Hianta rested her head gently on Naruto's shoulder, causing the blonde to let out a slight blush as well and smile. They had completely forgotten that Tsunade was there until a bright flash of light snapped them out of it. Jiraiya pulled himself through the hole in the wall that he had left, with a camera in hand. The two sat up straight as Jiraiya had interrupted their moment twice now.

"This had better not become a habit, Pervy Sage" said Naruto as Jiraiya let out a slight laugh. He ensured them that it wouldn't although he might try to have a little fun now and then. This received a look from Naruto, but it was Tsunade who scared him.

"Don't worry about this old pervert" assured Tsunade.

Hinata felt as if she was forgetting, shifting her glance to the side, she found her gift sitting on the table next to her. She reached over and handed it to Naruto who looked on in excitement as he had one last present for the night, the most special one in his opinion.

He opened the wrapping to reveal another box on the inside. _"Please be alright"_ thought Hinata, hoping that the cake wasn't damaged after everything that had occurred. Naruto opened the box as a warm and sweet aroma filled the room. There it was, still in perfect shape.

"This is…" said Naruto, looking at the cake in awe. It was a simple round cake outlined with streaks of lavender and gold frosting. The decoration of the cake was rather simple in nature, but it suited the cake just perfectly. Hinata had thought to design the initial cake in the shape of Naruto's head, however after Hanabi had her fill, she only had enough ingredients left for a slightly smaller round cake. Despite the setbacks, Hinata was satisfied with her work.

For Naruto, he never had a birthday cake before. He had heard the stories of how children judged their birthdays by their presents and the cake. Naruto did what anyone would do and took a small scoop of the frosting with his finger tasting it. _"Please like it, Naruto" _thought Hinata, worrying that he might not like it.

"Oh my…" said Naruto as his eyes opened wide. He took a good look around the room.

"N-naruto, is something wrong?" asked Hinata.

"No, just making sure Twuchi isn't here to hear me say this, but this cake might just be…no it is better than any ramen I've had" admitted Naruto. This was a HUGE victory for Hinata.

* * *

Lying in a bed in the Konoha hospital, Teuchi was getting his wounds tended to. They were nothing major, although there were a few stab wounds that he needed to get cleaned and stitched. He felt a sudden cringe in his stomach.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" asked Ayame, sitting at his side.

"Nothing, I've just got this feeling. I think it's time to start experimenting around with the ramen again" he said. Ayame sighed. The last time he did this, she remembered being covered head to toe in noodles. There were even noodles in places rather not mentioned.

* * *

Jiraiya took the cake from Naruto, much to the blonde's displeasure. However, he explained that it was customary to share the cake with those close to him. With that, he grabbed Naruto, Hinata, Shizune, Tsunade, and Kakashi from within the tower and they proceeded to the hospital to go find Iruka, Konohamaru, Teuchi, and Ayame. To Naruto, these people had done something special for him on this day and it was these people he wanted to share the cake with. For the first time ever, Naruto had the Happy Birthday song sang to him. The cake was passed around and Naruto got the first piece as was tradition.

He took his first bite of the cake. It tasted wonderful. He could die right now and he wouldn't care less.

"**Hey Kit, mind letting me have a taste?"** said Kurama, laughing a bit.

Naruto sighed. It was true that Kurama had also become one of his true friends, despite everything that had happened to Naruto because of him. Naruto did his best to allow the fox a glimpse at the second piece of cake that was heading towards his mouth. As Naruto took a bite, Kurama managed to link their senses together, if only for a moment and he tasted the cake as well.

"**Damn Kit, this is something! I'm tempted to say screw that damn contract and take you over just so I can get more of that cake before the seals kill me" **said Kurama. Naruto cringed a little.

"_Note to self, never let the Kyuubi near Hinata's cooking."_

There was one other thing going through Naruto's mind. If Hinata could make a cake this good, he was wondering what she could do to a bowl of ramen.

* * *

Back in the tower, it was getting late and everyone was sitting around Tsunade's office. She had offered Naruto a room in the mansion that he could stay in for a few days while things settled down. Suddenly, a knock was heard on the door and Hiashi stepped through. He saw Hinata standing in front of him and rushed over to hug her. He had been informed by the ANBU about the events that had transpired and had been worried sick as he dragged Hanabi along behind him, who was clutching her stomach in pain for some 'unknown' reason.

Jiraiya came up next to Naruto and bent down and whispered in his ear. "Naruto, while he's here, ask Hiashi for permission to date his daughter" said the Toad Sage.

"Huh? Why would I have to do that?" asked Naruto. After everything that happened in the past few hours, Naruto had been looking to finally ask Hianta on a true date, but was a little surprised at what Jiraiya was requesting he do.

"Because, it's only proper. After all, you can't just go dating her without her father's knowing. Trust me, just ask him and everything will be fine" said Jiraiya.

Naruto gulped. There was something about this man that intimidated Naruto, not to mention that there were definitely people in the village who still despised him and he was afraid that Hiashi may have been one of them, despite allowing him to train with Hinata before the finals. "Umm…Huyga-sama…" said Naruto, trying to be as polite as possible. Hiashi turned to Naruto, wondering what it was that the boy wanted. "I would…like permission to take Hinata out on a date sometime."

Hiashi was a little taken back by this as he looked towards his sensei and down at his daughter. Hinata was also caught a little off guard by this. Naruto wanted to go out on a date with her? Nothing about this night could get any better, except if her father said yes to Naruto's request. Of course, if he said no…well…

Hiashi closed his eyes and appeared to be in deep thought. After everything that happened tonight, he was tempted to say 'no' because he feared for Hinata's safety. Not from Naruto or the beast inside him, but rather from the paranoia of the village. However, he knew that if he said 'no', this would potentially crush ALL the progress he had been making towards his daughter's development in her confidence and shinobi training. He had seen firsthand the positive effects that Naruto had on his daughter. Hiashi took a deep breath. "Alright, I will allow it."

"Huh, really?!" shouted Naruto out of excitement. Hinata couldn't believe her father if she hadn't heard him herself.

"Yes, BUT realize this" interjected Hiashi. "Hinata is the current heir to the Huyga clan and my precious daughter. If you do anything to hurt or dishonor her, not even the Hokage will be able to save you from my wrath." Hiashi got a dark look in his eyes as he glared at Naruto, activating his Byakugan. "Do we have an understanding?"

Naruto gulped. "Y-yes s-sir" he stuttered out. Hinata couldn't help herself as she embraced her father.

"Yay! Nee-san's got a boyfriend" shouted Hanabi, causing Hinata to turn red at this realization. Naruto was finally HER boyfriend. Hanabi then began singing, causing her sister to turn an even darker shade of red. "Hinata and Naruto sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N…uhg." Her stomach really started to bother her at that point as she cringed in pain and tried to keep herself from puking all over the office.

"Huh? Hanabi, is everything alright?" asked Naruto. "Oh here, try this cake, it will make you feel much better." Naruto handed Hanabi one of the two remaining slices in the box. That was the last straw for her as Hanabi couldn't take it anymore and she darted out of the office to find a toilet. "Huh?" Everyone looked on in confusion and Hiashi couldn't help but laugh. After all, what do you expect after eating an entire bowl of raw batter followed directly by one of Hiashi's strict training regimens?

"Jiraiya" said Tsunade, turning to her teammate. Everyone had left for the night and it was just the two sanin. "How could this happen? How did the Old Man let THIS manifest to this point? They simply thought they could form a mob and try to kill him. From what I've been told, this has happened every year..why was it allowed to happen?"

* * *

Jiraiya couldn't find the answer. "I don't know. From everything I've been told, Sarutobi-sensei cared deeply for Naruto. I don't even understand how this could happen" said Jiraiya, pulling something out of his bag that Tsunade needed desperately. He placed two cups on her desk and poured them full of sake that he had been carrying in a gourd inside his bag.

"I'm going to do some investigating through sensei's records, see if I can find anything" said Tsunade. "There has to be a reason why Naruto was allowed to suffer like this."

"I'll see what I can find as well, but I think it would be a good idea if Naruto was out of the village as much as possible. At least for the next few weeks" said Jiraiya.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Tsunade. "Are you planning another trip or something and want to take him?"

"I am, but that won't be happening for some time. What I'm saying is that if the opportunity comes to assign Naruto to a mission that gets him out of the village for some time, give him that mission and make sure there are people on that team that can be trusted" said Jiraiya. "Even for Naruto, it's going to take some time to rebuild any ounce of trust that he had for the villagers. It's best if we just keep him with people he know truly for right now."

* * *

**Author Notes:**

So there is the next chapter and I hope you enjoyed. As of now, Naruto and Hinata are officially a couple and I will begin to work on the next main pairing in the story (although it won't mature as fast as the NaruHina one did). Hopefully the two of them finally getting together wasn't too out of it.

Also, has been something going on with the Sandaime, especially regarding Naruto and the state of things regarding Naruto in the village. I don't mean to bash him as he was one of my favourite characters, but there is no doubt he could have done more for Naruto.

Reviews and Comments are appreciated.

Regarding the Ramen Passport, I need some ideas of these 'special' ramen dishes that Naruto will be tasting as he works on completing that passport. If you have any ideas, let me know (either in your review or as a PM).

One last thing...what ever you do...don't piss of Tsunade. It will likely be the last thing you do.


	32. Chapter 32

**Note:** To be completely honest, I prefer Jiraiya being called Ero-senin instead of the English translation (Pervy Sage). From now on, I will be referring to Jiriaya as Ero-senin instead of Pervy Sage. Hopefully this does not cause too much confusion.

**Important:** I have been putting some thought into this and I'm just announcing that I will be working on revising the first couple chapters or so. I do believe the first 7-8 chapters of this story to be the weakest part and I would like to rewrite them to be more original. I will still be having the following outcomes happen: Naruto meets the Kyuubi, Sasuke unlocks his Sharingan, and the entire ordeal with Zabuza and Haku. I hope to rewrite these chapters to be more interesting and better written to strengthen that portion of this story.

* * *

**Chapter 32: Troublesome Times**

It had happened so slow and then all of the sudden so fast. Naruto laid in bed, in the Hokage mansion, reflecting on the events of the previous day. Despite nearly being killed by a mob of about 100 angry villagers who had finally snapped, it was without doubt the best birthday he had ever had. It was on that day that he learned that there were people who truly cared for him: Tsunade-baachan, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei, Konohamaru, Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku, and Hinata. Thinking on that last name sent a few tingles through his stomach as he recalled what Hinata had said to him yesterday. All this time, she had known. She had known the reason why the village hated and shunned him, yet she had felt the complete opposite of what most of the village had felt about him. She loved him and she shamelessly admitted her love to him while defending him from the pack of ravenous villagers. No one had ever said that to him before.

Ever since the chunin exams, Naruto had been developing something for the young Huyga. At first, he thought it was just the two of them becoming good friends. Until last night, that's all he ever thought those feelings were. It was last night that he realized as well that the way he felt for her had changed over time as well, with most of that change occurring during the time they spent together while tracking down Tsunade. He had gotten a chance to actually get to know her better and realized that there were many things that he liked about her, from her desire to get stronger to her desire to protect those precious to her. These were a few qualities of her personality that Naruto held the highest. And then last night, it finally hit him…after all the teasing by Ero-Senin and all the pushing by Kurama referring to Hinata as his 'vixen', it dawned on him that she saw him as more than a friend and wanted them to be more than just friends. The only things that had stopped this from happening were her shyness, causing her to never come forward, and his own thick-headedness, for not noticing the hints she was giving off sooner.

Back in the academy, he had imagined that it would have always been Sakura who he would end up with. However, since their time together on Team 7, Naruto was beginning to notice that Sakura wasn't exactly the person he was looking for. Sure he figured they would still be great friends, but he had this feeling that their relation was heading a different direction. It was almost as if he had been looking towards her as more of a sister. Besides, she was still all gaga over Sasuke. But now, he had Hinata. And she had actually cared about him for years. It had all happened so fast, yet slowly at the same time, that he couldn't help feeling like a complete loser for not noticing sooner.

Continuing with his reflection on the previous day, there was one other thing that was on his mind. He reached over to the table next to him and grabbed the blue book that Tsunade had given him as a present for his birthday. It was about the same size as the books that Kakshi had always read, yet this one wasn't filled with perverted smut. No…this book was filled with the most wonderful thing in the world…a guide to the very best ramen shops in all the Shinobi Nations. Naruto flipped through the book, looking at all the places he would be getting the 'special' bowls of ramen from. In total, there were 50 different ramen shops located throughout all the nations, both great and minor, that were featured in that passport. 7 of them were located in the Land of Fire, including his home town favourite Ichiraku. He was wondering what heavenly dish Teuchi had concocted that had made its way into this passport. Now, there was a decision that was tearing him apart: Should he go to Ichiraku's first, or should he save the best for last?

* * *

"Beep, beep, beep" went Shikamaru's alarm as he struggled to even motivate himself to turn off the alarm. However, even he knew if he didn't turn it off, it would just keep ringing. What a drag. Asuma-sensei had called an emergency team meeting that morning. So much for his plans of sleeping in on his day off.

He met up with the rest of his team at training ground 16, the official training ground of Team 10. Ino and Chouji were already there, looking impatiently at their lazy teammate. The two of them were sitting on top of training stumps as Asuma motioned for him to take a seat next to him.

"So you mind telling us what this is all about?" asked Shikamaru. "I want to go back to bed."

Asuma sighed at the enthusiasm displayed by the sole chunin of Team 10. "Last night, an incident occurred" he explained. "This incident involving two of your former classmates and also your former sensei."

"Wait, does that mean Iruka-sense?" asked Ino. Asuma nodded. "But who were our classmates?"

"It was Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Huyga" said Asuma. No one was surprised Naruto's name had come up, but Hinata…well that was surprising. "Last night, the three of them were attacked and nearly killed by a drunken mob of civilians. The reasons behind this are still unknown, but we believe that it was due to a significant amount of alcohol and potential drugs in their system. Tsunade-sama and the medical teams are looking into it, but those have been the findings of the preliminary results."

"What?!" exclaimed Chouji. "Are they alright?"

"Naruto and Hinata are fine, just a little shaken. Iruka is in the hospital, but he had nothing more than a few minor knife wounds and a broken arm. " explained Asuma. He took a look around to his team. They appeared to be buying the cover to the real reason why Naruto was attacked. Unfortunately, this got Shikamaru thinking. Why would a mob of drunken villagers attack Naruto. Sure he could be annoying at times, but there really was no reason to. So why did the mob attack Naruto? Shikamaru would have to look further into this, but figured it would be to troublesome.

Around the teams of the Rookie 9 and Team Gai, everyone was informed of the incident that had taken place last night. The only ones who had gotten the truth was Team 7 because they already knew about the Kyuubi, and Hinata because she was directly involved in it. Everyone else, received the same version to the story that Team 10 had gotten.

Over the course of the day, Naruto had been approached by most of his friends from said teams, all wanting to see if he was alright. Sure, they looked upon Naruto as annoying and loud at times, but each and everyone had a reason why the blonde trouble maker had begun to grow on them. No one could quite understand the reason why he was attacked, but they figured they would try to comfort him at least.

* * *

Team 7 had met at their training ground after Naruto had managed to sneak away from the mansion where he had been cooped up in for the past few days. It was now two days after his birthday and this was the first time he had ventured outside the tower. Over the past few days, he had received visits from Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Kiba, Shino, Haku, Sasuke, Sakura, Hianta, and a few other ninja in the village who had begun to respect the blonde. If anything, the fact that he did in fact have friends looking out for him meant a lot.

*Flashback*

He was even approached by Neji, who shocked him by apologizing for all the stuff he had done in the past to Hinata and him and that he wanted to start from the beginning to become a better person. Neji acknowledged the fact that perhaps Naruto could become Hokage, but only if he worked hard at it, which Naruto only reassured him that he would. After some talking, Naruto realized that Neji was sincere in his apologies and his new intentions and as such decided to give Neji another chance in his books. This didn't mean they were best of friends, but it was at least something to start with and gave the two a sense of new found respect towards one another. However, Naruto relived his conversation with Hiashi when Neji promised the same thing…hurt or dishonour Hinata and Naruto would be dead in an instant.

*End Flashback*

Getting back to the meeting at hand, the first order of business was to ensure that Sasuke had his summoning under control. Out of ten attempts summoning, Tora was thankfully not amongst the ten cats summoned. Kakshi deemed it safe for Sasuke to use his jutsu in combat as he showed decent control over the cat that he wanted to summon. As it stood, the most powerful feline that Sasuke could summon at the moment was a lion by the name of Riko.

It was also during this meeting that Sakura and Sasuke admitted to Naruto that they had no idea that two days ago was his birthday. They had not known until Kakashi had told them yesterday. Regardless, the two chipped in their money to get Naruto a late present and it was the only thing they could think of in the short notice…a gift card to Ichiraku. This was not like the card that Hinata had given him years ago, but it had enough on it for a week's worth of ramen, or at least a meal's worth for the amount Naruto ate.

They had managed to ask Naruto if he had gotten anything else and Naruto pulled out the two books he had gotten, the jutsu scroll Jiraiya had given him and the two knives as well. Kakshi saw the knives and felt something tear at his heart. He reached back into his kunai pouch and felt around for the tri-pronged knife that his sensei had given him as a present for making jonin. He found it, but didn't take it out, not wanting to reveal anything yet. The knives that Naruto had were exactly like the ones the Yondaime had used, with the exception that there were no Hirashin seals on it. Naruto showed his team what was so special about the knives as he tried to channel some wind chakra into the blades. They reacted well to the chakra and a blade of wind, roughly a foot in length erupted from the knives. It wasn't a fine blade as his wind chakra wasn't fully refined, but it was fine enough to serve its purpose.

"Oh, and Ero-Senin gave me this as well" said Naruto, pulling out a jutsu scroll. Kakashi was really wishing Naruto hadn't done that.

"So sensei, now that I have the cat summoning down, what's the next jutsu you're going to teach me?" asked Sasuke.

"Yeah, come on sensei…what jutsus do you have for us?" said Sakura, butting in.

"What are you going to teach me, Kakashi-sensei? Is it time to learn Chidori?" asked Naruto, still not giving up on the Chidori.

"Enough!" shouted Kakahi, using Iruka's Big-Head Jutsu. He couldn't take much more of his teams constant nagging. This was one reason they didn't teach genin that many jutsu, let alone nature manipulation. If they did, then all the genin would be going head-over-heels like his were asking for jutsu after jutsu. Sasuke was understandable, coming from the Uchiha clan where the fire nature manipulation was taught to them at a young age, but Naruto…why did he have to let Naruto go on a training trip with Jiraiya. Because of that, it only made Sasuke and Naruto determined to one-up the other by learning a new jutsu. Not to mention, Sakura was starting to get a little antsy as well.

Kakahsi sighed, giving in to them. He turned to Sakura as she would be the more reasonable of the three. "All right, come back after lunch and I'll have something for you and Sasuke" said Kakashi.

"Hey! What about me?!" shouted Naruto.

"Naruto…" said Kakashi, smiling and pointing at the scroll in Naruto's hand. "You already have one."

Naruto looked at the scroll in his hand and just laughed a little.

* * *

Naruto proceeded towards the next training ground over, which was training ground 8 and the resident training ground of Team 8. The same team that Hianta was on. Arriving over at the training ground, he noticed that Team 8 was just finishing up their morning workout. He hid in the trees, figuring that he would just wait for them to finish up. After about 15 minutes of waiting, Kurenai called an end to her team's session.

"Hey Hinata, Shino and I are going to grab some lunch, you want to come?" asked Kiba.

"No…I'm fine" responded Hinata.

"All right, well then see you later" said Kiba hesitantly as he turned around and walked away. However, a glance was sent towards the tree that Naruto had been hiding out in. He wasn't the only one who noticed another presence in the tree. Team 10 wasn't a tracking team for nothing. Shino probably knew, but he didn't really say anything. Before taking off, Kurenai turned towards Hinata and just gave her a gentle smile. Now Hinata also turned towards the tree that Naruto had been hiding out in.

"Eep!" Naruto had jumped out of the tree, landing right in front of Hinata, startling her a little. "N-naruto? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Well, I was just wondering…well" said Naruto, finding it hard just to say a few simple words. Why was it this hard? He had asked Sakura out many times and there had always been the near guarantee of rejection, but with Hinata it was a bit harder. "Do you want to get some lunch?"

"Y-you mean l-like a date?" she said, still unsure if everything that had happened between the two of them in the past few days had been a dream or not.

"No, not LIKE a date. A date" said Naruto, causing Hinata to blush a little. "I mean, I didn't ask your father if we could date for nothing."

"S-sure, I would like that" Hinata said, letting out little smile. Now the only question was where to go. Jiraiya had told Naruto not to take Hinata to Ichiraku that much. Even though it was his favourite place, it most likely wasn't hers. But this date of theirs wasn't anything special. It was just the two of them having lunch together. He then remembered that Hinata had a rather large sweet tooth and they headed towards the dango shop, located near the middle of town.

Walking through town, Naruto still received some stares from the village that had unnerved Hinata at first, although she saw how he just simply shrugged them off and quickly went from following behind to walking along side him. However, she still held her hands in front of her like she normally did. _"Why am I still so shy around him? I told him everything the other day and he seems to like me as well. Why can't I just open up a little more around him?"_ Hinata thought to herself. As such, she took it upon herself to drop her hands from where they were in front of her, to her sides. Suddenly, she felt something brush up against the side of her hand and instantly went red, realizing it was Naruto's hand.

Naruto felt the same thing as well. Realizing that her hand was right next to his, he decided to try something out that he would see a lot between couples. He reached out with his hand and grabbed her hand, causing Hinata to suddenly tense up, but she relaxed and her bright-red blush turned to that warmer rose-coloured blush from a few days ago.

The two enjoyed their lunch together. Naruto didn't even mind that it wasn't ramen that he was eating, besides he would stop by Ichiraku's later for dinner. At least everything was going fine until Naruto felt a chill run down his spine.

"Well well well, if it isn't the brat from the chunin exams" said a woman with purple hair, mesh shirt, and a long trench coat. She then turned her attention to the girl sitting next to Naruto, getting a grin on her face that spelt trouble. She plopped herself down opposite from them, even stealing a stick of their dango from in front of them.

"Hey! What was that for?! That wasn't yours!" objected Naruto. Anko just smiled as she engulfed the stick of dango.

"Oh relax you. Besides it's not every day that I see a new couple come in here. The two of you are dating, right?" she asked as she began her interrogation.

Both of them stiffened as Anko sent them a devious look that most of the villagers and other shinobi knew to stay away from. "Umm…well, yeah. W-we k-kind of are" replied Naruto, obviously intimidated by Anko. _"Everything was going just fine, why did the creepy lady from the exams have to show?"_

Anko's attention turned to Hinata. While arguing with Naruto would have been entertaining, she always enjoyed messing with a Huyga. It was almost like a hobby of hers and she was practically considered a plague around the Huyga compound. "So err…Hinata is it? Seems you have yourself a boyfriend now. Now tell me, why do you still wear that bulky jacket? Surely there has to be something underneath it that made this kid notice you." Hinata tensed up even more, as she desperately looked for a way out.

"Hey! Can't you see you're making her uncomfortable?!" shouted Naruto, trying to get Anko to stop.

"Oh, and what are you going to do about it hmm?" she replied. "If she's not going to say anything, maybe you will. So come on, tell me. What is she hiding underneath that bulky jacket of hers? What is she like?" Naruto could see Hinata turning even redder. It was only a matter of moments before it looked like she would explode from embarrassment. Naruto knew what she was talking about, having spent too much time around Ero-Senin already.

"_Are all adults perverted?"_ he thought.

"Hmm, so are you going to say something? Come on, so what have the two of you done so far, you can tell me" Anko said, pushing her way closer to Naruto as he was forced to retreat back towards the wall. "Have you two kissed?" she asked. Seeing Hinata go even redder and Naruto tense up as well, she got her answer. "Oh, and how was it? Now tell me, did anything happen after that, like well…" That was it, Hinata was out as she fell into unconsciousness. Seeing this, Naruto knew he had to get away.

"Gah! Get away from me you creepy lady!" he shouted as he picked up Hinata and raced out of the shop.

"That actually went pretty well" she laughed as she claimed her prize, the plate of dango that the two had left on the table. _"I'm going to have to mess with them some more. I've got a feeling they will be fun."_

"Impressive, I didn't know the brat could be scared off like that" said a man stepping behind her.

Anko let out a little laugh. "You just gotta know how far to push them. Now that I know, things are going to get interesting" said Anko. "So tell me, how did a kid like that convince Zabuza Momoichi, the Demon in the Hidden Mist to join Konoha?"

* * *

Naruto was running as fast as he could, wanting to get away from that crazy lady, Anko. He had an unconscious Hinata on his back. Turning a corner, he ran into something nearly as bad as Anko…Neji. What made things even worse was that Naruto couldn't stop in time and crashed into Neji, sending Neji flying back and Naruto crashing to the ground. Hinata went crashing down as well, but fortunately for her she had a soft Naruto to break her fall.

"Naruto…What's the meaning of this?" said Neji, activating his Byakugan and getting ready to beat Naruto should he answer wrong. "It's only been two days, now what have you done to Hinata-sama."

"N-neji…nothing. We were just trying to get away from the crazy purple haired lady from the chunin exams" explained Naruto.

"Crazy purple haired lady…hmmm, Anko" said Neji, scanning around to make sure Anko wasn't around. When he saw that she wasn't he deactivated his dojutsu. It was at this moment that Hinata began to wake.

"N-naruto?" she said, still lying on his back. Picking her head up, she saw her cousin. "Neji-niisan?"

"Hinata-sama, I came to find you. Your father is requesting you at home for training" informed Neji. "And shouldn't you be training as well, Naruto?"

"Well, Kakashi-sensei sort of gave us a break, and knowing him, he won't show back up at the training grounds for at least another 2 hours" explained Naruto. Hinata got up, allowing Naruto to get up as well as the two were facing each other.

"I'm sorry this little date of ours didn't go as well as I had hoped" apologized Naruto.

"N-no, it's fine. I'm just glad I got to spend some time with you" replied Hinata.

"Well, I guess I'll have to take you on a more proper date then just a lunch date" said Naruto, giving her his typical big grin. Hinata perked up at this, realizing that there was more dating ahead for the two of them. Now she wasn't wishing Kurenai had informed them of an upcoming mission…and a rather long one for that matter.

"I would like that, m-maybe when I get back from the mission we are leaving on tomorrow" said Hinata.

"Okay, how long do you think it will be?"

"Umm…Kurenai-sensei said it will be a few weeks" Hinata said, trailing off on that last part.

"What?! A few weeks?!" said a now slightly depressed Naruto. "Oh well, at least that will give me time to plan."

"Ribbit." Hinata and Naruto looked down to see a small toad that looked just like the one that Jiraiya had turned that villager from the other night into. In its mouth, it was holding two pieces of paper. Naruto pulled out the paper and the toad disappeared in a puff of smoke. These papers were obviously from Ero-Senin.

Taking a short look at the papers, a tear came to Naruto's eye as he handed one to Hinata. They were the picture that Jiraiya had taken of the two snuggling against one another on the couch in Tsunade's office. For Hinata, this had to be a dream, one that she was determined not to wake up from.

Caught up in the moments, no one realized that they were being watched by more than one party.

"Why that little…who does he think he is? He can't just go around like that with Hinata" along with a deep growl came from the bush where the first party was hiding out.

"Oh my, are those two really dating?" came from the roof top where the second party was hiding out. "Although, now that I think of it, they really do look cute together. I wonder if Sasuke and I will ever be like that...What am I thinking? Of course we will. Not even Billboard-Brow will be able to stop true love!"

* * *

Tsuande was shifting through papers on her desk. The mission loads were piling up and Konoha was kind of short on staff, not have fully recovering from Orochimaru's little invasion. Unfortunately, for the next few months at least, teams assigned to missions would most likely consist of mixed groups. Also, some considerations would have to be taken into account when forming teams for certain missions. For D-ranked missions, only genin would be assigned them. C-ranks would be comprised of genin with a chunin or two as well. B-ranks would have chunin and maybe a jonin. A normal team of a jonin and genin may be assigned to a B rank should the situation be appropriate. A- and S-rank missions would be for jonin and ANBU only. If fact, she was even considering adding a few of the more menial D-rank missions as community service to the academy curriculum. This would allow the village to maximize in profit for these missions while giving the students a chance to build upon teamwork while still in the academy.

She picked up a C-rank mission scroll, detailing a joint mission between Konoha and Suna. Ever since Suna sought to reconcile for its actions, joint missions like this were suggested to help strengthen the hopefully growing bond between the two villages. There was a village located in the River country, about half way from the borders to the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind that had been suffering from numerous bandit attacks and kidnappings over the past few weeks. The reason this mission was classified C-rank was because the only believed threat was a few bandits with the strongest of them having skills equal to a low-rank genin at most. Also, from the looks of the description, this mission would last at least a few weeks, giving her a solution to one problem.

"Shizune, summon Shikamaru Nara, Naruto, and Neji Huyga" ordered Tsunade. After the previous night, she would have rather summoned Hinata, but her team had been assigned B rank and would be leaving tomorrow. Normally, such a young team wouldn't be given a B-rank mission, however this was a tracking mission and Team 8 was one of the best tracking teams that had come along in years. Besides, for the given mission that she was sending Naruto on, Neji would be just fine and a Huyga on investigative missions like this was also strongly desired.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Reviews and Comments are greatly appreciated. **


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters

* * *

**Chapter 33: Joint Mission**

It was getting late in the afternoon and Naruto was making his way to the normal spot for dinner, Ichiraku. Unfortunately for him, tonight's date with ramen wasn't destined to happen as he was approached by Shikamaru and Neji in the middle of the street.

"Naruto, the Hokage has summoned us" explained Neji. Naruto's stomach protested violently as he followed along. The ramen would have to wait.

The three of them stood in front of Tsunade's desk, waiting for her to tell them why they were there. "Come on Tsunade-baachan, what sort of mission do you have for us now?" asked Naruto. A vein nearly popped in Tsunade's temple. She could handle the –baachan comment in a more private scenario, but with other ninja present…it just wasn't appropriate.

Tsunade took a deep breath calming herself before addressing the team standing in front of her. "Since the invasion by the Sound and the Sand, there have been efforts to re-forge the ties that have been broken between Konoha and Suna. We are beginning an initiative to perform joint missions where each village sends a team and the two teams work together to accomplish the same goal. However, these missions will only involve affairs that are not directly related to the security of the other village. The mission I am assigning to the three of you is one of the joint missions. The three of you are to rendezvous with the Suna team in the village of Takanabi on the morning of October 16, three days from now. Your teams will then proceed to the village of Ojikana where recent bandit activity has taken a serious increase. Your mission will be to determine the problems caused by these bandits and once that is done, eliminate them."

"What kind of bandits are we talking about?" asked Shikamaru, wanting to gather as much necessary information as possible.

"From the reports we received, these bandits have little to no shinobi training, with the strongest being no more than low-genin in skill. A team consisting of a chunin and two higher-skilled genin should have no problems here, not to mention you will be receiving support from Suna."

"Tsuande-baachan, who is Suna sending anyways?" asked Naruto. Once again, Tsunade cringed slightly at the –baachan part.

"I do not know exactly for sure, but they will only send a three-man team, with no one above the rank of chunin" explained Tsunade. "Now, before you are dismissed, this is an important mission in terms of the impact it could have on the relations between our two villages. I expect nothing less than your best and full cooperation with the Suna team. Shikamaru, you are assigned as team leader."

"Don't worry Baachan, you can count on us." Tsunade was getting pretty close to the breaking point, sending a slight death glare towards Naruto.

"Dismissed. Now get this brat out of my office before he says the word 'Baachan' again!" barked Tsuande as Neji dragged Naruto out by the collar of his jacket.

* * *

Now, Kakashi had been late before but this was just getting plain ridiculous. It was around 1:00 in the afternoon when they were given a break for lunch, which would last until 2:00. For Team 7, this would mean that Kakashi wouldn't show up until 3:00 or even 4:00. However, it was nearly 7:00 in the evening and Sasuke and Sakura had been waiting for hours for Kakashi to show up with the new jutsus he promised. Finally, they gave up and went back into town, figuring that sitting around wasn't getting them anywhere. It was getting dark as well and Sakura knew her parents would be wondering where she was, considering today wasn't a mission day for her.

"Hey guys, so what sort of jutsu did Kakshi-sensei give you?" asked Naruto, who ran into them on the way to finally get his ramen. Sakura and Sasuke gave Naruto a good long stare.

"And where have you been this afternoon? Picking up some of Kakashi-sensei's habits already?" asked Sakura. Naruto looked at her with a confused expression on his face.

"Well, Baachan kind of gave me a mission and I just got back from the equipment store" explained Naruto.

"Wait…you have a mission? With who?" asked Sasuke. He was now wondering why Naruto had gotten a mission by the rest of them hadn't.

"Err…yeah. It's me, Shikamaru, and Neji. We leave tomorrow for a town known as Takanabi town in the Land of Rivers. I don't know, sounds like there has been a lot of bandit activity there or something" explained Naruto. Sasuke simply nodded, now hoping he would get a mission as well, hoping it would give him a chance to test out some of the improvements he made to his taijutsu after the training with his own shadow clones. "Hmm…Takanabi town, I've heard that name before and just recently…"

Naruto suddenly realized what it was that he was talking about and reached into his back pouch, pulling out the dark blue book that was his Ramen Passport. He flipped to a page and there it was, Takanabi Ramen, one of the fifty ramen shops that had some sort of special ramen dishes. He was really looking forward to this mission now, considering that Takanabi town was less than a two day journey (for ninja anyways, which he happened to be one) and he would easily be able to stop there the night before they were supposed to meet with the Suna team. Upon hearing their teammate's cheers, Sakura and Sasuke nearly faulted and a familiar laugh was heard from behind them.

"Haku!" Naruto and Sakura shouted in unison. This was the first time in over a month that they had seen their fourth teammate. From the stories they head, he and Zabuza had been away on a mission during that time. Despite being assigned to Team 7 and Zabuza made a chunin of the village (hopefully a jonin with the upcoming jonin exams in a few months) the village had quickly acknowledged the bond between the two former rouge-ninjas.

"It's a good thing I found you so soon. Tsunade wanted us to report to her in the morning for a mission" explained Haku. By them, he meant himself, Sakura, and Sasuke. Naruto had already been given a mission. Unfortunately, this meant that they would have to wait on getting their new jutsu from Kakashi.

For Haku, Sakura, and Sasuke, their mission was to travel to a gold mine, just on the northern border of the Land of Fire and to guard a shipment of gold ore as the caravan travelled from the mine to the refinement facility, about a two days journey away. As it stood, most of Naruto's friends, including himself, now had their own set of C-rank missions that they were expected to handle without the help of their senseis. Team 8 had actually been assigned a B-rank, although they were accompanied by their jonin sensei, and Naruto was hoping Hinata would be alright.

Seeing as this was their first time together in a few weeks, the four members of Team 7 went to the Barbe-Q restaurant that Haku had really taken a liking to. It was beginning to seem like he would eat there almost as much as Chouji, although the quantity of food was nowhere near Chouji level.

* * *

Shikamaru, Neji, and Naruto set out late in the morning, after the two genin on the team were forced to drag Shikamaru out of bed. Unlike Naruto, who had to deal with this type of behavior from Kakashi, Neji was not used to a late member of his team. As a Huyga, he had been taught that punctuality was an important virtue to have. Also, he was used to Gai-sensei having more energy than Naruto at times, if that was even possible. However, it wasn't until Shikamaru's mother came and dragged him out of the house that they were finally able to be on their way, earning a few snickers from Naruto and possibly a smile from Neji.

The first day's journey was rather uneventful with the group stopping to set up camp just before dark. Being Shikamaru, he decided to turn in early so that he could manage to get plenty of sleep, leaving Neji and Naruto to man the camp. Neji decided now was the time to discuss a few things with Naruto. "Naruto, I want to say that I am glad that you and Hinata-sama are together" he said, initially catching Naruto's attention. "However, I have to warn you to be careful."

"Huh? Oh, don't worry. I won't do anything dishonorable, if that's what you mean" replied Naruto.

"I wish that was it. I wish the only thing the two of you had to worry about was my uncle, but sadly that is not the case" replied Neji.

"What are you talking about?"

"While I don't know why, you have never been looked highly upon in my clan. It's surprising that my uncle even allowed you to train with Hinata in the first place. However, there are those in the main branch, particularly the elder that would strongly…oppose any sort of relationship you have with Hinata-sama" explained Neji. Naruto knew why the elders didn't like him. It was the same reason most of the villagers didn't like him…the Kyuubi. "My uncle is doing his best to keep the elders at bay, otherwise they would have had their way with Hinata-sama years ago."

"W-what do you mean by their way?" Naruto asked, picking up on the ominous tone in Neji's voice. Neji looked down and untied the headband on his head, revealing his curse mark. "You don't mean…"

"Yes. For years, the elders have felt that she was unworthy and wanted to just brand her into a branch house immediately. However, the fact that Hinata is the oldest and the current heir is mainly what had prevented them. They have been trying to convince my uncle to name her sister, Hanabi, as the heir, but Hiashi-sama has yet to actually choose the heir. And in reality, he doesn't need to make the decision until Hinata turns 16."

"So why doesn't he just name Hinata the hier and stick it to the elder's face?" asked Naruto, growing slightly more irritated.

"Because…if Hinata becomes is officially named the clan heir, then Hanabi-sama gets branded" said Neji, causing Naruto to tense up.

"If it's really that bad, then I'm determined more than ever to change your clan when I become Hokage. Dattebayo!" exclaimed Naruto.

Neji just shook his head. "By the time you become Hokage, it will be too late for one of them. By then, either Hinata or Hanabi will have been branded. Besides, my uncle is already looking into a few ways to change the clan already. He has always been against the clan in terms of some of its ancient traditions, and just recently, he has begun opposing the practice of the branding. However, he holds little power in the clan over the sealing of branch members. The only people he has control over are Hinata and Hanabi, and he can only choose one to not be branded."

"In other words, he's buying for time" said Shikamaru, coming out of the tent. Apparently, Naruto's yelling had woke him up.

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto. Neji on the other hand, nodded with Shikamaru's deduction.

"He has until Hinata turns 16 to make the final decision on who will be the clan heir. Shikamaru is correct, he's trying to buy as much time as possible" said Neji. Naruto still didn't fully understand and asked Neji why. Neji pointed at his seal. "As of now, this seal is impossible to remove. It is so engrained into our brain that even the slightest modification to the seal could leave us permanently disabled or dead."

"What?!" said Naruto, a little in shock. He wasn't fully aware on what Neji was talking about, however he had overheard a little on the complexity of the brain from Tsunade when she was waking Sasuke and Kakashi. Hearing that only resulted in him having a headache. However, he knew at least that the brain was incredibly complex and something on this magnitude couldn't be good.

"As of now, the only way to remove the seal, is through death. I have already told you that" said Neji. Naruto thought back to his fight against Neji, back when Neji was still a prick with a stick shoved up his ass. "However, there is hope." This was something Naruto had never thought he would hear Neji talk about, although it was strangely comforting. "Before I say anything, please promise me not to tell anyone. The only others who know about this are my uncle and your teacher, Jiraiya-sama."

"Wait, what does Ero-sennin have to do with this?" asked Naruto.

"Jiraiya-sama was my uncle's teacher and he is the greatest seal master known in the shinobi nations. Before you and Hinata-sama left to find Tsunade-sama, my uncle gave Jiraiya the sealing formula for the Caged-bird seal and asked him to find a way to remove it without harming the bearer. I have hope that one day he will succeed and the clan will truly change. If you want to help change my clan, then help your master find a way to remove the seal. Once that factor is out of the question, then real change can begin."

"But wait…if you remove the seal, what would stop them from putting the seal on you again?" asked Naruto.

Neji thought for a moment. "There exists an ancient law in the clan that states that the heads of the clan are to be the strongest shinobi in the clan. This led to the implementation of the clan challenge, where any member of the clan could challenge one of the heads, either clan head or elder, for their position. While the elders and my uncle are considered the strongest in the clan, the main reason they have not been challenged is because of the seal."

"What does the seal have to do with this clan challenge thing?" asked Naruto.

"The last time the challenge was issued was about 8 years ago. I was only five, but I remember that horrific event all too well" said Neji, preparing to tell his story. "The challenger was a member of the branch family by the name of Rajo. He was tired of the servitude forced upon the branch families by the main branch. One afternoon, about two days after his first child was born, he approached the elders, asking for them to not to seal his newly born son, at least not until he was older. The seal has been known to cause complications if placed on a person less than three years in age. The elders simply laughed at his request and his son was branded the following evening. About a month later, the child died from complications most likely due to the seal."

Naruto was at a loss for words; even Shikamaru was listening and was stunned as well. Neji continued. "The day following his son's death, Rajo issued a challenge to Moriko, one of the elders of the clan. If he could win, then he would be able to take Moriko's position as an elder of the clan, making his family now part of the main branch and the fear of being sealed would be ended."

"But wait, you said the seal couldn't be removed, wouldn't Rajo still have the seal if he had won?" asked Shikamaru. "Wouldn't that make it easy to manipulate him?"

"Yes, but there are specific rules that the clan had set up with the village in this case. Basically, it was against the law and punishable by death if a main family member ever used the seal against another main family member" said Neji. "All Rajo would have to do is go to the Hokage. If by chance he were killed before he was able to inform the Hokage, a very thorough investigation would have been conducted and the ones responsible would have been caught. However, Rajo did not win. The challenge was set for one week from the issue of the challenge, giving the two time to prepare. The day that the challenge was to be held, Rajo and Moriko met in the arena set up by the clan. The rules were simple: Fight until one either dies or gives up. Their fight began and Rajo started off, showing even more determination than you did on the day we fought, Naruto. He quickly gained the upper hand, easily overpowering Moriko. Many of the branch members were on their feet, believing that the day would finally come that the oppressiveness of the main branch would come to an end with Rajo as one of the elders. However, before he could deliver the finishing blow, Moriko made THE hand seal and activated Rajo's seal. After a few minutes of screaming in unbearable pain, Rajo dropped to the ground…dead. No one has issued a challenge since then, afraid that the seal would be used against them and they would lose, no matter what."

Silence was heard throughout the camp. No one speaking a word as Neji's tale came to an end. Inside his head, Naruto could feel his inner demon's rage boiling over. To win a battle such as that using cheap tactics like that, was just plain sickening. Even amongst demons, there was honor. In the situation Moriko was in, if he was a demon, he would either concede and flee or allow himself to be killed…not activate some disgusting seal. He was already plotting the Huyga man's demise should Naruto ever give him the slightest chance to.

Shikamaru was thinking. "I see. So if that seal can be removed, you or another branch member can challenge for the position of clan elder in the main branch and not have to worry."

"Yes, that is correct. My uncle is aware of this as well, and it is part of his plan to loosen the elder's grips on the dealings of the clan" said Neji. Naruto looked at Neji with some slight confusion still. "You need not worry, but just know that it was because of the elders and their policies that my clan is in the state it's in."

Naruto got that determined look in his eye. "Well, if that's the case then, I'll find a way to get rid of that seal and then you can show those damn elders whose boss. After that, we'll be able to change the clan for the better. Dattebayo!"

Neji smiled. "Thank you, Naruto."

* * *

Nothing more was said that night and the three turned in, continuing on their way in the morning. They were less than a day from Takanabi town and they would be most likely arrive just in time for dinner. Naruto already knew where he was going…Takanabi ramen. Before leaving, he had triple checked that he had the passport on him and he was finally going to taste one of those special dishes. The night before they left, Naruto had made up his mind and informed Teuchi of his decision to save Ichiraku for last as it was customary that the passport was put on display at the ramen shop where it was completed.

As soon as they reached town, a faint aroma of ramen hit Naruto's nose and he darted off towards the location of the stand, leaving Neji and Shikamaru behind. Naruto arrived at the shop. It was about three times larger than Ichiraku's and it was packed. Thankfully, Naruto found a seat next to a brown haired man, probably in his mid twenties, at the ramen bar.

"I'll be with you in one minute, kid" said the chef as he places a bowl in front of the man that he had just sat next to. Taking a look at the man, Naruto made out the grass headband. Naruto's attention was then directed towards the bowl of ramen placed in front of the man. Naruto could make out what looked like white truffels and some other mushrooms in the ramen. However, after taking a whif of the aroma from that one particular bowl, Naruto was practically mesmerized by it.

"Hey mister" said Naruto, tugging gently at the man.

"Huh? Hey what do you want? Can't you see I'm trying to enjoy my ramen?" asked the man.

"Yeah, but uhh…I just wanted to know what was in there?" said Naruto.

"I could tell you, but it doesn't mean you will be getting any" said the man.

"Huh? Why's that?" said Naruto.

"Because…you need one of these" said the man, holding up a blue book that Naruto instantly recognized. So that was the special dish of this stand.

"Oh, you mean this?" said Naruto, pulling out his own passport, nearly causing the man to choke on his own ramen as the shop owner just laughed.

"Well I'll be. Two in one night. Normally it's rare to see two every couple months, but two in one night…so I guess you're here for the Matsutake Truffle Ramen" said the head chef.

"Is that you're special dish?" asked Naruto.

"It is. The same this gentleman next to you is enjoying." The man sitting next to him had gotten over the initial shock of seeing Naruto's passport and had begun indulging himself. Just looking at him, you would think the man had just found heaven. He was in pure bliss as he slurped down the ramen. "The climate around here is rather moist and mushrooms are common sights in the forest. These white truffles and the matsutake mushroom; however, are the rarest and most delicious. The dish I'm preparing for you contains both of them, along with some other mushrooms and spices to enhance the flavors."

"Geez Naruto, only you would go running off towards a ramen shop" said Shikamaru as he and Neji tracked down their estranged teammate. Shikamaru was going to complain more, but it would have been too much…not to mention his stomach had also begun to protest and the two remaining Leaf ninja quickly found themselves sitting next to Naruto as they ordered a bowl of ramen as well.

The time finally came when the chef set the bowl in front of Naruto. Before doing so, he checked the legitimacy of Naruto's passport, finding it to be real and in Naruto's name. The bowl was placed in front of Naruto's face and his first instincts were to inhale the entire contents of the bowl; however, something in his head was stopping him from inhaling it. It was telling him to savor this delicacy and eat it slow, something Naruto was still unfamiliar with.

"Hey kid, first thing you have to do is take that white truffle and put it on a plate. That is the last thing you want to eat as that's the best part" explained the man sitting next to him. "And sorry for acting rude earlier. It's just something about these dishes. You get others nagging at you for a taste. That goes against everything these dishes were set aside for...only the most dedicated ramen coinsurers could truly enjoy them, not to mention it's just plain annoying."

Naruto accepted the man's apology and did as he was told, removing the single white truffle that had been placed in the bowl and setting it to the side for the end. He took a few noodles and a piece of the matsutake with his chop sticks and took his first bite. He could die right now and he wouldn't care. In fact, he could let the Kyuubi out on a rampage through the village and he wouldn't care. The ramen was just too damn good for him to care about anything else at that moment. Naruto ate the remainder of the bowl slowly, savoring every bit of flavor that flooded his system. Then finally, the time came. Naruto finished off the remaining broth and moved onto the final part…the white truffle. He picked it up with his chopsticks and rubbed it around in what little broth was still remaining in the bowl and then went to eat it. The sweetness from the truffle perfectly balanced out the spices from the ramen, capping possibly the best bowl of ramen he ever had. If this was what the special bowls were like, he really couldn't wait to see what Teuchi had concocted that had found its way into the passport.

The chef handed Naruto back his passport with a stamp of the shop logo on the page and a small picture of Naruto taking his first bite of the ramen. He hadn't even noticed the camera as he was too distracted by the wonder that was ramen. Surprisingly, that one bowl had managed to fill him. He was known for eating over a dozen bowls before being filled at Ichiraku, but this one bowl had done it for him. Naruto prepared to pay the man for the bowl, but his money was turned away. Apparently, it was customary for the first bowl at each of the 50 shops to be free. After that, they would be able to buy any further bowls, although they would be expensive (the Matsutake Truffle ramen was about 5,000ryo per bowl itself).

* * *

The following day was the day they were supposed to meet up with the team from Suna. Naruto, Shikamaru, and Neji made their way towards the determined meeting place. As they got closer, Naruto could feel Kurama starting to tense up. Something was irritating the fox and as the Suna team came into view, Naruto realized what it was.

"Hello Trouble" said Shikamaru as he spotted the Suna team as well. In front of them stood Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro, the same trio that they had met during the chunin exams.

Temari tensed a little seeing Naruto with them. She recalled the fight in the forest between Naruto and Gaara and how Naruto had taken on a shroud of demonic chakra that was strangely similar to that of the Shukaku's chakra inside her brother.

"Sorry we kept you waiting" said Neji, trying to be the first one to initiate conversation.

"That is quite alright. We only got here a few minutes ago. In fact, we were worried that we were going to be late" replied Gaara. It was odd to both Naruto and Shikamaru. There was no killing intent coming from Gaara at all. In fact, he was completely calm and even Kurama had picked up on this. Had something happened to quell the Ichibi?

Both teams were on their guard, weary of one another as they proceeded to the town in the north where their mission was supposed to be. Finally breaking the silence, Temari spoke up.

"So Shikamaru is it?" she said towards Shikamaru. The lazy chunin just nodded. "I see you made it out of the exams as a chunin."

"_Man, what a drag. I didn't want HER to be here"_ he thought. "You know that was never my intention."

Temari looked at the Nara with confusion. "If I had it my way, I would never have even taken the exams. I just wanted a normal ninja life and to play shoghi. But then my sensei made my team take the exams and the next thing I know, I'm facing you in the finals."

"About that, you had me beat. Why did you just give up like that?" she asked.

"I told you. It would have been too troublesome to have any more fights" said Shikamaru. "Besides, apparently that one fight was enough to make me a chunin. On the bright side, at least I don't have to take those exams again."

* * *

The teams reached the village of Ojikana late that afternoon. The first thing was to go to the village council and determine the situation. From the reports given by the villagers, bandits would normally come in late at night and kidnap them. To date, around 11 children had been kidnapped. There hadn't been any ransoms for the children so the villagers had no idea what had happened to the kids. Their only plan was to wait and see if any bandits would come along that night and try to kidnap one of the children. Shikamaru thought for a moment, eventually coming up with a plan. There were three roads out of the village and six of them. This meant that there would be two people assigned to each village exit. Now, Naruto had the ability to use shadow clones and he understood how they functioned. They decided to have Naruto make a mass of clones and have a clone stationed at each house where the kidnappers might strike and a clone with each group to inform them when the bandits struck as the clone's memories would be transferred back to the remaining clones. He stationed Naruto and Gaara at the north gate, Neji and Kankuro at the west gate, and Temari and himself would take the south gate. The east side of the village was up against a fast moving river so it was unlikely bandits would come from that direction. However, Shikamaru would rather be safe and figured Naruto could spare a few more clones to guard the river and any holes in the outer perimeter.

Now, Shikamaru didn't want to catch these bandits right in the middle, he wanted to catch them at wherever they were holed up with hopes of finding the hide out where the missing children were. It was getting dark and everyone took their place as the Naruto clones transformed into random inanimate objects to disguise themselves.

Naruto himself was a little nervous having to be paired up with Gaara as Kurama had been complaining for the past few hours about having to deal with Ichibi, although Gaara was showing no signs of that demon's bloodlust.

"Naruto, can I ask you something?" said Gaara, catching Naruto's attention. Naruto nodded, wondering what the fellow jinchuriki had to say. "You have a demon sealed inside you as well, don't you?"

"Yeah, the Kyuubi no Kitsune" said Naruto. "What of it? You have the Ichibi sealed inside you don't you?"

Gaara nodded. "You're demon…does it ever talk to you?" asked Gaara.

"Well yeah, although he can get annoying at times, we talk" said Naruto. Kurama protested at the 'annoying' comment.

"I see. Is he like the Ichibi?" asked Gaara. Naruto didn't quite get what he meant. Gaara thought for a second. "After that day where we fought, I've been thinking about something. Ever since I was young, I was alone. The only one who would talk to me was the Ichibi and I slowly began to look at it as my mother. I killed for it and survived for it, thinking I was doing this for myself. What I'm trying to say, the Ichibi has been manipulating me since I was young. Has that ever happened to you? Has the demon inside you ever manipulated you to do something you regret?"

"Huh? Does that mean you regret what you've done? You regret killing all those people?" asked Naruto. Gaara just nodded.

"Ever since that day, I've been thinking that maybe there was a different way to live. Perhaps if I tried to get people to see me in a positive light, like the people you told me about, perhaps I to can finally feel what it's like to live" said Gaara. "Ever since then, I've been trying the best I can to block out the Ichibi and listen to my own thoughts."

Naruto kind of smiled like this. Gaara wasn't a monster. The Ichibi made him the monster everyone thought he was. Then Gaara spoke again. "So tell me, how do you block your demon's influence out?"

Naruto looked down. Unfortunately he couldn't give Gaara the answer he wanted. "I don't really know what to say. The Kyuubi, Kurama I mean, and I get along rather well. We joke around, we laugh, we make fun of each other. To be honest, I actually see him as a friend" said Naruto.

Gaara looked at him in shock. "A…friend?"

"Yeah. I'm not really sure what to say, but he approached me one day and the two of us made a deal. Basically, I would help him kill a certain person and in exchange, he would help me" said Naruto.

Gaara thought. "This person the Kyuubi wants dead, who is he? What is he like?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "His name is Madara Uchiha." Gaara looked up, surprised at the name. Even in Suna, that name was known and feared. However, Madara was supposed to be dead. "Neither of us understands how he would still be alive, but we know he's alive and he's responsible for much misery that has be brought upon my village."

"I see" Gaara said, comprehending everything Naruto had said. "So you're saying the Kyuubi doesn't try to manipulate you?"

"No, not really" said Naruto. That was pretty much true, unless you count trying to hook him up with a certain 'vixen'. Kurama did have a hand in pushing the two of them together.

"Naruto, do you think there's hope for me then? Do you think I will ever have a…friend?" asked Gaara.

"Huh?" Naruto was shocked by this new Gaara that he was facing. The cold-blooded killer was gone and what was left was a lonely boy desperately trying to find a friend. He was sincere in changing himself for the better. "Well yeah, everyone needs a friend. Heh, if you want, I'll even be your friend."

"_**Commence with idiot mode"**_ thought Kurama. He didn't want to be associated with the Ichibi, but there really wasn't anything he could do to stop Naruto from being…well Naruto.

"You…you will?" said Gaara.

"Yeah, and I'm sure your brother and sister would be your friends if you just tried. I mean, that's all you really got to do. Show them that they are important to you and they'll become your friends in no time" said Naruto getting a smile on his face.

Naruto suddenly zoned out as a memory came to him. Gaara noticed the slight change in his expression. "They're here" said Naruto as one of his clones relayed a kidnapping to him. All around the village, every other Naruto clone got the memory coming to them and the ones that were stationed with the rest of the team got the same memory. The kidnappers were in motion.

* * *

"Were you followed?" asked a man, standing next to two others. The bandit that was carrying a child shook his head, indicating that no one was following them. The three masked men just nodded and took the child that had been abducted. It was a young girl, approximately three years in age. "Hmm, she'll do just fine for our purposes. A dozen children, just what Orochimaru-sama wanted."

"What the hell does that snake bastard want with children?" shouted Naruto as the six ninja entered the cave. After taking a close look at the man and his two accomplishes, the six Suna and Konoha recognized them. The two in the back were Zaku and Kin, while the one in the middle was Yori. From the looks of it, Zaku had gotten a new pair of arms after Shino had blown his old arms off.

Yori turned to the bandits. "You said you weren't followed!"

"I-I didn't know" staggered the bandit. For them not to realize that they were being tailed meant that the bandits must not have been that good. If any of them had any ninja talent at all, like the report suggested, then they must have been academy washouts. The only ninja here were Yori, Zaku, and Kin. Examining the cave, Shikamaru saw cages containing eleven children. The unconscious child that was in Yori's hand made number twelve. All the children that had been kidnapped were accounted for. Now all that was left to do was eliminate the three Sound ninja standing in front of them.

Unsurprisingly, Naruto was the first one to charge at them, knocking Yori in the stomach as Gaara's sand caught the child, gently cradling it and slightly surprising everyone else that he was actually using the sand to do something other than crush a body.

Zaku growled at the intruders. "Decapitating airwaves!" he shouted, shooting a blast of sound waves from his hand.

"Hmph" was all Temari said before pulling out her fan. The gust she created was more than enough to knock back Zaku's attack.

Kin grinned and shot some of her senbon, hoping to catch one of them in the face, or atleast in a genjutsu. The senbon hit their mark, nailing Kankuro in the eye…or atleast that what she had thought. Kankuro's face began to crumble away, revealing it to be just a puppet as the real Kankuro stepped out from the bandages.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu!" shouted Shikamaru, as his shadow lashed out at the three slightly dazed Sound ninja. They were too slow to dodge it and were now regretting the lighting present in the hideout. "Neji…"

"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams, Sixty-four Palms" shouted Neji, assuming the Eight Trigrams stance. The resulting attack was enough to cripple the three Sound ninja and caused Kankuro to cringe a little as he remembered the Huyga he had to face in the preliminaries.

"You guys really didn't get much better since the chunin exams did you?" asked Naruto with a cocky look on his face. "Hey…wasn't there another one? Dodo or Dosi…err, what was his name?"

"Dosu?" corrected Shikamaru.

"Umm…I might have killed him" said Gaara, causing everyone to take a few steps backwards.

The villagers were waiting at the gate of the villagers when a mob of orange quickly descended upon their village. A dozen Naruto clones, each carrying one of the kidnapped children, passed through the gate as the villagers cheered. Following closely behind were the remaining ninja, prodding the three Sound ninja along. After everything settled down, Shikamaru sent a request to the Hokage, asking for an ANBU team to pick up their prisoners. Encased by Gaara's sand, they weren't going anywhere any time soon. The only question left was: Why did Orochimaru want a dozen children? Surely Ibiki would be able to get some answers.

* * *

"Gahh!"

Speaking of Ibiki, there were pleasant sounds of pain filled screams coming from his office…torture chamber…as he worked his way through the angry mob that had almost killed Naruto, Hinata, Iruka, and Teuchi. So far, he had been able to compile a list featuring the names of just over a dozen leaders of this cult, a hundred or so names of members, and another hundred of names of villagers who supported them, but didn't do anything, except not even question their actions.

"Yaagghh!" another sound was heard as one of the villagers had their leg twisted in a direction it should not normally be able to go.

* * *

About three days later, an ANBU team finally arrived at the village to pick up the Sound prisoners. It was now time for the Suna and Konoha teams to return to their respective villages. Over the past few days, Naruto had spent some more time with Gaara, trying to figure out if the redheaded jinchuriki was really trying to change…he was. Gaara had truly taken a note from their fight and he was actually trying to change himself into something other than a cold-blooded killer. It would be hard, especially with how Suna viewed and feared him, but if Naruto could find someone to be his friend in Konoha, then he was sure Gaara could find someone in Suna. Once Gaara had that one person, it was only a matter of time before he had as many people behind him as Naruto did.

Thankfully for Shikamaru, there had been a shoghi table in the village to keep him preoccupied. He tried playing a game with Naruto and Neji, but they offered him no challenge. Temari on the other hand, while he still ended up winning, he hated to admit that she was pretty good at the game. At least that was enough to stop him from cloud-watching all day.

"Naruto…" Gaara said, turning to the Leaf genin as they prepared to part ways. "That boy that I fought in the exam, the one with the green clothes, how is he?"

Temari and Kankuro looked at Gaara, slightly shocked by their brother's concern. Neji also caught this and tensed up a little. Since the exam, he had gained much more respect for his teammate, Lee, and was hoping that he would come out of his slump soon and take Tsunade up on the surgery, even if there only was a 50% chance of survival. While he was no longer a firm believer in fate anymore, he was sure that it was Lee's fate to become a splendid ninja and Lee still had a lot of tasks to accomplish.

"Thanks to you, his fate is…uncertain" said Neji, some harshness could be sensed in his voice.

Gaara thought a moment. "Then for what it's worth, tell him I am truly sorry and that I hope he gets well soon. He was a worthy opponent and I would like the chance to fight him again should he recover." This had not been something the two Suna siblings had expected out of their brother. This also confirmed it for Naruto. Gaara was truly looking to become a better person.

"**Do you think he can actually resist the Ichibi for so long?"** asked Kurama.

"_Gaara? Yeah, I honestly think he can. He just needs someone to believe in him"_ replied Naruto.

"**Fine, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt…for now. But if that damned raccoon ever starts to manifest itself again, then I'm gonna be kicking some tail and you're not stopping me."**

* * *

About a two-and-a-half day trip later, the team consisting of Neji, Naruto, and Shikamaru found themselves in the Hokage's office, giving her the report. It was troubling that the Sound was somehow involved in this, but another team would be sent to investigate further into that, once Ibiki managed to get some information out of the captured Sound ninja.

* * *

Naruto left the Hokage's office after turning in the D-rank he had been assigned. It was a simple supply restock mission, and he had been assigned to it solo. On his way out of the tower, Naruto caught sight of Shino and Kiba making their way through the streets. It had been nearly two weeks since Team 8 had been dispatched on their mission and the fact that those two were standing there meant that Hinata had to be back.

"Hey guys" Naruto greeted them. Shino responded with a simple greeting, but Kiba only turned his head away. "Hey…uhh, have you seen Hinata?"

"Pfht…what does the dead last like you want with her anyway?!" shouted Kiba out of nowhere as he turned his head and looked down.

"What's got your tail in a knot, dog breath?! Besides, who was it that you lost to in the preliminaries?!" replied Naruto. Shino instantly stepped between the two of them.

"Naruto, she's in the hospital" said Shino, instantly causing Naruto to worry as he darted off towards the hospital. Shino turned towards Kiba, whose did his best to advert his team mate's look, but Shino could easily pick out a bit of regret and shame in Kiba's face.

* * *

Author Notes

All right, so there is the next chapter. I was not going for some elaborate and difficult fight as Zaku, Kin, and Yori have already been beaten before and with ease. The main things I was going for in this chapter were the conversations between Neji and Naruto, and Naruto and Gaara. From here, Gaara is truly trying to change (and I believe it is around this time where he changes in cannon). I have probably one more filler chapter before I get to a series of chapters that will have some pretty exciting battles (at least in my mind). I also realized in this chapter that I haven't had Naruto say 'Dattebayo' yet.

How will things work out for Gaara? Will Neji's plan actually come to fruition? What is Orochimaru up to now? And what happened to Hinata that put her in the hospital, and what does Kiba have to do with this?

Hope you enjoyed. Please review and comment. I also need some more ideas for the special ramen as I still have 49 more dishes to come up with.


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters.

* * *

**Chapter 34: Advice**

It was a relatively quiet day. The receptionist at the hospital was busy enjoying her tea that she was sipping, but nothing else. The biggest event that had happened in the past day was the admittance of one Hinata Huyga with multiple knife wounds. However, nothing was too serious and the doctors were able to patch her up with relative ease. The only worry was what would a certain head of the Huyga clan say when he found his daughter had been admitted to the hospital…that and the orange blur that was quickly rushing towards the hospital.

"Hinata! Which room!?" asked a frantic Naruto, as he practically burst the doors down. The receptionist simply pointed down the hall and told Naruto in room 107. Without saying anything else, Naruto bolted off towards Hinata's room.

"I apologize for him" said Hiashi, coming into the hospital lobby only seconds after Naruto arrived. He took off the same direction as the orange blur. He had just returned from some clan business that was out of town and had just gotten the news on Hinata's hospitalization. Unlike Naruto though, he was trained not to freak out like that…at least until he knew what had happened. Following closely behind Hiashi was Kurenai and the rest of Team 8, including a dreading Kiba.

* * *

Hinata was sitting in her bed, trying her best to relax. Everything hurt. She had been healed and she would be out of the hospital in a day or two, but still her entire body was even sorer than it had ever been. What was really bothering her was what her father would say, seeing her like this.

"Hinata!" She was sure she could hear Naruto's voice coming from the hallway. And just like that, her blonde boyfriend came tumbling into the room, dragging with him the two Huyga that had been stationed as guards.

"Naruto!" she squeaked out, happy that he had shown up. She only wished he wasn't seeing her like this. Wrapped around her head was a bandage from where a kunai had just grazed her forehead, leaving a gash. Her entire torso was also bandaged, having received multiple kunai in various places on her body, thankfully nowhere fatal.

The guards got to their feet, angry at the orange-clad blonde for barging into Hinata-sama's room. They were prepared to throw him out when they heard voice come from the door. "He's fine. Let Naruto go" ordered Hiashi. Naruto took this time to make his way to Hinata's side as Hiashi was inspecting the damage.

"F-father?" Hinata said as she saw a look of disappointment on her father's face.

"Should I tell him or should you, Kiba?" asked Kurenai. The rest of Team 8 was standing inside the door.

* * *

*Flashback (3 days ago)*

Team 8 had been assigned a B-rank mission about two weeks ago to locate and track the activity of a few Iwa teams that had been sighted within the Land of Fire. They had finally picked up on a foreign team within their territory. Seeing as this team was composed of three genin and a jonin, their mission was simply track and observe. However, missions like these always earned a rank of B or higher as there was a very good chance of enemy confrontation should the tracking team be noticed. The normal result being that the enemy ninjas would pick up on their location and try to lure their pursuers into some kind of trap.

Team 8 had been following a team of Iwa chunin for the past four days, not moving, but simply observing. Their actions were not provocative in a fashion, but it never hurt to keep an eye on them.

Ahead, one of the Iwa ninja, who was most likely a sensory type, picked up on their tails. The rest of the team nodded as they altered their direction only slightly. An experienced tracker team would have noticed this slight deviation and would have their suspicions; however, Team 8 was still considered young, despite having three of the village's best in terms of tracking. They had the skill and the potential to be great at what they did, they just needed the experience.

The Iwa team came to a halt and it appeared as if they had set up camp for the night. Shino had a few of his insects monitor the situation with the Iwa ninja as Team 8 also set up their own camp, about a half a mile away from the Iwa. This distance was standard, not close enough to be detected, but close enough to be able to keep an eye on the Iwa ninja as it was well within Hinata's range for her Byakugan and the same went for Kiba's nose.

Speaking of Kiba, for the past week, he had been distracted due to some of the more recent actions between his teammate and a particular blonde member of his class. For Kiba, it started just a little after the chunin exams. It was around this time when he felt some strange desire for his lavender-haired teammate. This was actually normal in the Inuzuka clan as their lifestyle and even their development mimicked canines in a way. And Kiba was starting to reach that age. Of course, being on the same team as Hinata only served to make his familiarity with her stronger and the canine-like attributes that were present in the Inuzuka clan began to take hold of him, if only slightly.

In short, he was beginning to see the young Huyga-heiress as a potential mate in the future. Now, Kiba was fully aware of Hinata's feeling towards Naruto. In fact, just about everyone in the village, except Naruto, was aware of the young Huyga's feelings. To Kiba, this was fine as he would work to weaken those feelings and strengthen any feelings she may have towards him. At least this would work so long as Naruto remained completely oblivious to Hinata. That realization changed when he spotted the two of them having lunch together…followed by them running for their lives from a particular purple-haired crazy chunin exam proctor. What Kiba then saw as they came to a stop, really infuriated him. Naruto gave Hinata a quick peck on the lips…in front of Neji even, and Neji made no motion to stop it although his expression had hinted to Hinata not show those types of affection in public.

The following morning when they met for the mission, Kiba could even smell a small hint of Naruto on her. The two of them had then most likely met for breakfast. To Kiba, this was slightly disgusting as he was now aware that Naruto was aware of Hinata's feelings, and apparently he was responding. He tried to push some thoughts out of his mind for the good of their mission, but those thoughts made their way back when he caught a glimpse of Hinata looking at that picture that Naruto had given her.

"So tell me Hinata, what do you see in him?" asked Kiba. He, Shino, and Hinata were sitting around a small fire and Kiba found this would be the best time to get some answers from Hinata.

"H-huh? Who are you talking a-about?" asked Hinata. She knew who he was talking about. As a Huyga, she could read emotions easily and it wasn't hard to detect a hint of jealousy in Kiba at the moment.

"You know who I'm talking about…Naruto. What makes him so great?" asked Kiba.

It was at this time that Shino received some information from his insects. The Iwa shinobi had begun to move, and they were moving right towards Team 8. These situations were common. The team being followed would either try and shake off their pursuers or eliminate them. Apparently, they were attempting the later. "Kiba, Hinata they…"

"Shut up Shino!" shouted Kiba. The Iwa ninja would hear this for sure.

"K-kiba…why are you acting like this?" asked Hinata. Her teammate was beginning to scare her as he grew ever more aggressive.

"You tell me. He's done nothing but ignore you for the past…what? 4-5 years? And now all of the sudden, the two of you are practically inseparable? What did you do to him to get you to notice? Did the two of you do something on that trip you took? Did you…you know" asked Kiba.

"Kiba!" shouted Hinata. She was trying to stop him. She hadn't even thought about going THAT far with Naruto…at least not yet, but that didn't mean she wanted people assuming she did.

"Both of you please. We need to get out of here" said Shino, trying to interject.

"I'm not leaving until I get answers!" shouted Kiba again.

"Kiba…please. Shino's right" said Hinata. She had activated her Byakugan the moment Shino warned them and had noticed a few Iwa shinobi rapidly closing in on them.

"Well then answer me!" demanded Kiba. His animalistic instincts had already clouded his sense of reason.

Both Shino and Hinata knew they had to move soon if they had any chance of getting away before the Iwa shinobi were upon them. Shino and Hinata made the motion to jump into the trees around them and look for some sort of cover. However, before Hinata could move, Kiba grabbed her hand, making sure she didn't get away before she gave him an answer.

Unfortunately, this gave the Iwa ninja an opening and they launched their kunai towards the restrained girl, pelting her with about a dozen knives before Kiba could process that Shino was right and they were in danger. Hinata dropped to the ground as three Iwa shinobi surrounded Kiba.

"This will teach you not to mess with us" one of the ninja declared as the three rushed Kiba.

"Tree Binding Technique!" was called out from the forest as the trees of the forest came to life and bound the Iwa shinobi, practically crushing them. When she was certain they had been incapacitated, Kurenai jumped down from the trees and ended the genjutsu, leaving the three Iwa shinobi on the ground…unconscious.

She instantly panicked and made her way over to an injured Hinata. There were over a dozen wounds on the girl's body and a rather large gash on her forehead from where a knife just grazed her. Thankfully though, Hinata was still alive. They did, however, need to rush her back to Konoha for immediate treatment before any of these wounds became infected or she lost too much blood.

"Kiba, what the hell was that…never mind, we'll talk about it later" snapped Kurenai as she picked up the injured and unconscious Hinata and darted off towards Konoha, a day and a half away.

Team 8 pushed through the night, stopping only to try and bandage up Hinata. Shino's insects did prove effective in slowing the bleeding, but she would need medical treatment fast if she was going to survive.

Team 8 arrived in Konoha in time to get Hinata the required treatment before she bled out too much.

*End Flashback*

* * *

Kiba tried his best to shrink out of sight as Kurenai finished her explanation. However, Kiba wasn't going to escape Hiashi, who had his Byakugan active. Naruto was also preparing to kick Kiba's ass, however he himself was being restrained by Hinata.

Before Kiba could think what he was going to say, he felt a Juuken strike to his stomach from Hiashi, slamming him back into the wall.

"Father!" shouted Hinata, shocked at her father's unusual action. She had never seen him like this before. "P-please…stop!"

Hiashi stopped the next strike that was aimed at Kiba. This was just like Hinata. Sometimes he felt like she forgave people too quick and easily. Hiashi turned to Kurenai, who was also a little shocked by Hiashi's behavior. "I expect you'll handle this?"

Kurenai nodded. "Don't worry. Kiba hasn't even tasted pain yet." Kiba gulped. Despite Kurenai's kind and care-free appearance, she could be a real slave-driver and they had learned it the hard way. It was at this time that one of the people who would give her the most benefit entered the room. "Ah Neji, perfect timing."

Neji turned and bowed to Kurenai and his uncle and then turned to see if Hinata was alright, practically having to pry Naruto away. Hiashi had considered it, but at least it showed that Naruto cared for his daughter. "What do you mean by perfect timing? Kurenai-sensei?"

"Well, I'm looking for a suitable punishment for Kiba here. So tell me, what is the most painful, most strenuous workout that Gai has ever given you? And I mean the worst one you've had. You know, the ones where you couldn't even move afterwards because if felt as if 1000 knives have been driven into every nerve of your body." asked Kurenai. Neji got a devious smile on his face…Kiba was not going to like this.

Before leaving the room, Hiashi turned to Kiba. "For now, I do not want you anywhere near my daughter except for when official shinobi business calls for it. Do I make myself clear?" Kiba gulped at Hiashi's warning.

* * *

"Hey Billboard Brow!" Ino shouted, approaching Sakura in the middle of Konoha.

"What do you want Ino-pig?" snorted Sakura in protest to Ino's 'Billboard Brow' comment. The two butted heads for a moment, but the reason why Ino had sought out Sakura in the first place came to her.

"I just got back from a mission, but guess what I found out prior to leaving?" said Ino. Sakura listened in, knowing that Ino was probably the biggest gossip queen in Konoha.

"Noo" gasped Sakura, not believing what Ino was saying. "Are you sure this was Naruto?"

"Yeah, I mean who else has blonde hair and wears a bright orange jumpsuit that can be seen from Kumogakaru?" said Ino. Sakura admitted Ino had a point there.

"But are you sure they are together?" asked Sakura.

"I mean I saw them kiss and Naruto mentioned that he would take her out on a date. It must be just recently that they started going out" said Ino. "I even heard Naruto say something about taking her on a fist date, which must mean that they've only started seeing each other."

Suddenly, it came to Sakura. "Ino, we have to help them" she said.

"What?! Why?" responded Ino.

"This is Naruto we are talking about. Where do you think he would take Hinata on a first date?" said Sakura. The answer came to Ino almost instantly…ramen.

"You're right. It's our responsibility to make sure the two of them stay together. That way, Naruto won't get in the way of me going out with Sasuke!" declared Ino.

"What do you mean YOU going out with Sasuke? He's obviously going to go out with me, Ino-pig!" retorted Sakura.

"Bah, who would want to go out with you and that gigantic forehead?" argued Ino.

"Ino-pig!"

"Billboard-brow!"

A few more minutes of the two going at each other's neck and they finally came to an agreement. They would help Naruto to ensure that he was with Hinata. They did this for two reasons. One was because Naruto had a habit of getting in peoples way when it came to Sasuke back in the academy. If he had Hinata, chances were he wouldn't be in the way as much. The other one was to eliminate any sort of competition the Huyga heiress may put up when it came to getting Sasuke's heart. They didn't know how strong her feelings were for Sasuke, but from what they remember, EVERY girl was gaga over Sasuke in the academy, except for Hinata who was always too shy. But I mean this was Sasuke, she had to have feelings for their Sasuke. They couldn't think of any girl who didn't have feelings so that meant that she had to have feelings for Saskue, or so they assumed. Then again, the only one Hinata would ever shy away from and even give a hint of liking was Naruto. No, they couldn't take any chances. If she did have feelings for their Sasuke, this was a perfect opportunity to eliminate the competition.

* * *

Success…failure…success…failure" Lee sighed as the last petal he has plucking off a flower resulted in failure. He had been doing this for hours. For weeks, he had been thinking on Tsunade's diagnosis. After all the effort his team had gone through to cheer him up over the past months, it still came down to a 50/50 chance with an operation that was so difficult that only the very best medic could perform it. If the operation failed, he would die…if it succeeded, there was still only a chance that he would be able to return to being a shinoi.

Lee looked down into the river to watch as the most recent 'failure' floated off on the river. He looked down at the sad face looking back at him and suddenly saw two more faces join him. "Neji? Tenten?" Lee asked as his two teammates joined him.

"Hey Lee" responded Tenten.

"How were your missions?" Lee asked, becoming slightly more depressed that his teammates were carrying on while he was stuck in the village.

"They were…alright" responded Tenten.

"They weren't the same without you though" added Neji, trying to cheer Lee up. "Lee, on my mission, I ran into that Gaara that you fought in the exams."

"G-gaara?" responded Lee. "Did you fight him?"

Neji shook his head. "No. This mission was a joint mission where we were allies."

"Oh…I see" said Lee.

"But, I did get a chance to talk to him, and he is sorry that you ended up like this" said Neji. "He even said that he would want to face a strong opponent like you again."

"He said I was strong?" asked a surprised Lee.

"Yes. He said you were the first person to ever push him like that. You were the first person to ever hit him. He told me he desires to face you again" Neji said. "He's not the only one…"

"Huh? Who else wants to fight me?" asked Lee.

"I do" stated Neji. "I apologize for everything I've said to you in the past. You're strong and I want to face you in combat WHEN you get the surgery and recover."

"But the surgery…what if it fails?" said Lee.

Neji turned to Lee and Lee saw something in Neji's eyes that he thought he would never see from his fate-obsessed teammate…the Flames of Youth. "That is not your fate Lee. Sure this is something you have to face, but I know what your fate is."

"Neij…then what is my fate?" replied Lee.

"You're fate is to become a splendid ninja. It is our fate to meet each other one day in the area and fight each other will all our heart" said Neji.

"Neji's right Lee. This isn't you. You're strong, you won't let anything keep you down. I know if you go into the surgery with the same attitude you've gone into everything else, you'll come back as good as new" said Tenten.

"Neji…Tenten" was all Lee could say, in disbelief at what his teammates were saying.

"Lee" a voice came from behind, one that Lee knew all too well.

"Gai-sensei" said Lee, turning around.

"Lee, listen to your team. Get the surgery. You won't be as good as new, you'll be better, having come out stronger from this obstacle" said Gai. "Let the Flames of Youth guide you and you'll come out just fine."

"Gai-sensei…"

"Lee. If by a one in a thousand, no a one in a million chance you die, then I will die with you. It has been my dream to mold you into a splendid ninja and I will NEVER give up on that. You were meant to be a splendid ninja and you shall be one" said Gai.

"Gai-sensei…"

"Lee"

Lee began to tear up a little. "Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

The two embraced on the bridge to the backdrop of an ocean sunset. Gai looked up at the two remaining members of Team Gai. "Neji!"

"_Fine, but just this once"_ Neji said to himself as Gai started to stare him into submission. "Gai-sensei, Lee."

"Tenten!" shouted Lee.

Tenten smiled. "Lee! Gai-sensei!" The sunset brightened as the two remaining members of Team Gai finally joined in on the group hug, well Tenten did anyways while Neji just put a hand on Lee's shoulder.

* * *

"So you're absolutely sure about this Lee?"

"Yes Hokage-sama. I have never been surer in my life. To be a splendid ninja…that is my dream and it is something I will not give up on!" declared Lee.

Tsunade crossed her hands underneath her chin and thought for a moment. "Alright, you know the risk so…"

"No! I absolutely refuse to die until my dream has been realized!" said Lee. "This operation will be a success. If it is not, then I will…no! There will be no failure here. You are the best in the world and the operation will be an absolute success!"

Tsunade smiled as Lee suddenly took on an image of Naruto, Nawaki, and Dan. Although their dreams weren't the same, Lee's resolve was just as strong. "Very well. Shizune!" Tsunade called in Shizune.

"Yes Tsunade-sama" said Shizune, entering the office.

"Take Lee to the hospital and get him all checked in" said Tsunade. "Lee, we will use tomorrow to go through all the preparations and then we will do the surgery the following day. Is that fine?"

"Yes, Hoakge-sama!"

"Don't worry Lee, Tsunade-sama will have you doing laps around the village on your fingers in no time!" said Tenten. This actually made Lee more excited for some reason.

* * *

Unfortunately it was getting late and Naruto couldn't spend any more time in the hospital with Hinata, at least not unless he wanted to stay himself after Tsunade beat him up, trying to get him to leave.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow Hinata" said Naruto, bending over to give her a quick kiss. "Oh, how long do you have to stay in here?"

"Umm…the doctors say I'll be able to leave after three more nights in here" replied Hinata.

"Great, I'll take you on a real date when you get out of here. How about on Saturday, four days from now?" asked Naruto.

"_He's really asking me out on a date"_ inside her head, Hinata squealed at her fortune. "That would be wonderful."

Naruto smiled as he left the hospital, only to bump into two girls that were going to make him wish he took Tsunade up on her offer.

"So Naruto, where are you taking her?" asked Ino, putting one arm around the blonde's shoulder.

"Yeah, tell us Naruto" said Sakura, joining Naruto on the other side.

"Huh? What are you two talking about?" asked a now confused Naruto.

"You know, I had imagined it would have taken you years to realize her feelings towards…" said Ino.

"No, I doubt he would have ever noticed" interrupted Sakura.

"Enough!" shouted Naruto, who was growing increasingly irritated by the two girl's pestering. That shut Sakura and Ino up for a moment to say something. "What the hell are the two of you talking about?"

"What do you mean? We're talking about you and Hinata. I saw the two of you together and kissing the other day" said Ino.

Naruto sighed in defeat. "So have you asked her out yet?" asked Sakura.

"Yes. For your information, we are going when she gets out of the hospital" said Naruto. He spent the next few minutes explaining why she was in the hospital and…well let's just say Kurenai's Gai-level work out was no longer the only thing Kiba had to worry about now.

"So…where are you taking her?" asked Ino, again.

"Well…I umm…" said Naruto, trying to come up with some sort of excuse that would satisfy the two pests. Sakura and Ino instantly saw that he had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

"Come on, walk with us" said Sakura as she and Ino practically dragged Naruto along with them. "Okay, so listen closely. This is your first date and Hinata really likes you, so you've gotta do something special."

"I know…" said Naruto before he was interrupted.

"There are a few do's and don'ts for dating" said Ino. "First, you must treat her like an absolute gentleman. Not only is she the heiress to a big clan in Konoha, but…speaking of which, how the hell did the two of you end up together?"

Naruto sighed. He definitely should have taken Tsunade up on her offer and gotten himself beat up, just so he could spend a night in the hospital. He explained the details regarding that night to Ino and Sakura, minus the Kyuubi part, and the two girls actually saw it as pretty romantic, minus the bone crunching splat and village shaking tremor that followed due to Tsunade. They even pictured themselves coming to Sasuke's aid, following Sasuke falling right into their arms.

"Anyways, you must be a complete gentleman" restated Sakura. "And make sure you clean up before going. You kind of do smell a bit."

"Also, you're going to need to wear something other than that obnoxiously bright orange jumpsuit" said Ino.

"What's wrong with orange?" asked Naruto, slightly afraid now.

"EVERYTHING!" both Ino and Sakura shouted in unison as a chibi Naruto shrunk and Ino and Sakura's head grew as if they were using Iruka's Big-head Jutsu.

"But what am I supposed to wear?" asked Naruto.

Ino and Sakura sighed. "He's so clueless, isn't he?" they said in unison.

"Well, first where are you taking her…oh and that leads me to the most IMPORTANT piece of advice" said Ino. " Absolutely NO RAMEN!"

"But what's wrong with ramen?" asked Naruto, trying to defend his favorite food.

"It may be fine for an occasional lunch date, but you can't take her there for your first date" said Sakura. "So where are you taking her?"

"Well, I kind of don't know yet. It's not like there are a lot of places I can go" said Naruto.

"Well, you have to have some money. After all, you've been doing non-stop missions for the past week" said Sakura.

"No, it's not money that's the problem. In fact, I've got plenty from my trip with Ero-sennin to bring back Tsunade-baachan" said Naruto. "It's just I don't know any places in Konoha, besides Ichiraku, that will actually serve me?"

"Huh? Why wouldn't they server you?" asked Ino.

"Don't bother with that, Ino" said Sakura. She knew why, but unfortunately she couldn't tell Ino. "Anyways, we'll help you find a place to eat. Don't worry about it."

The trio made their way around the village, dodging flying pots and pans at nearly every nice restaurant they could think of. Ino still couldn't get her arms wrapped around why Naruto was so hated. Sure he was a troublemaker in the past, but he's begun to change and she couldn't remember any of his pranks being THAT bad.

There was only one more restaurant that they could think of and it was probably the nicest restaurant in Konoha, the Flaming Leaf Inn. Ino and Sakura pushed Naruto inside although Naruto protested that this was just going to end like every other restaurant, with a pot of boiling sauce or a pan of fried oil being tossed at him.

"Hello, how may I help you?" said the restaurant manager as she turned to greet them. "Oh, I'm sorry, but our restaurant has a particular dress code and I'm afraid you dressed properly."

"No, we're just here to get our friend and his date a reservation if that's okay?" said Ino.

The manager looked over at who 'he' was and instantly spotted Naruto. Naruto was bracing himself for the pan of boiling oil but was surprised when all he got was "we can certainly do that. What time were you thinking of, sir?"

Naruto stood there dumbfounded. "You…you're not going to hurt me? Or throw me out with pots and pans?" Not to mention he had never been referred to as 'sir' before.

The manager laughed. "Why would I do that to the person who saved me from when the Sound ninja attacked?"

Instantly, Naruto knew why the manager had looked familiar. She was the woman within that group that he, Sasuke, and Sakura saved from the Sound ninja during the invasion. She was the one who denied the 'demon brat' comment Naruto had made when de jumped in the way to deflect the kunai that were heading directly towards her head. It appears as if she had a change of heart from that event, realizing that he wasn't the demon…or at least he wasn't as bad as she initially thought. "Oh, now I remember!" exclaimed Naruto. The manager just smiled, although she was slightly irritated.

"Well anyway, what time were you thinking?" asked the manager.

"Umm well, sometime Saturday I guess" replied Naruto.

"Excuse him, this is kind of the first time he's had to deal with stuff like this" interjected Sakura. "Make it for as close to 7:00pm on Saturday as you can please."

The manager took a look at the list of reservations. "The only spot I have left is at 6:45. You're lucky you got here before it was taken."

"Great, thank you very much…umm…" said Naruto.

"My name's Kamiri Rekinu and my husband, Satonora, is the head chef here" Kamiri said as her husband came out of the kitchen. A few months ago, he would have in fact thrown a pan of burning grease at Naruto, but after hearing how his wife's life was saved at the hands of the 'former-Demon child' he decided to give the blonde a chance.

"Hello Uzumaki-san" the chef said joining his wife's side. Satonora was a rather large man, probably in his late 40's or early 50's. He still had a full head of hair tied back in a pony tail, but it was easy to see that his hair was turning grey. Kamiri looked younger than her husband although not by much. She was probably in her late 30's at the youngest. She had a slim face and brown hair that she had tied in a ponytail that went down just below her shoulders. "It looks like you and a date will be joining us on Saturday evening. I promise you that everything will be exceptional for the both of you. I don't suppose either of these two fine young ladies is your date?"

Ino and Sakura were slightly insulted by that comment. Naruto just put his hand behind his head an laughed a little. "No. My date is actually Hinata Huyga." This took the restaurant owners by surprise. They had not expected Naruto to manage a date with a Huyga, let alone the clan heiress.

"Wow, aiming high aren't we?" joked Satonora. Naruto was slightly taken back but realized the man was simply joking. He seemed rather polite and respectable and he even liked to lighten things up a little.

"I'm sorry to say that we must get back to work" said Kamiri. "However, here is a sample menu and our dress guidelines and we hope to see you Saturday evening."

"Well that went way better than expected" commented Ino. Sakura nodded, but Naruto was still as confused as he was when he realized a pan was not aimed for his face the moment he walked in. "So, I've always wondered what they have. Let's take a look at that menu."

"Umm Naruto, are you sure you have THIS much money?" asked Sakura. The restaurant was indeed expensive and Sakura estimated that it would cost both of them around 4,000-5,000 ryo to eat there.

"Well yeah, I've got pleanty" said Naruto. "I won just over 300,000ryo from when Tsunade-baachan taught me to play poker."

"…" Sakura and Ino were speechless. The blonde knuckle-head had a small fortune (at least for a 12-year old genin) stashed away.

"Anyways…what are you going to do about the dress code? It says here you need a jacket" said Sakura.

"But I have a jacket" said Naruto, pointing at the orange coat that was part of his jumpsuit. He then felt two fists converge on the top of his head.

"No orange!" yelled Sakura and Ino in unison.

"By jacket, they mean suit. You need a suit jacket, dress slacks, shirt and tie, and a pair of nice dress shoes" explained Ino.

"But I don't have any of those" said Naruto, rubbing the bump on his head.

"Geez, you are hopeless" replied Sakura. Just go suit shopping in the next few days. I don't know too much about guys formal wear so I don't think we are going to be too much help.

"Alright…Hey, I'll go ask Iruka-sensei. I'm sure he'll know what to do" said Naruto. Ino and Sakura nodded. Iruka wasn't a bad choice and they were both aware that Naruto and Iruka-sensei shared a special bond. Surely he would be able to steer Naruto in the right direction.

"Now, just remember everything we told you…oh, and stop by my family's shop for flowers before you pick her up" said Ino.

"I know. I was planning on that. I'm not that hopeless, you know!" exclaimed Naruto as his two 'pests' finally left him alone.

* * *

Iruka had just finished up grading papers for the day when a knock was heard on the classroom door. He called out for the person to come in and much to his pleasant surprise, it was Naruto.

"Hey Iruka-sensei. I kind of wanted to ask for your help on something" said Naruto.

"Oh? And what is that? History? Ninjutsu? Genjutsu?" asked Iruka.

"Err no…I kind of have a date this weekend and I need some help suit shopping" said Naruto.

"Suit shopping?" Iruka never thought he would see the day where Naruto would wear a formal suit. "Oh and oyu say you have a date? With whom may I ask?" Silently, Iruka was pleading that it was with Hinata. He knew Naruto wasn't an idiot, but if Naruto still wasn't seeing the young Huyga's feelings towards him, then it was not helping his case.

"Well, it's with Hinata" said Naruto, letting out a slight laugh. Iruka silently praised Kami that Naruto had finally noticed Hinata.

"Well it's about time" said Iruka. "She's been looking at you for at least the past four or five years."

"Please don't remind me, Iruka-sensei" said Naruto.

Again, Iruka let out a slight laugh. "Okay, just give me a few minutes to finish up here and I'll help you. Why don't you go out to the yard, I think Konohamaru is there practicing with shuriken. Maybe you can give him a few pointers."

Naruto proceeded out to the yard and there was Konohamaru, unfortunately with Ebisu, practicing his shuriken throwing. "Hey Boss!" shouted Konohamaru, noticing Naruto.

"Hey Konohamaru, shuriken practice huh?" responded Naruto.

"Yep" replied Konohamaru. "Hey Boss, you've been a ninja for a few months now. You've gotta know a cool jutsu or two, can you show me?!"

Naruto took this as a time to show off. "Yeah, and actually, I've got just the jutsu for you. Stand back." Naruto pulled two shuriken out of his holster and aimed for the training post. He threw them and made a quick seal. "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Suddenly, the two shuriken became 100 and the post was bombarded with a shower of metal.

Konohamaru's eyes lit up and Ebisu was cursing Naruto. "That was amazing Boss, you know Grandpa's technique!" shouted Konohamaru. "Hey, can you teach it to me?"

Naruto laughed at the young ninja-to-be. "I could, but you hve to know the shadow clone juts…" Naruto was instantly shut up by Ebisu.

"Honorable Grandson, while those jutsu certainly are impressive, they require one to hone the basics to perfection. After all, no one is taught the Shadow Clone Jutsu while they're in the academy. In fact, ninja are not taught it until they are jonin" explained Ebisu.

"Umm…I knew the Shadow Clone Jutsu before I graduated" said Naruto.

"Shut it you!" said Ebisu. It was too late and the damage had been done.

"Wow! Really?! Can you please teach me Boss?!" begged Konohamaru.

"Yeah, I'll teach you one of these days, I promise" said Naruto, receiving a death glare from Ebisu. However, before Ebisu could start strangling the blonde, Iruka exited the building and he and Naruto left to go find Naruto a suit.

The afternoon was much like the previous day when Naruto went looking for restaurants. Many of the shops would toss him out and refuse to sell, causing Iruka to become increasingly irritated at the shopkeepers. It wasn't until the sixth shop where they found a rather nice suit for Naruto that Iruka finally flipped and 'persuaded' the shop keeper that they should sell to Naruto.

Ino and Sakura were going to have a fit. They had told him no orange, but he managed to squeak in a few streaks of orange on his tie. The suit itself was solid black and made from a fairly good quality of fabric. The shirt was a patterned gray that seemed like it had a slight hint of blue to it. The tie is what brought out the blue. It was primarily an orange tie with a series of blue swirls working their way through the tie. These swirls helped to accent the slight hint of blue that was in Naruto's shirt. Looking at his former student, Iruka stood in disbelief. He never imagined the day when Naruto would actually be wearing a formal suit. It nearly brought tears to his eye.

Now all Naruto really had to do at the moment was to let Hinata know of his plans. Hiashi stared wide-eyed at Naruto when he found out where exactly Naruto had managed to get reservations at. The Flaming Leaf Inn was probably the highest-scale restaurant in the entire village. Reservations at that place were nearly impossible to get unless you knew someone and it was normal to have to reserve at least a month in advance. Not to mention, Hiashi knew Naruto was not welcomed in almost every restaurant. "Tell me Naruto, how did you manage to get reservations at the most prestigious restaurant in the village and only three days in advance?" said Hiashi, beginning his interrogation.

"Well, apparently I saved the owners during the invasion and this is their way of thanking me" explained Naruto. "I don't really know. It was really nice of them. Out of the other dozen restaurants we went to I got pans thrown at me, but this one, well they gave me a reservation and rather warmly too."

It made sense that the owners had a change of heart after something like that. "Alright, but now you do realize what you're getting into, don't you? There is a dress code, do you have the proper attire?" asked Hiashi.

"Umm…yeah, Iruka-sensei took me suit shopping yesterday. It was almost as bad as the restaurant searching" said Naruto as he pulled a needle out of his shoulder. He must have missed it when he was de-needling himself. "But then Iruka-sensei used his Big Head Jutsu and one of the shopkeepers sold me this suit." Naruto handed Hiashi the suit that he had in his bags.

Hiahsi was actually impressed. "Hmm…good quality. I just hope you don't grow out of it too soon" said Hiashi. "Now, you do realize that this restaurant is one of the more expensive places. The last thing you want is to not be able to pay the bill."

"Don't worry about that. I have a couple hundred-thousand ryo in the bank from when Tsunade-baachan (Hiashi's eye twitched upon hearing Naruto refer to the Hokage like this) taught me to play poker" explained Naruto.

"_I'm going to have a talk with sensei, gambling is one of the last things I wanted Hinata exposed to during that trip"_ thought Hiashi. "Fair enough. It seems like you are capable of taking Hinata there. Now, about manners…I expect you to act like a proper gentleman around Hinata."

Naruto gulped. In truth, he had no idea what sort of manners Hiashi was talking about. I mean, he could act calm and decent if needed, but he wasn't sure if that would be enough for this man.

"Don't worry uncle, I'll make sure Naruto has knows how to act" said Neji, stepping into the room just in time to save Naruto.

Hiashi nodded. "Very well. Now if that is everything, you may stop by and pick Hinata up at 6:15 on Satuday. Good day, Naruto." Hiashi took his leave, leaving Naruto with Neji and Hinata, who was still in disbelief that Naruto had managed to pull out all the stops for their first date, not to mention that she was finally going on a date with Naruto. Thoughts were racing through her head. What would she wear? How would the date go? Would she disappoint Naruto?

"Naruto, why don't we head to my house and I can teach you everything you'll need to know so that you do not embarrass Hinata" said Neji.

"What? I would never do that to her!" objected Naruto.

"I know you would never do it intentionally, but this restaurant requires 'special' behavior. You need to be at your very best as there will most likely be other important figures there" said Neji.

Naruto thought for a moment. "Alright, thank you Neji" said Neji.

"No need to thank me. In truth, I am doing this for Hinata-sama. She deserves the very best and I want to make sure you can be the very best for her" said Neji.

"Don't you worry. I will never let Hinata down. Dattebayo!" declared Naruto. Neji gave a slight smile to Naruto.

"Very well. Oh, and I believe Lee has gotten out of surgery. He should be waking up around now. Would you like to see him?" asked Neji.

"Really?! I knew Baachan could do it!" shouted Naruto as the two made their way to Lee's room.

"Excuse me nurse, is it alright to visit Lee?" Neji asked the nurse exiting his room.

She thought for a moment and then said "He's still a little groggy from the anesthesia, but I can allow you to stop in for a few minutes. Please be quick."

Neji bowed and the two Leaf genin entered Lee's room.

"Nehi, Naturo, wha argh ye doin' her?" said a drugged up Lee. Naruto couldn't help but let out a slight laugh.

"Just came to say hello, Lee. How are you doing?" asked Neji.

"He'll be just fine. The surgery went better than I had initially thought and he may even be back to training in the next month or so, depending on how therapy went" said Tsunade, stepping into the room.

"Baachan!" shouted Naruto.

"Can the –baachan crap brat! I'm not that old!" replied Tsunade.

"Thank you for seeing to my teammate and friend like that, Tsunade-sama" said Neji, giving Tsunade a bow.

"It wasn't me. Lee's something else. It's like he practically forced the surgery to be an absolute success" said Tsunade. She had to admit that Lee's resolve was rivaled only by Naruto's, if not greater.

"Nehi, Naruho, I waa ta figh" said Lee, trying to get out of bed.

"STAY!" ordered Tsunade, scaring Lee back into the bed. "You're still in no condition to fight, let alone train. You've got at least a month or two of therapy ahead of you before I'm even going to let you within a mile of Gai!"

"Don't worry Lee, I'll fight you as soon as you're ready, I promise" said Naruto, giving Lee the nice-guy pose.

"As will I and I look forward to it" said Neji.

* * *

After failing to bring back Tsunade to heal his arms and practically being beat to a pulp in the process, Orochimaru decided to take on a new body. It was been nearly two weeks since then and Orochimaru has finally adjusted to the new body.

"How is that new body suiting you, Orochimaru-sama?" asked Kabuto.

"Its fine. Different than what I expected, but it will do at least until I get my hands on my next body" said Orochimaru.

"You're talking about Sasuke Uchiha, aren't you?" asked Kabuto.

"Yes. He may have avoided me in the Forest of Death; however, that still doesn't mean I won't get his precious Sharingan" hissed Orochimaru. "Kabuto, it's almost time, get THEM ready. Its time I finally bring Sasuke here and show him what it is that I can offer him. And then, he will be mine, after I help him mature a bit further."

"Yes Orochimaru-sama. We won't fail you" said Kabuto, quickly bowing to Orochimaru before leaving.

* * *

Author notes

So there is the next chapter. Naruto has set the motions for his upcoming date with Hinata in motion and Lee's operation was a complete success, not to mention Ebisu is going to be spending the next couple months dealing with a student constantly begging him to teach him cool jutsu.

Coming up next: Naruto and Hinata's date and a new mission. Oh, and Kiba's hell begins.


	35. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**Chapter 35: First Date**

5:00am, a time when most of Konoha was still asleep or just starting to stir. Little did they know they were in for a rude awakening by various cries that could be heard all across the village.

"Gaaaagggghhhh!" Kiba's cries of pain and torment were just beginning as Kurenai began his hell punishment for putting a certain Huyga in the hospital with his recklessness.

"Yosh! The cries of youth shout bright this morning!" called out Gai from the other end of the village. "Neji, Tenten! Hurry, we must kindle our flames of youth so that they may burn brightly!"

At the Huyga compound, a few Huyga watched as Neji reluctantly dragged himself out of the compound. For some reason, Gai had been pushing them even harder ever since Lee got the surgery. Perhaps it was to inspire Lee? Unfortunately, Neji only saw it as another was for his sensei to get under his skin.

"Gai-sensei! I will be there in just a minute to! Please wait for me!" shouted Lee from the hospital as a crash followed by a flat line beep was heard from Lee accidentally disconnecting his heart monitor.

"Bed…Now!" shouted Tsunade, coming to Lee's attempted escape.

By 5:10, the entire village had been awaken by the constant screaming from Kiba, Gai, and Lee. At least everyone except the Naras. For some reason, they were still asleep and the village was quickly becoming envious of them.

By 6:00 in the morning, the village was already stirring and business was running as usual, all thanks to the wakeup call from a particular Inuzuka. Speaking of said Inuzuka, he had just finished up with the 50 laps around the village that Kurenai had assigned him to do and his legs felt like someone had taken their claws and shredded the muscles in his legs to pieces, 50 times over.

"Get up!" Kurenai ordered Kiba, who was trying to catch his breath in the few seconds he had after completing the 50th lap.

At this time, Neji and Tenten came running past Kiba. "Poor puppy. Is that all you can take?" taunted Tenten. "Neji, how many more laps do we have?"

"I honestly lost count after 100" replied Neji. Kiba couldn't believe it…100 laps and they were barely breaking a sweat. What the hell has Gai been doing to his team?

Kiba struggled to his feet, only for Kurenai to shove him back into the ground. "I said, get up!" she ordered. Kiba struggled to his feet again only for Kurenai to throw him back again.

"How can I get up if you won't let me?" demanded Kiba as he grew more irritated with each attempt.

"I don't know, why don't you ask Hinata. Oh wait, you didn't let her get away when there were a dozen kunai sailing towards her. Hmm…maybe I should strap one to the bottom of my boot and see how you like it." Kiba cringed and instantly bolted to his feet and moved away from Kurenai. He had never seen her like this and he was not willing to see just how far she would go.

"Good, now follow me!" she ordered. Kiba groaned but did as he told.

"W-why are we here?" asked Kiba as the two came to the edge of a place Kiba didn't want to see in a long time…the Forest of Death.

"Strip! But you can leave your shorts on" Kurenai ordered.

"What?! Why should I do that and why the hell should I take my clothes off?!" argued Kiba.

"Just do it! Or would you rather I turn your punishment over to Hiashi?" said Kurenai. Kiba gulped. Despite the hell he was being put through with Kurenai, Hiashi was the last person he wanted to see. "Ah, perfect timing Anko."

Kiba looked up to see another person he was really wishing he didn't see…Anko. And for some reason she was carrying a vest made completely out of raw steaks.

"Put this on!" ordered Kurenai. Kiba just did as he was told. The feel of raw meat against his skin was weird and he was still trying to contemplate what Kurenai was doing at the Forest of Death.

"_Wait…no she can't mean to do that!"_ thought Kiba as something came to mind.

"Looks like you've figured it out puppy" said Anko with a very evil grin on her face.

"I'm sorry to say Kiba that I will not be able to oversee your punishment any more today. It would be unfair to Shino and Hinata if you took up all my time. However, I am leaving you in the very capable hands of Anko here" said Kurenai before she took off to go meet with the rest of her team.

"_Shit!"_ Anko was one of the few people he would have wanted to be left with. In truth, he would rather take Hiashi over Anko. While it was hell, he could handle Kurenai, but Anko…she was just pure insane.

"Alright Puppy, you've got until 8:00pm this evening. Get going!" ordered Anko.

"What?! What the hell am I supposed to do?" asked a confused Kiba.

"Why isn't it obvious?" asked Anko, getting a very dark and sinister look on her face. "Survive…Inside the forest here, there are all kinds of beasts and creatures who will find you as a tasty little treat. You are to survive until 8:00 tonight. Oh and I suggest you don't stop running."

Anko threw Kiba into the forest before locking the gate on him. Before he knew it, there were countless sets of eyes staring at him from the forest, all of them with a lustful glare at him as they sized up their next meal.

Kiba took off running, his legs still burning hotter than the sun as he began the fight for his very life. Anko couldn't help but laugh at the Puppy's misfortune. Even though she was going to be stuck here all day, at least she had some form of entertainment and a bag full of dango.

* * *

"Yyaaghh!" was heard all across the village.

"**Ah, music to my ears"** said Kurama, taking in Kiba's screams of pure terror and agony.

Kakashi had assembled his team for a training session that they were long due. It was a few weeks late, but Kakashi had finally got Sakura and Sasuke the next set of jutsu that he had promised them. Sasuke's was a lightning-style jutsu entitled Raiton: Thunder Roar. This was a low B-rank technique that could be used at mid-ranged. It sent a blast of electricity, shaped like a lion's head, at the target, giving them a severe shock and temporarily paralyzing them or worse.

Sakura's was slightly different than a normal jutsu scroll. Kakashi had been taking notes and realized that Sakura was similar to his old teammate, Rin. Rin was a medical ninja and Kakashi could easily see that Sakura had the potential to become a top-grade medical ninja. All she needed was a push and he was hoping the book on basic medical ninjutsu would start to peak her interests in the field of medical ninjutsu.

"Hey Kakshi-sensei, I don't suppose it would be alright if I take off early" said Naruto. It was getting close to 5:00 and he was supposed to pick Hinata up in just over an hour.

"And why do you want to do that, Naruto? Got a hot date or something?" replied Kakashi, making an upside down 'U' with his one eye.

"Umm…well, uhh…" replied Naruto, turning a little red. If he was going to let Naruto go, at the very least, Kakashi would have some fun first.

"So who is she Naruto?" asked Kakashi.

"Oh come on Kakashi-sensei, just let him go already. Tonight's important" said Sakura, trying to help Naruto. The sooner she could solidify Naruto and Hinata's relationship, the sooner she could work on herself and Sasuke. After all, she wouldn't have a certain blonde teammate constantly asking her out anymore.

"_The Dobe has a date?"_ thought Sasuke, slightly surprised.

"Yeah Kakashi-sensei, tonight's REALLY important! I need to go clean up and everything" said Naruto.

"Who would have thought it would take a certain lavender-haired girl to get you to 'clean up'" said Kakashi. "Alright, you're all free to go. Let's meet here tomorrow at the usual time."

For Team 7, the usual time was 9:00am, but the three of them quickly learned that they had until at least 11 before Kakashi would show. Naruto dashed off, going to prepare himself for the night he had planned, growing ever more nervous as the time passed.

"Sasuke…well, seeing as Naruto is busy tonight, do you want to do anything?" Sakura asked, trying to get her own date for tonight.

"Don't you have anything better to do? If you have time to bother me, then you certainly have time to train. I don't have time to waste on some hindrance" replied Sasuke, crushing Sakura's hopes.

"S-sasuke? Is that really what you think? I just hold you back?" said Sakura as a few tears came to her eyes.

"Hnn" was all Sasuke said as he took off towards a separate training ground of his own.

"_That Dobe has a date? Who would actually go out with him?"_ thought Sasuke as he halted halfway to the training ground he had staked out. He couldn't get the fact that Naruto of all people had a date tonight. Perhaps he would do a different type of training today as he altered his course back to the village.

* * *

Sakura was busy dragging her feet through the village, depressed that she had been rejected yet again. Sakura found herself making her way towards Ino's flower shop. Despite her slight depression, she had agreed to meet with Ino so that they could 'wish Naruto the best of luck with' with his date…in other words, they were going to spy on him.

* * *

"Sensei…you won't believe it, but Naruto has a date tonight" said Kakashi. He was at the place where he usually went when he needed to talk about things on his mind…the Hero's Stone. It was here that he would talk to many of his deceased comrades and friends, such as his former teammates Obito and Rin; however, his attention was directed towards that of his sensei, the Yondaime Hokage.

"The surprising part is that his date is with the daughter of your teammate. That's right, Naruto somehow managed a date with the heiress of the Hyuga clan" Kakashi said. He took a deep breath. "I wish you were here. I'm sure Naruto would have liked to have you see him off on a night like this. Don't worry though; I'll make sure he doesn't mess this one up. I'll see you later, sensei."

* * *

Naruto took a deep breath as he exited the shower. He had made sure to scrub himself thoroughly-with soap-practically three times. He was becoming increasingly nervous as time passed. In truth, this was the first date he had ever had. In fact, this was the first true romantic event that had ever happened that he ever had time to think about. The kiss between him and Hinata a few weeks ago had just kind of happened. Tonight was different. He had plenty of time to think about tonight and the more he did, the worse his nerves got.

Finally, after a fifth scrub, he ran out of soap and proceeded to change into the suit that Iruka-sensei had helped him pick out. Something seemed off and he spent the next 10 minutes fiddling with the slightest detail on the suit and another 10 minutes fiddling with the tie. Iruka had practically beat into him how to tie a tie and Naruto had done it perfectly, although it still didn't seem right. Looking over at the clock, he realized that he had to go. It was getting close to 6:00 and he still had to pick up flowers from Ino's shop before proceeding to pick up Hinata.

"**Kit, stop it. You look just fine. Just don't act like too much of an idiot and you'll be fine"** reassured Kurama, trying to get Naruto to stop worrying. Even Kurama was pulling for Naruto. One reason was that he actually wanted to see the kid happy. Second was the Vixen with whom Naruto was supposed to be going out with. For some reason, despite being a 1000 year old demon who's been bitter after being imprisoned 100 years ago, he actually liked Hinata. Perhaps it was how she treated Naruto after knowing about his little secret all these years, or perhaps it was her talent in the kitchen.

"_Jeez, I've never been this nervous before. I'd almost rather stare down Orochimaru back in the Forest of Death"_ responded Naruto. _"Hey, did you ever have Vixen of your own?"_

Kurama was silent for a moment. **"I don't want to talk about that Kit"** the Fox replied. **"Anyways, you should get going." **Kurama's wasn't filled with much excitement. In fact, he sounded rather remorseful when responding to Naruto's question. Naruto however, looked over at the clock and began freaking out, he only had 15 minutes to get to Ino's shop and over to Hinata's house.

* * *

"Gagh, where is that baka?" said Ino as she and Sakura were waiting for Naruto to stop by before his date. They had hoped Naruto would stop by with a few minutes before he was supposed to meet up so they could check him over, but it was getting surprisingly close to the 6:15 time when Naruto was supposed to pick up Hinata. Suddenly, Naruto came bursting into the shop, panting just a little.

"There you are…What the hell is that?!" shouted Sakura, pointing at Naruto's tie. "I said NO ORANGE, you baka!"

"Just drop it Sakura, it's too late to fix it now. We are just going to have to hope the orange tie doesn't stick out too much" sighed Ino. She then proceeded to shove a boquet of flowers in Naruto's hands. "Here, you've got purple lilacs as the center flower, these symbolize first love. Then you have a ring of orchids surrounding them, which will tell her that you think she's beautiful. Finally, there are a few white roses. In every bouquet, you want roses, but you have to be careful which ones you use. Roses are a symbol for love, but if you give her red ones, then that could tell her you want more than just a nice date. These white ones symbolize purity as well, which should tell her that you want to love her, but you want to be honest and not try to push things."

The entire explanation simply went in one ear and out the other as Ino pushed him out the shop with the flowers in his hand.

"Alright Sakura, you ready for this?" asked Ino.

Sakura smiled and grabbed a camera. This was going to be fun. Not to mention, this was one of the first times in the past few years the two of them were not fighting over Sasuke. It felt nice being more of a friend with Ino than a rival.

* * *

If there was one person in the village who was worse than Naruto when it came to nerves at this point, it was Hinata. _"I can't believe it. I'm finally going on a date with Naruto. I hope he likes how I look. I hope I don't disappoint him"_ she began worrying. Suddenly, a knock came on her door.

"Hinata-sama, are you ready?" called Neji from outside the door to her room. "Naruto has just arrived."

"I-I'll b-be out i-in a m-m-minute" Hinata called out. _"Oh my, it's time…Don't faint. Please don't faint."_

Hinata opened the door to meet her cousin, receiving a smile from him. "N-neji-niisan, d-do I l-look a-alright?"

"Hinata-sama, you look beautiful. Naruto is a lucky man to be spending the night with you" replied Neji, trying his best to calm his cousin's nerves. "Now don't worry. I'm confident everything will go just fine. Naruto's doing everything possible and more for you to enjoy tonight. Just relax and everything will be fine. I have faith in you."

"A-are you s-sure?" asked Hinata.

"I am. You'll be fine" replied Neji.

* * *

Naruto was standing just outside the house with Hiashi standing next to him. Hiashi had just finished going over the ground rules with Naruto, including that Hinata would be home by 10:30 at the latest. Naruto's nerves were growing and then it happened. The door opened and she came outside.

Naruto was left completely speechless as his attention was drawn towards Hinata. She was wearing a modest, straight-fitting dress that was white with lavender swirls making their way up the dress and a few flower petals dancing around the base of the dress that came down to just above her ankles. The sleeves were short, just extending past the shoulders. While the dress was modest, that doesn't mean it didn't show of Hinata's figure. And for a twelve year-old, she was already beginning to have a rather slamming figure. Naruto couldn't believe it. Sure he had seen her in something besides that bulky jacket, namely a loose fitting, plain black tee shirt that she wore for training, but he never imagined this.

Hinata saw that Naruto's complete attention was on her and she began to blush. "N-naruto, d-do you like h-how I l-look?" she asked.

"H-h-hinata…" Naruto struggled to find his words. "Y-you l-l-look…umm…wow." Naruto's world went black as it was not his turn to faint. Thankfully, he was caught by Hiashi, who wouldn't have him soiling his new suit with dirt. Hiashi was doing everything in his power to ensure everything went well for Hinata and that nothing ruined the clan's image, which a dirtied suit jacket in a place such as the Flaming Leaf Inn would do.

Naruto woke a few minutes later with Hinata looking down on him, smiling and blushing. She had gotten her answer when Naruto fainted. "Hinata" said a slightly weary Naruto.

"N-naruto" she replied.

"The two of you should get going. It's nearly 6:20 and your reservation is for 6:30. You can't be late" said Hiashi.

Naruto agreed with this and the new couple quickly found themselves at the gate being wished off by Neji, Hiashi, and Hanabi.

While they walked away, Naruto had to deal with numerous whistles and comments coming from the voice in his head that he was desperately trying to silence. While he wouldn't push it too far tonight, Kurama was still going to have some fun.

* * *

"Oh my…is that really Hinata? I never imagined that's what she was hiding underneath that bulky jacket of hers" commented Sakura as she and Ino looked on from their hiding place. Ino couldn't help but silently agree with Sakura as she also starred on in amazement. It was a good thing they were hooking Hinata up with Naruto as they soon realized that Hinata actually had the looks and body to compete with them in the Sasuke department.

When Naruto and Hinata got out of view, the pair of kunochi moved to their next spot until they finally came to the Flaming Leaf Inn. Unfortunately, they couldn't get inside as they didn't have a reservation, so they took their station just outside a window that gave them a nice view at the table where Naruto and Hinata were being sat.

"Oh come on Naruto. Whatever you do, please don't screw this up" said Sakura quietly.

Sakura and Ino weren't the only ones there watching this first date unfold. At different viewing points around the restaurant, various shinobi that Naruto and Hinata knew very well took up their stations. Neji and Tenten had met up and were perched on a rooftop that gave them a view of the two. Neji didn't necessarily need a window to see through, but Tenten didn't have x-ray vision bestowed upon her by the Byakugan. Kakashi found his station and so did Kurenai. Hell, even Sasuke had come to get in some special 'observational and information gathering' training. Chouji was with Shikamaru at yet another vantage point. Tsunade had finally figured out how to work Hiruzen's crystal ball and she, Shizune, Hiashi and Jiraiya were watching the couple from inside their office. And somehow, Haku had aligned his mirrors so that he and Zabuza would get a view at the show. In fact, the only people close to Naruto and Hinata who weren't watching were Kiba and Lee. Lee was still bed-ridden and didn't want to test Tsunade's patience and Kiba…well, he was still running for his life, hopefully; however, the screams had stopped a few hours ago. This meant that he had either been eaten or he was now too exhausted to scream.

* * *

As the two of them approached their table, Naruto did as he was instructed by Neji and offered Hinata her seat before sitting down himself. So far so good. He had made it the first minute without managing to do something embarrassing or idiotic so far.

The first few minutes were spent in silent, with both of them too nervous to say anything to each other. The waiter came around and introduced himself in warm manner, indicating to Naruto that there would be no problems from him tonight. In fact, the entire restaurant seemed to welcome Naruto rather warmly. The owners must have said something to the staff that changed their views on the blonde jinchuriki. The first thing he asked for was what they wanted to drink. Unfortunately, both Naruto and Hinata were only 12 so their drink options were severely limited to pretty much water. Then came the appetizers. Had it not been for that sample menu and Neji's explanation on many of the items on the menu, Naruto would have had absolutely no idea what was there. However, because of Neji's explanations, Naruto already had an idea what he was going to order. For Naruto, his appetizer was an order of pork gyoza (a type of Japanese dumpling). Hinata on the other hand went with an order of one of her favorites, zenzai (sweet red-bean soup). The time until their appetizers were served again was spent in silence, both of them most likely too nervous to say anything.

Just before their appetizers arrived, Naruto and Hinata were asked to order their entries. Naruto ordered a filet of white salmon, glazed with a mizo-honey sauce while Hinata ordered the Inn's kaiseki ryori (a seasoned assortment of vegetables and fish).

Again, there was silence while the couple waited for their appetizers to arrive.

* * *

"Come on Brat, just say something, anything" said Tsuande as she was observing their long and awkward silence through the crystal ball.

"Hey Tsunade, now that you know how to work that thing, mind teaching me someday?" asked Jiraiya.

Tsunade just shot him a glare. "And why would I show you when all you would do is use it to spy on the girl's bath at the hot springs?"

Jiraiya flinched at Tsunade's 'assuming' he would ever stoop to doing such a thing. Only a super pervert would think of abusing a crystal ball like that. Oh wait…he was a super pervert.

"Damn it Brat, if I knew this is what it took to get you to shut up, I would have had it done when we first met" swore Tsunade.

The reactions around the rest of the stalkers surrounding the Inn were the same.

* * *

"**Geez Kit, come on and say something. It doesn't matter what you say, but just say something. You're looking like an even bigger idiot by just sitting there than you ever would"** said Kurama, trying to give his host a little push.

"_But I don't know what to say!" _argued Naruto.

"**Wow, that's a first…Anyways, you like the way she looks, right?" **asked Kurama. Naruto nodded. **"Then just compliment her. All you have to do is get talking and then things will get better."**

Naruto took a deep breath, deciding to take a dive. "Hinata…" Hinata looked up as Naruto caught her attention. "I…I don't know if I told you this, but…you well, you look very beautiful tonight."

"**There you go, now just don't shut up again."**

"_Eep!"_ thought Hinata. "Y-you do?"

"Of course. Why would I ever think different?" replied Naruto.

"I-I don't know. I-it j-just y-you never s-said anything" said Hinata.

Now Naruto knew what Kurama was talking about. "Oh that, it's just I'm not used to this sort of thing. You know, being in a fancy restaurant, with a beautiful girl."

Hinata blushed slightly, hearing Naruto compliment her. "You're doing fine, so far" said Hinata.

Naruto kind of took this the wrong way. "What do you mean by 'so far'?" questioned Naruto. Although this wasn't anything harsh as Naruto was beginning to open up and figured he'd try playing around a little.

"I-it's just that you kind of have a habit to make things well..." said Hinata, playing along.

"Oh not you to…it's hopeless" said Naruto, putting his head down.

"But that's why I like you" said Hinata, perking Naruto up a little. "You always find a way to brighten things up and find the positive side of even the worst times."

Naruto smiled at this.

* * *

"Finally, I was beginning to think that Baka would actually manage to screw things up by simply not doing anything" commented Sakura.

"Yeah, that would be a first for even Naruto" replied Ino.

* * *

Finally their food arrived and the two eventually began to share their dinner between one another. Needless to say, they probably enjoyed each other's more, or at least the fact that the other was feeding them.

The main entries followed shortly after their appetizers and desert was offered to them last. Hinata had mentioned to Naruto that this restaurant was renowned for a different type of desert known as cheesecake. Needless to say, Naruto was still in the mood for trying something different and two slices of cheesecake were ordered. When they arrived, Naruto quickly snatched up Hinata's slice, actually causing her to protest a little. Apparently, when it comes to sweets, Hinata becomes much more open. Naruto would have to remember this for the future.

"Naruto!" protested Hinata.

"Don't worry, you'll get it back, but piece by piece" said Naruto as he took a piece of desert and fed a no longer complaining Hinata.

* * *

"_Eeh, not bad Naruto"_ thought Jiraiya as he observed their dinner through the crystal ball. "Hey Tsunade, I think the Kid's got this. Why don't we change the station? Perhaps something with a little more…exposure?"

"PERVERT!" shouted Tsunade as she sent Jiraiya flying out of the office with a strong left hook to the side of his face.

"Wow! I'm impressed Boss didn't do anything…well, anything Naruto-ish yet" commented Konohamaru. "Not to mention his date looks really pretty."

"Don't worry, Konohamaru, if it's a date you're looking for, there's another pretty Hyuga girl around your age" commented Shizune, earning a glare from Hiashi.

* * *

Somehow, Kiba had managed to survive. He didn't know necessarily how, but he had somehow managed to survive, despite Anko taking on nearly another hour to his torment simply because he wasn't screaming loud enough.

"Bam!" suddenly, he was knocked unconscious by a flying pervert. Could this night get any worse for him? Oh yeah, it could…he could have been forced to observe Naruto and Hinata on their date.

* * *

Finally, their dinner came to an end and Naruto was presented with the check. If it hadn't been for the fact that he was expecting the size of the bill, he probably would have had a heart attack or something along those lines. The total bill turned out to be around 5,000ryo (remember that I am handling it as $1 = 10ryo). It would have been more, but for some reason the desert was left off the bill. When Naruto asked the waiter, he was informed that first date couples receive a free desert.

"N-naruto, are you sure you don't want me to pay for part of the dinner?" asked Hianta, catching a glimpse at the price tag on their meal. She had initially come prepared, already knowing how expensive this place was. Naruto realized what this was. Iruka had informed Naruto of a 'final test' when taking a girl out for dinner and this was it.

"No, that's alright. Besides, you of all people should know that I've got plenty. Remember the trip to bring back Tsunade-ba…sama?" Naruto nearly let it slip. He was informed by Neji that referring to Tsunade as Baachan inside that establishment was a huge no-no. Hinata smiled. She was still a little regretful that Naruto was the one bearing the burden of paying, but she would just find some way to make up for it.

* * *

Exiting the restaurant, a few of their observers had to readjust their hiding positions so they would not be seen. But thankfully, Naruto didn't notice them and Hinata had not activated her Byakugan. Had she done that, they would have been discovered instantly.

It was starting to get late and the sun was beginning to set. It was then that Naruto remembered one thing he wanted to do. He grabbed Hinata and the two took of in the direction of the Hokage monument, coming to a stop on top of the Yondaime's head. Naruto used to come here a lot when he was back in the academy. For some reason, he found it a good place to sit and reflect. Of course, back then he would try to contemplate what was wrong with him or why the villagers hated him. This time, he just wanted to sit with Hinata and watch the sunset.

They made it just in time as the sun began to slip beyond the horizon. The evening glow, illuminating Naruto, causing Hinata to stare and bask in the warm glow that was radiating from him. To her, this was still all a dream. Back in the academy, she had always fantasized about her and Naruto actually being together, but now that it was happening, she still couldn't believe it. No matter how much everything else was telling her that this was real; to her, this was all a dream, one that she thankfully wouldn't be waking up from anytime soon.

They took a seat on top of the Yondaime's head and simply watched the sun set, Hinata still mesmerized by the glow radiating off of Naruto from the sunset. Naruto caught her gaze and his attention drifted to her. It was around this time that the moonlight was beginning to illuminate the coming night sky, taking the place of the sun. Like the sun with Naruto, the moon seemed to have a complementary effect with Hinata and a faint glow began to dance off of her. And then they did what just about any young couple would do in a situation like this…they kissed.

* * *

"Aww…" was heard from all the female members of the audience that had gathered to watch the two young lovers on their first date. Thankfully for Ino, she had just enough film in her camera to snap the image of the two of them on top of the Hokage monument kissing.

The men in the crowd didn't show it as much as much as the girls, but they were still glad that Naruto and Hinata had finally come together.

"Neji, are you crying?" asked Tented.

"No, I've just got something in my eye" replied Neji, with the typical response to said question.

Inside the tower, Hiashi had managed to keep his emotions masked like a proper Huyga, but underneath he couldn't help but feel a mixture of happiness, hope, sadness, worry, and longing. He was happy because Hinata had finally gotten what she truly wanted. Hope in that this relationship would allow her to blossom into the shinobi that he had always hoped she would be. Sad when he realized Hinata was no longer the little girl and that she was beginning to grow up. Worry because of what the elders would do if they ever found out about this. Longing from the fact that he was the only parent alive of those two. He would give just about anything to share a moment like that again with his own wife, or sit back and have a laugh with Minato before they got beat by Kushina.

* * *

It was getting late, pretty close to the 10:30 deadline that Hiashi had put on their date. About an hour ago, Hinata had managed to fall asleep in his arms. He hated to wake her, seeing how peaceful she looked, but he knew that if he ever hoped to have a night like this again, he would have to get Hinata home on time.

"Don't move" he said to Hinata as she began to stir from his movement. Naruto picked her up bridal-style and began to make his way to her home, hoping from rooftop to rooftop. Looking up at him, Hinata couldn't stop blushing. Where did Naruto learn to become romantic in a way.

As for Naruto, spending an entire childhood without parents gets you wondering what your parents might have been like. Naruto would spend a lot of time observing younger couples, trying to get a feel for what his parents may have been like. When they stopped on top of one of the taller buildings, all it seemed like Hinata was missing was longer red hair and this might have just as easily been a repeat scene from the previous generation.

* * *

Sadly for Hinata, all good things have to come to an end as the approached the Huyga compound. Naruto set Hinata down just out of sight so it wouldn't look like they hadn't been doing anything that Hiashi might deem inappropriate.

"Hinata-sama, it's nice to see you tonight" said Ko as they met him at the gate to the compound. "I hope everything went well?"

Hinata smiled a blush still present on her face. "Everything was wonderful. Thank you Ko. And thank you Naruto for tonight, it was much more than I could ever have hoped for" she said, giving him a quick goodnight kiss.

It was Naruto's turn to blush a little. "Goodnight, Hinata-hime" he said. Hinata's blush darkened at what Naruto had just added onto her name. As Naruto finally left, Hinata finally lost it and she ended up fainting as Ko was forced to carry her into her house.

* * *

"**Not bad Kit. I never imagined you would actually pull it off"** joked Kurama as Naruto arrived back at his apartment.

"_Yeah, although I will say that was the best night I ever had, with the exception of the high society aspect. I could do without that, but Hinata seemed to be okay with it and it at least showed her father the better side of me" _replied Naruto. _"I just don't want to have to go through the fancy, up-scale setting anytime soon."_

"**Don't worry about that. I'm sure she won't care where you take her out to next. She would have liked it even if you just took her to get ramen."**

"_Then why didn't we just go get ramen? That would have been soo much better"_ asked Naruto.

"**Because of her father and where she comes from. Tonight was to show everyone that you could in fact treat her like a princess. Now that you've done that, it should be smooth sailing from here."**

"_Yeah, I hope so. I guess I didn't mind it too much, but going to a restaurant that fancy is not something I want to do every time" _commented Naruto.

* * *

The next morning, Hinata had somehow woke up full of energy as she left to meet with her team for their mission briefings. Last night had been just pure bliss. Despite it ending, she knew there would be more time with Naruto in the future, even if it wasn't on the same scale as last night. She could easily tell Naruto was not comfortable in that restaurant. To be honest, she wasn't comfortable either, at least not until Naruto began talking and playing with her a little. She would rather go to a ramen shop where Naruto is himself than to some fancy, up-scale restaurant where Naruto spent half the night too nervous to do anything.

"_Perhaps now that that is over, maybe we can just go on some more normal dates…oh my…more dates with N-N-Naruto…eep!" _thought Hinata. Nearly loosing conscious from that though.

After a quick breakfast, she left the house, passing Neji and her father in the courtyard. They were getting in a quick spar before Neji had to report in as well. Soon, Neji left, leaving just Hiashi in the house as Hanabi had been taken to the academy.

"Hiashi, there is something we need to discuss" said Moriko as the three Huyga elders approached him. It was this confrontation that Hiashi had been dreading since last night. "We need to discuss the…activities of your daughter."

"Oh? And why do you feel the need to do that? Everything with Hinata is fine" replied Hiashi.

"Are you absolutely sure? From what I've seen, she's been spending some time with err…an undesirable person" said Harabi.

This caused a vein to bulge in Hiahsi's head. "And who might this 'undesirable person' you are referring to be?"

"You know very well who we are referring to, Hiashi. It's that Demon, Naruto Uzumaki" bursted Moriko.

"Hiashi, we understand that Hinata is starting to get to that age, but perhaps you should be looking for a more desirable suitor than that Thing" said Ihro.

"While your concern is admirable, I see no reason to forbid my daughter from seeing Naruto. If you're sight is even half as good as a normal person, you would see that Hinata's skills have developed considerably in the past few months, and I have reason to believe that Naruto is the main reason" said Hiashi.

"Now see here. That Thing is nothing but trouble. His heritage is unknown and he is not desirable for this clan. I don't even understand why you let him in here to train with Hinata in the first place" argued Ihro.

"I…have my reasons. Let's just say there is something about Naruto that has caught my attention. Unfortunately, I cannot say why as I am bound by law, but rest assured that my reason is perfectly acceptable. In fact, if I were you, I would start showing Naruto a little more respect" said Hiashi.

"Hiashi! Perhaps we may have been a little hard on the boy in the past, but that still doesn't make up for what he is. He's nothing but a nuisance and a-a Demon! If you will not distance the clan from him or prevent your daughter from seeing him, then we have no choice but to do what's best for the clan and seal her and eject her from the clan!" shouted Moriko.

"_Damn, I didn't want to have to use this card just yet"_ thought Hiashi. "I don't see any of you in a position to make threats right now. First, it was agreed that you would not interfere with Hinata's life until she becomes of age. Second, it has come to my attention that a particular law has been broken when the three of you told my daughter about Naruto's secret!"

"What? How did you…?" responded Moriko.

"I was informed by Hinata and Jiraiya-sama. Regardless of your reasons or the outcome, the three of you broke the Sandaime's law, which may I add is punishable by either life imprisonment or death, when you took it upon yourselves to…inform Hinata on Naruto's condition. I strongly recommend that you drop this issue if you ever see yourselves anywhere besides a damp prison cell" said Hiashi.

"You wouldn't…" said Ihro.

"I would. That law is still in effect and all I have to do is go to the Hokage. As for proof, I'm sure Inoichi would be able to find something that will convict you, and from your reactions, I'm positive he will. If you don't want to find yourselves in Ibiki's basement, I suggest you simply give up on this little ploy of yours" said Hiashi.

"Hmph, very well. But if that demon does anything to dishonor this clan, it will be on your head. Also, your reason for allowing him to even associate with us had better be good. For your sake, I hope you realize sooner or later that that Demon would be better off dead" scoffed Moriko as the three elders left to contemplate their next scheme to try and manipulate the clan in their favor.

"_Sensei, please hurry with that seal. I am doing everything I can to keep them at bay, but I am afraid that I may be running out of time."_

* * *

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Haku found themselves in the Hokage's office being assigned their latest mission. They were to escort Shibi back to the Waterfall village. This was a rather simple mission. The waterfall village wasn't a significant village and didn't have many enemies. At most, Shibi had told them to expect nothing more than bandits and low-genin level shinobi. Being the lone chunin on the team, Haku was assigned as team leader.

* * *

The morning after Team 7 departed, Tsunade received an unexpected visit from the head of Konoha's lottery.

"Congratulations Tsunade-sama, it appears as if you've won our jackpot of 1,000,000ryo."

* * *

Author Notes

First off, hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving (if you're in the US). If you're not in the US, then I hope you have a good time and enjoy yourself as the holiday season begins in full gear.

So there is the next chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed Kiba's misery and Naruto and Hinata's first real date. Now a quick note, there have been a few questions regarding Kurama's seal. I will be offering an explanation within the next couple of chapters that will hopefully clear up any misunderstanding surrounding how I am handling the seal for this story.

As for what happened in this story, I hope I did the date fine and it appears as if Naruto is a bit of a closet romantic. Speaking of romance, was there love in Kurama's past? Also, if you caught it, I hinted towards what is probably my favorite pairing (please don't say anything). If you didn't catch it, then oh well. Now for the Huyga elders, umm…yeah, not much more to say other than where did Kiba leave that steak vest. I almost feel like having them run through the Forest of Death while wearing it. Oh and it appears that Tsunade has won the jackpot. That's a good thing…right?

Anyways, until next time.


	36. Chapter 36

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters.

Also as a quick warning, there is some strong language in these next few chapters, but I couldn't do Tayuya without making her swear left and right.

* * *

**Chapter 36: Orochimaru's Move**

Team 7, led by their very own Haku, had been assigned to escort Shibi back to the Waterfall village where he was originally from. They had left the day after Naruto's date with Hinata and Sakura had spent the entire trip so far asking Naruto how it went and how he had somehow become such a romantic. Naruto spent the entire trip trying his best to answer her questions, or avoid them when they got a little more personal. Sasuke, although he had secretly observed Naruto's date, had not wanted anything to do with Naruto's date. While Haku found it sweet at first, he eventually saw it as too much of a distraction from their current mission.

The first and second days of their travel were fairly uneventful, with only a group of bandits attempting to ambush them, only to be dispatched with ease. They had set up camp for the evening. If everything went smoothly, they would arrive at the waterfall village the evening of the next day.

After gathering the necessary supplies for camp, Haku made a run for water as Shibi went to the bathroom. This left Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to attend to the tent and fire by themselves and Sakura continued asking Naruto on the past night.

"Shh…Sakura, be quiet" said Sasuke, pulling out a kunai. Naruto sensed it to, or at least Kurama did and he notified Naruto. Within seconds, the three Leaf genin were on guard with Haku away and Shibi nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, four figures came down from the trees, surrounding them.

"Who the hell are you?!" shouted Naruto.

"Keep quiet you piece of trash" responded one of the four ninja. "We are the Sound 4. I am the east gate's Kidoumaru." This ninja wore a sound headband, had a Shikamaru-like hair cut, and…six arms?

"South gate's Jiroubou." This ninja was big. He had the size of a full grown Akamichi and his hair was in a mohawk.

"West gate's Sakon." This ninja had white hair that was just shorter than shoulder-length and for some reason he had an extra head coming out of the back of his body.

"North gate's Tayuya." Tayuya was the only female member of this team, wearing a black cam that covered her red hair.

"We've come to extend an offer to Sasuke Uchiha" said Kidoumaru.

"Yeah, well I suggest you speak quickly or leave" said Sasuke.

"Now now, is that any way to treat someone who has something to offer?" responded Kidoumaru.

"Offer?" This got Sasuke's interest, kind of. "What is it that freaks like you could offer me? I don't want six arms or two heads if that's what you're offering."

"I told you we shouldn't bother negotiating with these pieces of trash. Let's just kill the blonde dumb-ass and pink-haired whore and go" said Tayuya.

"What?!" said all three Leaf ninja in unison.

"Now now, Tayuya" said Kidoumaru. "I apologize for my teammate. We come here representing Orochimaru-sama. Sasuke, Orochimaru has had his eye on you for some time now. What he seeks to offer you is power."

"Orochimaru?!" exclaimed Sakura. "You mean that snake freak from the chunin exams?"

"Why would Sasuke go to the bastard who killed the Old Man?!" shouted Naruto.

"Tell your master I'm no pawn. I already know what he wants and I have no interest in every seeing him again, except for killing him" commented Sasuke.

*Flashback*

"Kakashi-sensei, what was that curse mark thing you were talking about the other day?" asked Sasuke. It was shortly after he had been awakened by Tsunade from the Tsukuyomi-induced coma.

"Yes, about that. Meet me in the Hokage tower in twenty minutes. The same room we were in when we had that talk regarding Naruto and his…condition and I'll tell you about that" said Kakashi.

"And by twenty minutes you mean…"

"Don't worry, I won't be late" assured Kakashi. "I just have to go pick up someone who knows more about this."

Sasuke made his way to the tower, interested in what exactly this curse mark was. After all, he had come mere moments away from having said curse mark given to him. Inside the meeting room, he was surprised that Kakshi was actually there, and he had brought another person with him…the creep lady from the chunin exams, Anko.

"What is she doing here?" asked Sasuke.

"I'm here because I know more about that accursed mark than anyone in the village" replied Anko, revealing the back of her neck.

"So that's Orochimaru's curse mark?" asked Sasuke, staring at Anko's mark in a combination of shock and curiosity.

"Yes, Sasuke. We feared that you have gotten it during the chunin exams, but thankfully you managed to avoid that fate" explained Kakashi.

"Yeah, but what's the big deal about it anyways?" asked Saskue once more.

"The mark, while it grants you power, it slowly eats away at your mind, driving you more and more insane. You eventually lose your mind until you're nothing more than a puppet of his. The mark is like a trade-off, you get a little bit of Orochimaru's cursed power but at the same time, you basically sell your soul to him" explained Anko.

"But, what would he want with me?"

"Simple. He wants your Sharingan" said Kakashi.

"What?!" said a surprised Sasuke.

"Sasuke, listen to me carefully on this. I don't know too much about the details on this organization, but Orochimaru used to be a member of Akatsuki…the same organization your brother belongs to" explained Kakashi. Sasuke looked on wide-eyed. "Our sources tell us the reason Orochimaru left was because he wanted the Sharingan but failed miserably to beat Itachi to obtain it. Do you see? If he gets the Sharingan, he will get a power that we cannot afford for him to have."

"H-he tried to take it f-from Itachi?" asked Sasuke. He didn't know what to feel at this point. Should he feel enraged at the mention of Itachi? Should he feel worried that Orochimaru is after him for the Sharingan?

"Sasuke, Master Jiraiya uncovered a disturbing secret about Orochimaru during his recent travels…He has perfected a jutsu that allows him to change bodies in order to keep himself alive. We think that's what he wants with you. He wants to make your body his own so that he can get your Sharingan" explained Kakashi.

*End Flashback*

"I know why he wants me. I know that he intends to use me as a new body" said Sasuke. This kind of surprised and shocked his teammates.

"You really should be honored Orochimaru is so fond of you. Not everyone gets that privilege" said Kidoumaru.

"Privilege?! What kind of shit privilege is that? Giving up your body and soul to a freak who will just destroy your home?" shouted Naruto.

"I told you we should just kill the trash and take Sasuke alone" muttered Tayuya.

All this time, Tayuya's talk about killing his team began to enrage Sasuke. To be completely honest, despite the flaws of both Naruto and Sakura, they were now the closest things he had to family. He wouldn't admit it openly, but they were. Sakura was still a semi-fangirl, but she was slowly improving. Needless to say, that time Naruto had mentioned he had a date, he had almost been tempted to take her up on her offer. Maybe not a date, but some company for dinner would be nice. Speaking of Naruto, the bond the two of them had was rather complex. They used to hate each other and the assigning of the two of them on the same team was one of the worst days for Sasuke. However, it was during the Wave mission that Sasuke truly began to realize that he did in fact had a certain level of respect towards Naruto for doing everything he could to improve himself. During that mission, a rivalry had developed between the two and Sasuke was able to take advantage of some of that rapid progress Naruto was making, using the rivalry to speed his own progress.

They were the closest things he had to family right now. He wasn't going to lose his family again. "If you even touch them…I'll kill all four of you myself!" declared Sasuke, activating his Sharingan. Naruto and Sakura prepared for the coming battle as well.

* * *

Haku had managed to find a clear stream to gather water from. However, he managed to feel a rather familiar presence. Turning around, he noticed a white-haired man that he knew from a long time ago.

"How long has it been, Haku?" asked the mysterious ninja.

"It feels like it's been too long, Kimimaru. Certainly, too long for an old friend" said Haku, addressing his old friend. The two took a seat next to each other on a rock near the river. "So tell me, how have you been these years?"

"I am happy, I have found an honorable man to serve. In fact, I am here on a mission for him now" said Kimimaru. "Has everything been going well for you?"

"Yes, I have found many people who I hold precious to me. It started with Zabuza-sama, but then I found a few more friends and they even helped us find a new home" explained Haku.

"That is good. So tell me, who are these precious people? And where have you found a home?" asked Kimimaru. He was honestly happy for his friend's fortune in finding a home, even if it wasn't with the man he admired. However, Haku's answer shattered that happiness.

"We met in the Wave Country. Their names are Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha. They took me back to Konoha and helped me find a home there" said Haku, smiling a little.

"I am sorry to hear that" said Kimimaru.

"Huh? Why is that? Where did you find a place to call home?" asked Haku.

"I am sorry that Konoha has tainted you like this. However, I can offer you a chance to save yourself. The man I serve is great and surely he will welcome you with open arms. Come with me, come with me to meet Orochimaru-sama" said Kimimaru, offering Haku an alternative.

Now Haku knew why Kimimaru's mood had changed all of the sudden. "Orochimaru has a need for Sasuke. Help me bring him back, and you will surely be welcome…" Kimimaru was interrupted when a barrage of ice was sent his way, forcing the two apart.

"I am sorry, my friend. But I fear it is you who has made a mistake in choosing your home. The people of Konoha are precious to me now and I will not allow Orochimaru to harm my true friends, even if that means killing you" declared Haku as the two faced each other, preparing for battle.

* * *

"Wow! I can't believe you won, Tsuande-sama!" exclaimed Shizune as the lottery official placed Tsunade's winnings on the desk.

"_Shit, what is it this time?"_ worried Tsunade. Over the years, she had earned the title the Legendary Sucker because when it came to gambling, frankly she sucked. She would normally blow thousands, if not millions, or ryo in gambling halls and walk out with next to nothing. However, when she did win, it usually preceded something bad. The last time she won big was back in Tanzaku Town, right before Orochimaru came to her.

"Shizune, tell the doctors to prepare the ICU!" ordered Tsunade.

"What?! Why? What should I tell them to prepare for?" asked a slightly confused Shizune.

"I don't know…" said Tsunade before being interrupted by an ANBU.

"Hokage-sama, you need to come quickly" said the ANBU. Tsunade quickly followed suit with Shizune running behind.

They entered a room in the lower levels of the Hokage Tower where the ANBU had set aside for purposes such as briefing. Inside, Tsunade found a body lying on the table, obviously dead. "This is…what the hell is the meaning of this?!" shouted Tsunade. The body on the table was the body of Shibi, the same exact person that Team 7 had been assigned to escort.

"Hokage-sama, he's been dead for a few days now. Furthermore, he's mission his face" said one of the ANBU.

"What?!" Tsunade new exactly what this meant….Orochimaru.

"You know what this means" said Jiraiya, entering the room and bypassing the security seals once again. "Orochimaru."

"Hokage-sama, if I'm correct, didn't Shibi leave the village escorted by Team Kakashi just a few days ago?" asked an ANBU.

A large crash was heard as Tsunade's hand came crashing down on the table in the middle of the room, breaking it in two.

"You don't think, do you?" asked Jiraiya.

"I'm afraid so. This mission was a setup to get Sasuke away from the village and into Orochimaru's hands" said Tsunace.

"_Naruto…"_ thought a worried Jiraiya. "Then we have to go after them. Bring them back. Orochimaru will kill them and then use Sasuke to come at the village!"

"I know. Shizune, gather a team of medics and prepare to move out. Jiraiya, go find Kakashi, Zabuza, and Tsume Inuzuka" ordered Tsunade. Meet at the front gates in one hour!" ordered Tsunade.

About forty minutes later, 8 of the Leaf's top shinobi were assembled at the gates of Konoha. Tsunade prepared to brief them on the mission they were about to head out on. "Just an hour ago, we discovered the faceless body of Shibi, a leader of the Waterfall village and the same individual currently being escorted by your team, Kakashi. This Face Transfer Jutsu is only known to be used by one individual…Orochimaru. We believe his target is Sasuke Uchiha. You are to find Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Haku Yuki and bring them back immediately. This is an S-rank mission at the lowest and all of you are aware that a confrontation with Orochimaru himself is highly likely. If you are not up for this, please say so now!" No one backed out. All of them were determined not to let another fellow Leaf shinobi die at the hands of Orochimaru.

"Good. Dismissed!" ordered Tsuande as the team took off towards the supposed location of Team 7. They were just a little more than a day behind and with 'Shibi' having some shinobi training, there was no doubt Team 7 was moving at a fairly quick pace as their client wasn't a normal civilian who couldn't use chakra to enhance their movements. Jiraiya paused for a moment before taking off himself. "Jiraiya, bring them back alive, I beg you."

"Don't worry Tsunade-hime, I promise. I won't let Orochimaru have his way again" said Jiraiya before taking off as well.

* * *

Author Notes

Well there is the next chapter. I apologize that it is short. I had thought about combining the upcoming fights with this chapter, but figured it would be better to spit them into two chapters. Not to mention I felt this was a good place to let you hang for a few days before I post the next chapter :p

Regarding the relationship I mentioned between Naruto and Sasuke. As I said in a previous note, I am in the process of revising the first few chapters of the story. I will be building their relationship a little more in these revised chapters so just bare with me until I get a chance to post them.

So in summary, 'Shibi' has gone mission and Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke have been approached by the Sound Four. This time, thanks to a prior warning from Kakashi, Sasuke is not taking them up on their offer to come quietly. Haku met his old friend Kimimaru and the two realized they were soon at odds with one another as their beliefs are put on the line.

The match ups are set, Naruto/Sakura/Sasuke vs the Sound Four and Haku vs Kimimaru. How will things turn out? Will Orochimaru get Sasuke? Will Team 7 survive their encounter? Who is 'Shibi'? Will Jiraiya and his team make it in time? Until next time.

Please read and review.


	37. Chapter 37

******Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters.

* * *

**Chapter 37: The Sounds of Fighting Leafs**

Team 7 found themselves facing the four members of the Sound Four. They had come on behalf of Orochimaru to collect Sasuke. Not having any sort of curse or influence to persuade Sasuke's decision and the discussion he had with Kakashi a few weeks ago, Sasuke straight up refused and now Team 7 was preparing themselves for what was likely to be the fight of their careers.

"Doton: Earth Dome!" Jiroubou made the first move, casting an earth jutsu that entrapped Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura inside an earthen dome.

The three members of Team 7 looked at the inside of the earth dome they were now trapped in. Knowing that they had to get out and quick, Naruto charged up a Rasengn in his hands and charged towards the wall. The Rasengan made impact, leaving a large crater but not breaking through. Much to their surprise, the crater began to heal itself and their hopes at getting out slowly began to drop.

A few more minutes passed with Team 7 trying to figure out how to get out and Sakura was beginning to feel the true effects of the jutsu. Being the member of the team with the smallest chakra reserves, she was the first to notice the drain on the chakra in her network. Once she mentioned it, Sasuke began to pick up on the flow of chakra with his Sharingan. "Damn. If we just sit here, they'll just exhaust us all. We need to get out of this damn rock prison…wait!" said Sasuke, suddenly getting an idea. "Naruto, use as strong of a Rasengan as you can and then move out of the way quickly."

Naruto, not wanting to argue right now, pumped as much power into a Rasengan as he could maintain and charged towards the wall. While doing so, the inside of the dome was filled with the sound of chirping birds as Sasuke created a chidori in his hand following closely behind Naruto. Naruto's Rasengan made impact with the wall, creating the crater that he had already made many times before. Knowing what was coming, Naruto quickly moved out of the way as Sasuke followed up on Naruto's attack with his own. His idea was correct as the lightning jutsu beat the earth jutsu trapping them.

"So how much longer do you think it will be before you suck them dry?" asked Sakon.

"I don't know. One of them has much more chakra then I thought, but it should only take a few more minu…huh?" Before Jiroubou could finish his sentence, the dome was shattered as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura emerged from it, winded but unharmed. "What? How did you?!"

"Lightning beats earth. Simple as that" said Sasuke.

Naruto made a couple dozen shadow clones to make the initial attack. However, the Sound Four didn't have much trouble defeating them when Jiroubou threw a large chunk of earth on top of them. Using Team 7's slight surprise at Jiroubou's strength, Kidomaru made his move, spitting out what looked to be knives made of goo from his mouth. These knives struck their targets square in the middle of the chest as Naruto and Sakura dropped to their feet, clutching their wounds.

"Wow, that was just boring. You really are worthless piece of trash" commented Tayuya. It was at this time that all three members of Team 7 standing in front of them disappeared into a puff of smoke, revealing them to be nothing but shadow clones.

* * *

"You know, I found you foolish when you didn't come with me to meet Orochimaru the first time. But it appears as if you are just plain stupid" said Kimimaro.

"Sasuke has become one of precious people. I will not betray him, nor will I let you take him" declared Haku as he launched a few senbon at Kimimaro. A bone grew out of Kimimaro's forearm and deflected the senbon. Haku and Kimimaro were now remembering the kekei genkai the other possessed.

"Then you are nothing but trash if you cannot see the genius that Orochimaru-sama is. Projectile Digits" said Kimimaro as he shot the bones of his fingers out at Haku.

Haku made a quick one-handed seal and an ice mirror quickly formed in front of him, deflecting the projectile bones with ease. "Hyoton: Demonic Ice Mirrors!" Haku called out. He knew from past experience the extent of Kimimaru's power and he was going to try and end it quick.

21 mirrors surrounded Kimimaro and Haku's reflection appeared in all of them. "Please forgive me for this, old friend, but I must do this to protect my precious people." With that, Haku began his assault and hundreds of senbon were sent sailing towards Kimimaro.

Kimimaro smiled and bones erupted from all over his body. "Dance of the Pines!" he called out before going into a wild frenzy and deflecting the senbon that were aimed for him. Haku grimaced as Kimimaro made a second assault, this time he aimed for the mirrors. To Haku's surprise Kimimaro's attacks began to shatter his ice mirrors. Haku was quick enough to get out of the mirrors before Kimimaro managed to shatter all of them. This technique sadly wasn't going to work against this foe.

The bones retreated back into Kimimaro's body as he reached into his shoulder to pull out a long piece of bone that had once been his arm. This bone was now shaped like a sword and Kimimaro held it as such.

Something came to Haku and it was obvious that Kimimaro was a sword master, even though his swords were made out of bones and not metal. Haku new to at least be able to defend himself to the point where he could cast jutsu, he would need some way to counter that sword. Thankfully, his mentor was also well versed in kenjutsu, the art of the sword, and over the past two months, Zabuza had been training Haku in kenjutsu. Haku didn't carry around a sword on him, but he had the ability to manipulate and form ice to any shape he needed, including that of a sword. Haku focused his chakra and began to form a sword of ice in his own hand as Kimimaro raised his eyebrow slightly.

The two sword wielders made an initial charge at one another, wanting to determine the strength of the other. Their swords met and Kimimaro was surprised that Haku's sword held up soundly to the impact. Haku was reinforcing his blade using chakra to strengthen it, but what really made it stronger was how he assembled it. The blade was much more dense than the mirrors had been and as such, possessed the strength to hold up against Kimimaro.

* * *

The three Leaf ninja had hidden themselves while Naruto's shadow clones distracted the Sound Four.

"They seem really strong. What should we do?" asked Sakura. She didn't want to show it, but deep down she was trembling when the four freak ninjas mentioned the name Orochimaru. She had been frozen at that point when she remembered the encounter in the forest of death with that snake and the initial burst of killing intent that was unleashed upon them. It wasn't until Sasuke made his declaration that she managed to regain some of her senses.

"I've got an idea" said Naruto. "Just make sure you follow up after Sasuke." Saskue nodded as the two read each other like that time they were facing Zabuza. Naruto made a clone and pulled out a few shuriken. He channeled as much chakra into the shuriken as he could before throwing them. He made a few hand seals while the clone ran through a different set of seals.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Futon: Gale Palm!"

The Sound Four were looking around, trying to pick up on their prey. Suddenly, they saw a few shuriken come towards them, causing them to laugh. A few shuriken were no threat it them…at least, not until they turned into just over a hundred shuriken. What surprised them even more was when the speed of said shuriken increased, forcing them to quickly dodge instead of block. They managed to dodge just in time, leaping into the air to avoid being shredded by the rain of metal.

Sasuke saw his opening, looking on at Sakon and preparing to make his move. Sasuke used his own Shadow of the Leaf dance to maneuver himself into Sakon's shadow before he began a series of punches and kicks before finishing with his Lion's Barrage. Unfortunately, Sakon managed to block all of his attacks.

"What was that?" asked Naruto, disappointed that Sasuke's attack seemed to have no effect.

"I…don't know. There was a pair of arms that came out of nowhere and blocked me" said Sasuke, trying his best to analyze Sakon. In truth, Naruto had a decent plan, using his shuriken to get them airborne for Sasuke to deal with. If they hadn't jumped then the faster moving shuriken would have hit, causing some serious damage.

Sakura stayed back, not wanting to reveal herself just yet, hoping that maybe she could catch one of them in a trap, creating an opening for Naruto and Sasuke.

"Summoning Jutsu!" shouted Tayuya as three rather large ogre-like things joined the battle. Tayuya began to play her flute, causing the beasts to attack Naruto and Sasuke.

"Hey just remember not to kill the Uchiha" said Jiroubou.

"I know Fatty. Now just shut the hell up and let me deal with these two" shouted Tayuya. Naruto and Sasuke spent the next few minutes dodging blows from the ogres. That is until Jiroubou came out of nowhere, blindsiding Naruto and sending him crashing into a tree.

"Naruto!" shouted Sasuke. However, he had no time as he was busy trying to figure out these beasts that were attacking him.

"I must applaud you for lasting so long against my 9th symphony. No one has ever survived against it so long" said Tayuya. Then it came to Sasuke. During the entire time, she had been playing her flute while the beasts attacked. That must be the key to controlling them as they had to be nothing more than just mindless puppets. He had been keeping an eye on her this entire fight, wondering when she would join. However, she had just been playing her flute. If he could just get that flute, then maybe he could use these beasts against her.

"_Damn. Feels like I just got hit by Baachan"_ thought Naruto, picking himself out of a pile of collapsed trees.

"**Kit, I'm gonna give you some of my power. Not enough for a cloak…yet, but enough to allow you to counter that oaf's strength"** said Kurama as he began to give Naruto some chakra. Naruto felt the chakra flow through him as his whisker marks became more accented, his fingers grew claws, and his eyes became red with slit pupils.

Jiroubou was about to come up behind and grab Sasuke until he felt something slam into his back, sending him crashing into the trees. "Heh, payback" said a more fox-like Naruto. Naruto moved to block the ogres, giving Sasuke some breathing room.

"Naruto, can you get that flute?" asked Sasuke.

"Sure, one flute coming up" said Naruto as he forced the ogres back, giving himself enough time to create a few clones.

Using his enhanced speed, Naruto quickly closed in on Tayuya, delivering a strong punch to her face and sending her back, but not before taking the flute from her hand and tossing it to Sasuke.

"Bastard!" shouted Tayuya as the flute was now in the hands of Sasuke and ogres stopped their attack. "Pfht, not like you can do much anyways. Your stupid mind couldn't possibly comprehend the true power of my symphony."

Sasuke just smiled as he began to play her flute. The ogres began responding as he wanted to, much to Tayuya's surprise. "H-how?" she said out of shock.

"Memorizing a few simple notes on a flute is such a simple task for my Sharingan" said Sasuke as he went back to playing. The ogres charged towards Tayuya, forcing her to cancel the jutsu before they could start beating on her.

Again, their attack didn't go quite as planned, but at least they got rid of Tayuya's ogres and they had her flute.

Suddenly, a ball of webbing shot out of the canopy at Naruto, pinning him against a tree. Sasuke was caught off guard by this distraction and didn't quite notice the second ball of webbing that knocked the flute out of his hand.

"Heh, good luck getting free of that you piece of trash" said Kidomaru emerging from the shadows. Naruto struggled to get free of his bindings but it was no use. The webbing was too strong to break, even with his strength being enhanced thanks to Kurama. "You can't break my webbing as it's enforced with chakra."

This is where Naruto got an idea, if only he could reach his knives in his back pouch. Naruto struggled with all his strength to move his arm to his back pouch to get his tri-pronged kunai. At this time, Kidomaru spat up something that looked like a mixture between spider thread and mucous. It quickly hardened into a shape that resembled a knife and he did the same until he had six knives…one for each hand. Sasuke wanted to help, seeing Naruto trapped but he himself was caught up trying to dodge Jiroubou, who had managed to recover after being blindsided by Naruto.

"Cherry Blossom Blizzard" called out Sakura silently as she saw this as her best opportunity to help out her team. Her genjutsu was cast on Kidomaru, giving Naruto enough time to finally reach back in his pouch and grab a knife. Kidomaru recognized such a simple genjutsu and quickly dispelled it, turning his attention back to Naruto. He tossed the knives at Naruto, but Sakura had succeeded in buying Naruto enough time. Before the knives dug into his flesh, Naruto channeled some of his wind chakra into the knives and found that they easily cut through the webbing.

"So you think you can use genjutsu, you little whore?" said Tayuya, finally regaining possession of her flute. She worked her melodies and Sakura was soon caught under her genjutsu.

Sakura was on her knees with her arms chained to a cross and surrounding her were skeletons and rotting flesh. This had to be hell. How the hell was she in hell? She didn't remember getting killed so this couldn't possibly be hell, but it felt so real. The stench was terrible and the pain in her arms from where the stakes had been driven through her wrists hurt so much. She closed her eyes, trying to regain control of her chakra as this had to be a genjutsu, however her attention was brought back to her current situation when the flesh on her arms began to peel away. She screamed out in pure agony as the pain became unbearable.

Now, there are two main ways to break a genjutsu. The first is to disrupt and regain control of your chakra network. The second is through excruciating pain. Unfortunately for Sakura, it was the later of the two that broke her genjutsu as Jiroubou's fist slammed into her side as he briefly disengaged Sasuke to take advantage of that opening.

"You fat dumbass!" shouted Tayuya. "Why the hell did you do that? I had the whore underneath my genjutsu!"

"Shut the crap. True physical pain is much worse than some illusion, isn't it?" said Jiroubou. Before Sasuke could take advantage of his opening that Jiroubou made when he went to attack Sakura, he found himself engaged again with Sakon. Sasuke's attacks should have hit as he was able to take advantage of all the openings Sakon had left him, but for some reason, a pair of arms that seemed to some out of nowhere blocked his attacks.

Naruto saw Kidomaru's surprise that he had managed to break through the webbing. Seeing this as an opening, he rushed Kidomaru, wind chakra still coursing through his knives. Unlike Sasuke's attacks on Sakon, his was successful as Kidomaru wasn't fast enough to react to a Kyuubi-enhanced Naruto and there weren't any of his allies around that could save him in time. With a quick slash of his knife, Naruto severed one of Kidomaru's arms from his body, leaving the spider freak with only 5 arms.

Kidomaru screamed out in pain, swearing and cursing at Naruto, who was preparing to make a follow up attack. However, before Naruto could follow through, he was sent crashing into trees yet again as Jiroubou came to his teammate's aid. Naruto stood up, brushing off Jiroubou's assault as if it was nothing, the Kyuubi chakra protecting him.

Sakura finally came to consciousness, although she was really wishing she was still unconscious as there was an immense pain in her left arm and side. Her arm felt broken, a few of her ribs had to be broken, and there was a sharp stinging pain as if she had been stabbed by something. That punch from Jiroubou had been incredibly powerful, not to mention she had absolutely no opportunity to brace herself.

"Sakura, are you alright?" asked Sasuke. Sakon had finally broken off his attack and all four Sound Four were standing together facing them. Naruto regrouped next to Sasuke and Sakura.

"No…" said Sakura, trying to speak through the pain as she also coughed up some blood. "My…my arm is definitely broken…and it feels…like my entire left side has been crushed."

"Hang in there Sakura, we'll get you out of here" said Naruto. Sasuke was agreeing that they had to get out of here as well. Sakura was no longer in any condition to fight and now she was nothing more than a target that the Sound Four could use against them.

"You're not going anywhere, you worthless pieces of trash" said Tayuya.

"Now it's time that you see the power Orochimaru blessed us with" said Kidomaru. "Sasuke, you WILL be coming with us to Orochimaru-sama. You're worthless friends however; they will die."

"Let's just do it and be done with it" said Sakon.

"Activate, Curse Seal Level 2."

Sasuke, Naruto, and to some extent Sakura, looked on in horror as the Sound Four began to take on a more demon-like appearance. What really freaked them out the most was Sakon.

"So how should we cook them, brother?" asked the second Sakon that had emerged from the body of Sakon.

"I prefer them well done, Ukon. But whatever kills them is perfectly fine by me" said Sakon.

If it wasn't bad enough already, Kidomaru began coughing up something new this time…it was a gigantic bow. The Sound Four took their formation, Sakon/Ukon and Jiroubou in front and Kidoumaru and Tayuya in the back.

"Shit Naruto, we've got to get out of here" said Sasuke. This was not the time for either of them to be stubborn as they both recognized the serious trouble they were in. Before Naruto could say anything, he was once again blindsided by Jiroubou, whose punch had to be at least 10 times stronger than the first. He could feel it now. Even with demon chakra reinforcing his entire body, bones were definitely broken as he coughed up some blood.

Naruto managed to recover himself, only to find Ukon's head sticking out of his own shoulder. Sasuke looked on in horror at what had just happened to his own teammate. First he had been blasted back and now he had Ukon's head sticking out of him. How was that second part even possible?

"Well, so where should I start? I can invade a person's body and order their own cells to begin destroying themselves. So what should I start with? An arms? A leg? Or should I just be merciful and kill your heart…huh? What the hell is this?!" Ukon shouted as his explanation was interrupted by a shooting pain through his entire body.

"**You know, it's not polite to enter someone's body uninvited"** said Kurama to Sakon. **"You threaten my Kit. Let's see how you like being torn to pieces!" ** Ukon screamed in agony as Naruto was suddenly overtaken by a red chakra, the one-tailed cloak. Naruto smiled as he realized what Kurama was doing, forcing Ukon out or tearing him to pieces, whichever came first.

Unfortunately, Ukon managed to separate from Naruto before Kurama could have his way. However, the damage had been done as Ukon was struggling back to his brother. "Brother, I can't…I can't go on…there's something off…about that kid."

"What the hell did you do?" shouted Sakon.

Naruto, now fully encased in the Fox cloak, replied. "You're not the only one with a second presence inside them, and mine doesn't like intruders."

Sasuke smiled as his teammate finally decided to tap into the Kyuubi's power.

"That's it! You die now!" shouted Jiroubou, charging for Naruto. Naruto held his ground as their hands collided, sending out a shockwave, followed by the sound of 1000 chirping birds.

Naruto heard this as well and ducked down just as Sasuke came jumping over him, Chidori active. Jiroubou tried to disengage, but found himself unable to as Naruto's chakra cloak turned into a claw, keeping him in place. Jiroubou couldn't move and Sasuke had his sights set on one thing…Jiroubou's heart.

The Chidori ripped through Jiroubou's chest and through his heart. One down (two if you count Ukon), three to go.

"You worthless piece of shit!" screamed Tayuya as Jiroubou fell to the ground…dead. Sakura had caught a glimpse of this and tried her best to manage a smile. If only she would have looked more into that book on medical jutsu, perhaps she would have been able to heal herself to a point where she wouldn't be completely useless.

Their tag-team effort had been successful as they managed to kill one of their attackers, however Naruto didn't notice the arrow that Kidomaru had sent his way. Had Naruto not have moved at the last moment to give Sasuke an opening with his Chidori, the arrow would have hit his heart. Because he moved, the arrow missed his heart, unfortunately ripping through his right shoulder. Naruto cried out in pain, clutching his shoulder.

"**Don't worry Kit, I'm patching you up as we speak"** said Kurama. Just like that, Naruto looked over at the hole in his shoulder and he could see it beginning to heal itself, and rather quickly. **"While using the chakra cloak, you heal at an increased rate, and this is compared to your normal accelerated healing."**

"_Heh, thanks"_ replied Naruto.

"**Don't mention it. Although if you are looking for a way to thank me, perhaps you could do something about this sewer that we're in"** complained the Kyuubi.

"_Not now, kind of busy kicking ass here"_ said Naruto.

Kidomaru looked on in disappointment as his attack proved to be ineffective. He needed a target that couldn't heal that fast. One that Orochimaru wouldn't be disappointed if he killed. One that would give his team the proper opening to strike and finish this. Wait! He looked over at the injured pink-haired kunoichi clutching her entire left side.

"Haha! Prepare to die! Maximum Power, 110% accuracy!" Kidomaru said as he took aim at Sakura's heart.

"No, Sakura!" shouted Sasuke as he realized what Kidomaru was aiming for. He bolted towards Sakura, hoping to get there in time to move her out of the way as Naruto rushed Kidomaru to try and knock the arrow off course.

However, Naruto was too late and the arrow sailed towards Sakura, locked onto her heart.

She felt it. She felt the arrow tear through her body; however, something had altered its course and the arrow ripped through her right shoulder like it had with Naruto. It hurt like hell, but she was alive…for now. However, she had to know. What saved her life? What diverted the arrow enough to keep it from going through her heart?

Unfortunately, the answer made her wish that it had hit its intended target. In front of her was what she had always dreamed of happening, yet now that it had happened, she desperately wanted to take it back. Sasuke had come to her rescue, managing to deflect the arrow just enough for it to miss her vital organs; however, the price he paid for altering the arrow's trajectory was high, higher than Sakura would have ever hoped for.

"Shit" swore Tayuya. "Orochimaru-sama's not going to be happy."

"Sasuke!" shouted Naruto as he caught a glimpse of where the arrow went.

Sasuke just stood there, turning his head to look back at Sakura. "Sakura…thank you…for everything" said Sasuke, before falling to the ground. The arrow had sailed clean through the middle of his own chest, most likely hitting his own heart. However, it was enough. It was enough to stop the arrow from killing Sakura.

"Sa…sas…" was all Sakura could get out before going unconscious due to a combination of the trauma that had been done to her mind and the loss of blood.

Naruto couldn't move, finding himself frozen by the thought of Sasuke being dead. He couldn't be dead. He still had his dreams to fulfill. What about the brother he had to kill? What about the clan he had to revive? Sasuke's dreams couldn't end there. Naruto looked on as his heart sank into despair.

* * *

Naruto found himself in a familiar setting, facing the giant gates that held Kurama back. Shock still overtaking him as he collapsed next to the cage, using one of the bars to support him. Just like Sasuke, he had acknowledged the bond the two of them had formed. Sasuke though, was now dead.

"**Kit, snap out of it"** said Kurama. This was not the time or place for Naruto to lose it. **"Kit, I can feel a faint life force coming from your friend, but it's fading. That spider freak must have missed his heart by a fraction of an inch, but clipped something else."**

"_H-he's alive?"_ asked Naruto, hopeful that the demon was telling the truth. _"What can we do?! Is there anything we can do to save him?!"_

"**There is, but you're not going to like it" **replied Kurama.

"_What? Just tell me! I don't give a crap as long as we can save Sasuke!" _shouted Naruto.

"**First, we need to get rid of those freaks. Step inside of the cage and I'm going to give you as much power as I can. You will only have a minute at most before the seal begins to react. After that, do your best to stay conscious and stay in the One-tailed form"** instructed Kurama. Naruto did as instructed, stepping into the cage as Kurama surrounded Naruto with his tails and infused his power directly into the boy.

* * *

"Damn you Kidomaru. Because of you, Orochimaru's going to flip shit on us!" shouted Tayuya.

"Let's just kill this brat and then we'll deal with Orochimaru later. He told us to kill this piece of trash as well, so 1 out of 2 may lessen our punishment" said Sakon.

The three remaining members of the Sound Four surrounded Naruto, prepared to kill him, until they were blown back by something more sinister than Orochimaru himself.

Where Naruto once stood was now encased in a blood-red bubble. A pair of glowing eyes staring out from it, with a massive amount of killing intent radiating from the bubble.

"What the fuck…?" was all Tayuya could say as the three remaining Sound Four stared into the face of death.

* * *

Haku and Kimimaro were trading blow for blow, neither of them willing to give an inch as ice and bone clashed with one another. Kimimaro finally disengaged, realizing this wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm impressed. Orochimaru would have been impressed with your abilities. I'm sure he would have welcomed graciously" said Kimimaro.

"Can I ask you one thing? Why does Orochimaru want my friend so bad?" asked Haku.

"Immortality. Orochimaru desired to live so that he can accomplish his goals. I simply exist to help him see those goals through to the end" explained Kimimaro as Haku began to see a reflection of his past self. He too was just like Kimimaro, dedicating his entire existence to ensuring someone else's goals were accomplished. However, his precious people, Naruto and his other friends, showed him that he didn't have to sell his soul to Zabuza. He even changed Zabuza into a new person, one that Haku respected even more. He learned that as long as he trusted in and supported Zabuza that the two of them would be unbeatable. He was no longer a mere tool of Zabuza, like Kimimaro was for Orochimaru. He and Zabuza were truly partners and they would see their goals through to the end. Then Kimimaro continued to speak. "However, immortality doesn't necessarily mean that a body is immortal. He must replace his current body with a fresh, strong new body."

"I see. So the rumors were true" said Haku. Being a chunin, he was informed with some of the more pressing information that Jiraiya had managed to uncover about Orochimaru's supposed immortality. "Then I will do whatever it takes to stop Orochimaru from getting his hands on Sasuke."

"I gave you enough chances to join me, now you will die" declared Kimimaro as strange markings began to overtake his body. "Curse Seal Level 2, activate!"

Haku looked on as Kimimaro began to transform until he looked like something that resembled a dinosaur. There were also four large bones sticking out of his back, along with numerous other bones sticking out of the rest of his body. If things couldn't get any more weird, Kimimaro reached into his back and pulled out something that resembled…his spine? Haku couldn't even comprehend the monster that Orochimaru had transformed Kimimaro into and he didn't want to imagine what he'd do to Sasuke if he got his hands on him.

Kimimaro lashed out at Haku with his spine-whip thing and Haku was just barely able to dodge. Another attack followed shortly after and Haku wasn't going to be able to dodge this one as he was already airborne. Haku moved his ice sword to block the attack as best he could, but the whip shattered the blade with ease. The whip slammed into Haku's left side, sending him into a nearby tree. It hurt…bad, but Haku knew he had to do something or Kimimaro was going to kill him. Although, Kimimaro's spine-whip gave him an idea.

"Suiton: Water Whip!" declared Haku, going through the hand seals and forming a whip of water around his own hand. The two opponents unleased their whips at one another, the two attacks entangling with one another. Kimimaro tried to free his whip from Haku's, but struggled as Haku channeled chakra into the water to hold on desperately. This was what he had wanted Kimimaro to do.

"Hyoton: Ice Whip!" The water whip began to freeze instantly around Kimimaro's spine-whip. Haku pulled back on his own whip, shattering Kimimaro's as the combined effort of the instant freezing of the two whips and the increased pressure on Kimimaro's whip was enough to break Kimimaro's attack.

The dinosaur growled as Haku managed to defeat his attack. Haku watched on as Kimimaro's left hand turned into a long spear and he began charging. Haku summoned as much chakra as he could, forming a few mirrors in front of him to act as a defense. However, Kimimaro's attack came shattering through the mirrors as the spear struck Haku in the abdomen, lust below the left ribs, piercing his liver. Despite the mirrors shattering with ease, they did their job in slowing down Kimimaro enough so that that blow wouldn't have been fatal.

Kimimaro removed his spear from Haku's gut and grabbed Haku's shoulder with his other arm. "I'm sorry it had to turn out this way, but I cannot allow you to interfere with Orochimaru-sama's plans" said Kimimaro.

"I am too. Perhaps once I join you on the other side, we can be friends again. Hyoton: Instant Freeze!" said Haku.

Kimmimaro looked over at his shoulder, which Haku had managed to grab and saw it begin to freeze. Trying to end Haku before the jutsu could take full effect, Kimimaro struck at Haku's head with the spear. Haku channeled as much chakra into his jutsu, trying to freeze Kimimaro before the dinosaur killed him.

* * *

The recovery team was now only about fifteen minutes from where the fights between Team 7 and the Sound were taking place. They now new the exact locations as Tsume had picked up the scent of fresh blood there and there had been bursts of chakra coming from not too far away.

And then Jiraiya felt it…the sudden burst of immense demonic chakra. He knew this was bad as something had forced Naruto to tap into that much of the Kyuubi's chakra. This felt like enough to do some serious damage to Naruto, even with the Kyuubi on his side.

"I'm going to rush ahead. Just hurry up and get there as soon as possible" said Jiraiya as he darted off towards the battleground. _"Naruto, please hold on just a little longer"_ thought Jiraiya. He didn't want to do this, but he just had the feeling he would need it as he put his hands together as they began to glow a greenish-blue. With any hast, he would be there in a matter of minutes. Hopefully it wouldn't be too late.

* * *

Special: Kurama's Seal

Hey everyone, so I figured with the emergence of the Four-tailed form, I should elaborate further on the workings of Kurama's seal. There are a few things that I do not wish to reveal about it just yet, but hopefully this will give you enough so that you are not confused by how I am handling the seal.

First off, I will start with the design on the seal itself. This seal is different from how the seals of Kurama's past two jinchuriki, Mito Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki., functioned. Now, I have seen some fanfics where Kushina/Naruto's mother was not a jinchuriki, but I will be using Naruto's mother as Kurama's second junchuriki like the cannon did. The difference between Naruto's seal and Kushina/Mito's seal was the purpose they served. For Mito and Kushina, their seal was simply meant to confine Kurama whereas Naruto's seal was meant to allow Naruto to use Kurama's chakra. The seals on Kushina and Mito did not allow Kurama to know what was going on outside the bodies of his jinchuriki. As such, he wasn't aware of the relationship between the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and Kushina. This is because of the confinement purpose Kushina's seal served. Naruto's seal on the other hand, allows for Kurama's chakra to mix with his own, giving Kurama the ability to know what's going on outside of Naruto.

On a side note, Kurama knows Kushina is Naruto's mother, but he does not know who Naruto's father is, although he is one of the only beings in the story who is actually able to pick up on the similarities that link Naruto to his father. Again, this is because Kushina's seal prevented Kurama from seeing anything that occurred outside of Kushina's body. This also greatly restricted access to Kushina's memories.

The seal itself was designed by Minato with elements of the Uzumaki clan seals incorporated into its design. The seal itself is incredibly complex and powerful, possessing the ability to both confine the Kyuubi and merge some of his power with Naruto. There are many fail safes in the seal (these will be discussed at a later time).

**Warning, slight spoilers:** Minato designed the seal with the intention of the future jinchurikis being able to tap into the Kyuubi's power. However, this seal in particular required undeveloped chakra coils that could easily adapt to the influx of the Kyuubi chakra. As such this seal had to be applied to a newborn, whereas Kushina and Mito had the beast sealed within them when they were older. On the night of the Kyuubi attack when Minito was battling Madara, it became clear that only someone who could use the Kyuubi's power would be able to defeat Madara. Until this point in time, he had no intention of using the seal currently on Naruto, but found that he had no choice as Madara would soon plague them once again. As such, he sacrificed himself to seal Kurama into Naruto using this seal.

Now, I need to discuss how Naruto's seal functions and why it harms him when he uses more of Kurama's power despite the two of them being on friendly terms. The seal was meant to constantly allow a small amount of Kurama's chakra to mix with Naruto. As such, Naruto gained his accelerated healing and his massive chakra reserves. When Naruto wants to use more power, some more chakra must be forced through the seal, resulting in some form of stress being applied to the seal itself. The amount of stress is directly proportional to the amount of chakra Naruto uses and the amount of time he taps into the power. Once the seal reaches a certain amount of stress, then Naruto begins to experience some forms of side effects, such as severe mental and physical strain and exhaustion while his body tries to recover. If too much stress is placed on the seal, then this could potentially activate one of the fail safes, restricting the flow of Kyuubi chakra to Naruto, which no one wants at this point in time as Kurama is not necessarily a threat to Naruto.

Just to give you an idea of how long Naruto can tap into different levels of the Kyuubi chakra, the first level, which is just the more fox-like appearance, he can hold for a little more than an hour without any adverse effects. The one-tailed cloak, which is significantly more power than the first level, can be held for maybe 15-20 minutes at most. The two-tailed cloak is around 10 minutes at most. The three-tailed cloak is around 5 minutes. The four-tailed cloak, which is what Naruto is currently using while battling the Sound, can last for only a minute or two at most.

As for the appearance of the cloaks, they currently resemble the chakra cloaks from cannon. In the future, once I do decide to fully unlock Naruto's seal, they will resemble the cloaks Killer Bee took on with a version 1, version 2, and then full blown tailed-beast mode.

Also, realize that Minato did not have the time to fully perfect this seal so it does have some problems (such as the stress it places on Naruto when he uses Kyuubi chakra). Plus, Naruto is the first one to have this seal on him. It's more like a prototype, but it is still extremely effective for the purpose it was meant to serve.

Now, to answer a few last questions that I've been asked regarding the seal and Naruto's use of Kurama's chakra. Jiraiya has the key and the key is the only thing that can safely loosen or tighten the seal without activating any of the fail safes. The reason Jiraiya has not unlocked the seal, despite the contract between the two, is not entirely because of Naruto (although Naruto does have something to do with it. Imagine giving a kid the keys to a fully loaded tank and leaving him alone with it) but mostly because of the village. If they learned that the seal had been released, that would just give them more incentive to try and kill Naruto.

Anyways, that's it for now. If you have any more questions on how I am approaching Naruto/Kurama's seal or are a little confused with my explanation, let me know and I'll will try my best to clear things up with you.

* * *

Author Notes

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope my explanation for Kurama's seals was helpful in clearing up some of the confusion surrounding it. I plan to extend slightly further into the seal itself in the next few chapters.

Also, I realized that I only plan to do two more major arcs in this story before proceeding onto the next volume of the entire store (Naruto's training with Jiraiya). There will be a few filler chapters in between each where I may expand further on Naru/Hina (perhaps another date or a mission where the two of them are together?), expand on another character, or try my very best to add some attempt at lame comedy. Like I mentioned in a previous chapter, I plan to add another chunin exams which will be one of the arcs. The other one will be starting here in a few chapters and I do not want to reveal too much, but I will say that it will be another trip with just Naruto and Jiraiya this time (sorry but no Hinata on this trip).

Anyways, who will win? Team 7 or the Sound 4 (and Kimimaro)? Will Sasuke live? Will Jiraiya make it in time? And what is that blue-green glow around his hands? Until next time…

Please read and review.


	38. Chapter 38

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters.

So here is the next chapter, wrapping up the confrontation between the Leaf and Orochimaru's forces.

* * *

**Chapter 38: Aftermath **(I know it's the most overused title out there, but it's all I could think of)

The three remaining members of the Sound Four looked on in absolute terror as the blonde 'idiot' that was once kneeling in front of them was suddenly replaced by this dome of blood-red demonic chakra. The killing intent that was radiating towards them was more than they had ever encountered before…stronger than even Orochimaru himself.

"_Woah…what is this?"_ asked Naruto, taking in the new chakra cloak that surrounded him.

"**This is the Four-tailed Cloak. We don't have much time so just listen to me and do what I tell you"** said Kurama.

A hand shot out of the dome, pinning Tayuya to a tree as one of the claws buried itself into her throat, killing her. Kidoumaru looked on desperately as he knocked another arrow into his bow and took aim.

"Maximum power! 150% accuracy!" he called out before unleashing the arrow on the miniature kyuubi that had just emerged from the dome along with the claw. The arrow was heading straight towards Naruto and he made no attempt to move as Kurama just told him to stay still and take the arrow.

Naruto took the arrow as it hit him in the chest, shattering and causing Kidoumaru to look on with a mixture of shock and terror as his attack did nothing. Kurama got a good laugh at the spider-man's expression.

"**Alright Kit, follow real close here. We are going to do something that's going to blow these freaks off the map."**

With that, Naruto raised his head and the four tails formed a sort of semi-circle just a little above his mouth. Balls of red and blue chakra began to form just above the mouth and within this semi-circle as they all converged into a solid sphere of dense chakra.

"Shit! What the hell is that?!" swore Sakon. The two remaining Sound could feel the energy radiating from that ball. This was going to be bad. Sakon began going through a series of hand seals, as they figure this attack was going to be hard to avoid.

The sphere finished forming and Naruto proceeded to swallow it as he himself inflated into what looked like a balloon with four tails sticking out of it. And then…Naruto unleashed the attack on the Sound.

"Summoning Jutsu: Rashoumon!" shouted Sakon, summoning a giant gate in the wake of Naruto's attack…a desperate attempt to shield him. Kurama just smiled as the ball of chakra at the forefront of the attack made contact with the gate, blowing the doors off its hinges and catching Sakon and Kidoumaru in its blast. The Sound Four were now dead.

As soon as he felt their presence disappear, Kurama recalled the four-tailed cloak, wanting to save as much time as he could to try and save Sasuke. Naruto was left with the One-tailed cloak when he made his way over to Sasuke. What Kurama had told him was correct. Sasuke was alive and there was a faint pulse. The arrow must have missed the heard by a mere millimeter because Naruto thought he could even see the faint beating of Sasuke's heart in that hole. Unfortunately, he could see blood pouring out of the hole…and a lot of it.

"_Shit. He's bleeding badly. What do I do?" _asked Naruto.

"**Move your tail over his wound and carefully flow the chakra into his wound. I'll be helping a bit, but you need to keep yourself from pushing too much in."**

As Kurama instructed, Naruto moved the remaining chakra tail he had over Sasuke's wound and began channeling chakra into it. Like the demon chakra did to his own wound, Sasuke's began closing. It wasn't fast, but the bleeding was slowing and Naruto could begin to make out some flesh that was beginning to regenerate around some of the more vital parts that were once visible in the wound. However, the healing halted as Naruto used up all the remaining demon chakra he had available to him.

"**That will keep him alive, but he needs medical treatment immediately. There is still a great chance he could die. As for the girl, her wounds aren't as severe but they need attention as well."**

"_What do I do then? Konoha is at least a day away if I hurry. They won't last that long" _said Naruto.

"**Just hold tight Kit. I can sense a familiar presence closing in on us. He should be here just about…now."**

Naruto looked up to see what Kurama was talking about. "Ero-Sennin!" he shouted as Jiraiya emerged from the bush and the fox-cloak disappeared.

"Naruto, thank Kami you're still ali…watch out!" shouted Jiraiya as he jumped in the way of a kick aimed for Naruto. The kick was strong enough it sent Jiraiya crashing into t pile of trees, creating a rather large hole.

"Shibi! What the Hell?!" shouted Naruto as Shibi emerged on scene, kicking Jiraiya out of the way.

"I must say I'm impressed you have that much control over the Kyuubi, Naruto. But it seems even you have your limits. Now I'll be taking Sasuke and you'll die, just like the pathetic trash you just killed" hissed Shibi in a familiar voice.

"You…" said Naruto, staring at Shibi. Suddenly, their attention was captured by voices coming out of the hoe in the trees that was created by Jiraiya.

"Jeez Jiraiya-boy. Why did you have to summon us here?" said an old raspy voice coming from the hole.

"And right in the middle of dinner too" said another voice. This one sounded more like an older woman.

"I apologize for summoning you two like this. But I my opponent is Orochimaru, so please lend me your help" said a voice that was most definitely Jiraiya's.

"You really need to learn Sage-mode on your own, Jiraiya-boy" said the raspy voice.

"I wish I could, but I'm still just a tadpole compared to the two of you" said Jiraiya as he emerged from the hole in the trees with two smaller toads mounted on his shoulder. The first one was a green toad with a grey tuft of hair on his head. He wore a dark grey cloak. The second was a lighter green toad with bushy purple hair, purple lipstick, and a light purple blush to her cheeks. Jiraiya himself had changed as well. The markings on his face were different and his eyes were more toad-like. Not to mention his nose grew and he gained some warts. "Fukasaku, Shima, will you help me?" the two toads nodded.

"_Woah. Is that really Pervy Sage?"_ said Naruto, trying to do everything to keep himself awake. His body was tired from using the four-tailed cloak like that and he was on the verge of collapsing.

"Naruto, stay out of this. Today I'm going to put an end to Orochimaru" declared Jiraiya.

Orochimaru laughed, ripping off Shibi's face to reveal his own. "Well well Jiraiya, you really must be desperate if you're relying on the help of two old washed up toads."

Jiraiya didn't want to waste any time talking as he charged towards Orochimaru with an increased speed, taking a good shot at the snake which he dodged…or did he?

The fist missed but Orochimaru was sent flying back none the less. Orochimaru quickly recovered, brushing off the sage chakra enhanced punch like it was nothing. His 'borrowed' body allowing him to take a much more intense beating.

Orochimaru lashed out with some snakes from his hands, only to have them lassoed by Shima's tongue.

"Ma, Pa, now!" indicated Jiraiya as Shima slammed Orochimaru back into a tree. "Senpou: Goemon!" The three sages shot out a combination of flame wind and earth at Orochimaru as they merged into a wave of molten mud.

"Summoning Jutsu!" shouted Orochimaru just in time for a large snake to appear and coil around him.

When the attack subsided, Orochimaru emerged unharmed from the charred remains of the serpent surrounding him and Orochimaru sending Jiraiya a look of severe annoyance. Jiraiya knew before hand that Orochimaru would find a way to avoid that attack so as soon as the attack was done, he charged at the snake sanin with a Rasengan in hand.

Orochimaru drew his Sword of Kusangi from within himself and used it to block Jiraiya's attack, the legendary sword being enough to stop the Rasengan. Once Jiraiya's attack had stopped, Orochimaru swung at the Toad Sage with his blade, just barely knicking Jiraiya in the neck. Jiraiya took a few steps back, creating some distance between he and the snake.

"Ninpou: Needle Hell!" shouted Jiraiya as his long hair shot countless needles at Orochimaru. He slithered his way around most of the needles, but found that there were too many to avoid and took a couple dozen needles to the face, torso, and everywhere else. It looked as if Jiraiya had gotten Orochimaru, until he emerged from the mouth of himself. Orochimaru was now unharmed as an old molted body of his lay at his feet. Then Orochimaru bent down to the ground, unleashing a wave of thousands of snakes that went slithering towards the Toad Sages.

"Senpou: Goemon!" shouted Jiraiya as he, Fukasaku, and Shima unleased their combined attack at the hoard of attacking snake. The combined attack incinerated or buried all of the snakes.

"Kukuku" laughed Orochimaru from behind Jiraiya. He was standing between Jiraiya and where Naruto and Sasuke were. Jiraiya looked at his former teammate. This battle couldn't go on much longer as he was running low on sage chakra. He only had enough for maybe one or two attacks.

"I don't know Jiraiya, perhaps the Uchiha won't be the only one I take. You never know, perhaps I could find a way to turn that little brat of yours against the village, perhaps even unleash the Kyuubi on it. He seems to have good control over the beast" said Orochimaru. "I wonder how the demon's chakra will react to the curse mark?"

Naruto could barely manage to growl at Orochimaru.

"Don't even think I'm going to let you near Naruto, let alone Sasuke…gagh!" shouted Jiraiya as the Sword of Kusangai came up from behind and pierced Jiraiya through the chest. To Orochimaru's surprise, Jiraiya disappeared in a puff of smoke, revealing it to be nothing more than a shadow clone.

Orochimaru barely had time to react as he felt Jiraiya coming from behind him. "Go to hell, you snake. Senpou: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan!" shouted Jiraiya as he drove a giant Rasengan into Orochimaru's arms which he had brought up to block the incoming attack; however, he never expected this. Orochimaru cried out in pain as the Rasengan shredded his arms until there was nothing left below the shoulders.

Orochimaru collapsed in pain as he began to sink into the ground. "Damn you Jiraiya. Don't think for an instant that you've won. I'll be back and I'll get my hands on that treasured Sharingan. And once I do, you can kiss the Leaf Village goodbye." Jiraiya tried to make another attack to try and finish Orochimaru off, but the snake managed to escape into the ground before that ever happened.

The battle was over and once again, Orochimaru's plan to get a hold of a certain Uchiha had failed. Fukasaku and Shima returned back to Mt. Myoboku as Jiraiya's sage-mode ended. Now all that was left to do was to get the slowly dying Sasuke and Sakura back to the village for medical treatment. From the looks of their injuries, it would be close and there was no guarantee of saving them if they got back to Konoha. Both Sakura and Sasuke's injuries were extensive and they had lost a lot of blood already, not to mention there was no sign of Haku.

"Ero-sennin" said Naruto, growing ever wearier from the exhaustion of the battle.

"Don't worry Naruto, we'll do what we can. If we can get back to Konoha, Tsunade will see that they are okay" said Jiraiya as Naruto finally lost consciousness.

* * *

Tsunade waited at the gate for the return of Team 7 and the recovery team. She had gotten a report from them just a few hours prior stating the severity of Sakura's and Sasuke's injures and immediately had the ER prepped. It wasn't much longer before she saw the medics carrying stretchers bearing Sakura and Sasuke. They had a few life support seals on them, but surgery was required immediately.

"Where are Uzumaki and Yuki?" asked Tsuande, concerned for the rest of the team.

Shizune answered. "Uzumaki and Yuki are on their way back but their injuries are not life threatening. As such, we felt it more dire to rush Haruno and Uchiha back to the village as quick as possible." Medical ninjas were trained to be able to move at incredible speeds in situations like this, faster than was possible for most jonin.

"Good, get them in surgery stat. We need to hurry!" ordered Tsunade. Shizune and the remaining medics rushed the two dying members of Team 7 to the hospital.

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke had been placed in separate operating rooms with vast seal matrixes that covered the entire room. With Tsunade overseeing Sasuke and Shizune overseeing Sakura, the operation was going on 20 hours now as they attempted to close the holes in the two genin.

Outside one of the operating rooms sat Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno, Sakura's father and mother. They had been there for the past 20 hours, worrying for their daughter's life. Joining them was Ino and her team along with Lee. A few minutes later, the light to the room went off, indicating that the operation was over.

By the time she had arrived at the hospital, Sakura had lost almost 40% of her blood. At the same time, she had a gaping hole in her shoulder that had torn flesh and pierced bone. Not to mention her entire left arm had been shattered and the state of her left side was questionable. After further analyzing the situation, it appeared as if 6 of her ribs on the left side alone had been broken with 2 of them piercing her lung. Another 2 ribs had broken on her right side. With everything at hand, the doctors estimated her chance of survival to be 50% at most.

Finally, after what felt like hours since the light went off (it had only been 5-10 minutes in reality), Shizune emerged, carting Sakura on a hospital gurney.

"Is she…?" asked Mebuki, stopping Shizune and taking a look at her daughter.

Shizune gave them a reassuring smile. "There were some points where we weren't sure she was going to make it, but everything came out all right. I think she'll make a full recovery, but we are going to have to keep her sedated for at least the next week while her injuries heal."

Everyone let out a sigh of relief and Mebuki and Kizashi began thanking whichever Kami had allowed for their daughter to live.

Despite Sakura's extensive injuries, she was not the worst of the two. Sasuke, while he had fewer injuries as the Sound had not actually been trying to kill him, his were more dire. The arrow had just barely missed his heart and clipped a few major organs and arteries in the process. Just from that one injury alone, he had lost around 45% of his blood before being rushed to the ER (40% is about the most amount of blood a person can afford to lose before their body begins to shut down). His chances of survival were around 40%, but they could have been worse. This is what really caught Tsunade's attention.

Sasuke's injuries were serious and would have taken an expert to heal. However, the medics reported that someone had done a small patch job on Sasuke's injury. It wasn't much, but it was enough to stop most of the major bleeding and ensure he would live until they got him to the hospital. Even Jiraiya mentioned that Sasuke had been patched up before he or Orochimaru arrived. This only meant two people could have possibly healed him: Naruto or Sakura. Sakura, while Kakashi had begun to steer her in the direction of medical jutsu, was still barely skilled enough to provide the most basic form of first-aid, let alone heal a wound this severe. Naruto on the other hand, he knew no medical ninjutus. The only reason he could heal himself was the Kyuubi…wait, that had to be it. The Kyuubi had to have been the one responsible for healing Sasuke. Unfortunately Naruto was still asleep and she wouldn't be able to find out until h was awake.

Despite the contract, she had been doubting whether or not the Kyuubi was really good or not, but if he willingly helped Sasuke…was it really just a misunderstanding? Had the village been wrong about the Kyuubi and he wasn't the monster that everyone saw him as?

Haku, unlike Sakura and Sasuke, was in no immediate danger when he came in. The worst of his injuries was a broken arm and a puncture wound on his cheek that thankfully wasn't deep enough to reach anything vital, such as the brain.

*Flashback*

Haku focused as much chakra as possible as he could into his jutsu as Kimimaro struck at Haku's head with his bone-spear. It looked as if Kimimaro was going to win when his spear reached the ice-user's skin. It was at this point that Haku finally got his burst of chakra, taking just about everything he had and pumping it into this new jutsu that he and Zabuza had been working on for the past few months. Within a millisecond, Kimimaro froze, bon-spear and all, and his attack stopped just as the spear dug a few centimeters into Haku's cheek. Any later and Kimimaro would have won, reaching Haku's brain with the attack.

Haku began to breathe again for what felt like the first time in minute as he carefully removed himself from the frozen dinosaur. He then braced himself a he heard cracks coming from Kimimaro, hoping that the dinosaur had not found a way to break free. Thankfully, Kimimaro toppled forward and slammed into the ground, shattering himself into thousands of pieces. Haku had won as he himself collapsed from exhaustion.

Minutes later, just after the blast of demonic chakra was felt, the recovery team arrived on scene with Zabuza looking as worried as ever, even crying…Kakashi was going to have fun with this later.

*End Flashback*

Out of all four of them, Naruto was in the best condition, just suffering from a major case of chakra exhaustion. Then again, the other members didn't have a 1000-year old demon inside of them that made him heal just about any injury over night (or almost instantly when he was using more fox chakra).

* * *

It had been three days since the recovery team arrived back in Konoha and they had all been admitted to the hospital. Three days since Naruto had been awake. It was finally around this time that Naruto began to stir. When he was finally beginning to come to, he felt a weight on his chest. Someone had restrained him while he was asleep, afraid that he would get out. Thankfully, the restraint was an actual body and not shackles or straps or anything.

"_How long has she been here?"_ thought Naruto. Just moving his head, he looked around the hospital room. It was his usual room, which was a good thing, and there was a table with a few flowers on it next to him, along with a few cards from Kakashi, Iruka, Konohamaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, the Konoha 13 (with the exception of Sasuke, Sakura, and Haku, who were also in the hospital), Hiashi and a few members of the Hyuga clan who actually liked him, Teuchi and Ayame, and even the owners of the Flaming Leaf Inn. And then there was this lump of lavender love draped across him.

It was roughly three in the morning and Hinata must have fallen asleep. In fact, it was a surprise that she had actually been allowed to stay this late as the nurses, if not Tsunade herself, threw everyone out after visiting hours.

Naruto began to stir and his caught Hinata's attention as she came to as well. "N-naruto?" she said quietly as she began to notice movement. She turned her head to see if Naruto was actually awake and to her slight surprise, he was.

Before Naruto could fully register what was happening, he was faced with another medical emergency…suffocation, as Hinata wrapped her arms tightly around him, afraid he was going to leave and not come back at all this time.

She had seen the medics rush Sasuke and Sakura into the hospital. Those had to be the worst hours of her life, the time between seeing them in such critical condition and when Jiraiya came carrying an unconscious, but alive Naruto. Since then, she was practically at the hospital 24/7 hoping that Naruto would wake soon.

"H…Hinata...can't…breath" said Naruto as Hinata realized what she was doing and quickly loosened her grip on her blonde boyfriend. Naruto gave her a quick smile after regaining his breath and Hinata practically pounced him again, this time locking her lips against his. It took Naruto a few minutes to register what was really happening and for the question he had to know the answer to come to his head.

Pulling back from Hinata, he asked. "Hinata, Sakura…Sasuke…Haku? Are they…?" he asked.

Hinata gave him a reassuring smile. "Haku is fine, just asleep like you were. Tsuande-sama said there were times when she thought Sakura and Sasuke weren't going to make it, but thankfully, they're expected to fully recover" she said. Naruto let out a big sigh of relief. Then the next problem caught his attention as his stomach began growling. Both of them couldn't help but laugh until Naruto got out of bed, much to Hinata's protest. Naruto reassured her that he wasn't going anywhere as he climbed up onto a counter in the corner of the room and removed one of the ceiling tiles, pulling a container of instant ramen out of the ceiling. Hinata just stood at him wide-eyed, or rather the 'magic ceiling'.

"Please don't tell anyone. I can't live on just hospital food. It tastes like crap" begged Naruto. Hinata told him not to worry as she found it funny that he had actually managed to hide a ramen stash in the hospital. Naruto went over to the sink. Thankfully, the tap water in the hospital could get hot enough for instant ramen if he just waited a few minutes. Afterwards, he made his way back to the bed, climbed in, making room for Hinata, and finished his ramen while telling Hinata the story of what happened.

* * *

Jiraiya and Tsunade were in the Hokage's office as Jiraiya had managed to pick up a bottle of sake. This job was supposed to cure Tsunade of her alcoholism, yet it only seemed to be nurturing it. She then heard a knock on the door as Koharu and Homaru entered the door…just great. _"On the bright side, Danzo isn't here."_

"Tsunade, we need to talk about the recent events regarding Orochimaru and the Sasuke" said Koharu.

It was at this time that Kakashi appeared in the window.

"Jeez, don't you guys ever use the door?" she said, looking at Jiraiya and Kakashi. Both just smiled at her.

"It's become clear that Sasuke's going to be constantly targeted by Orochimaru" said Homaru. "He needs training. He needs to become stronger. Konoha needs the Uchiha clan and we cannot afford to let him die, let alone fall into Orochimaru's hands."

Tsunade sighed. Sadly there were parts of that she agreed with. "We suggest you have Jiraiya take Sasuke on as a student and train him personally" suggested Koharu.

"No! I won't be taking Sasuke. Besides, I've already a student" said Jiraiya.

"You can't be talking about Naruto?" objected Homaru. Jiraiya just nodded. "But why? You'd rather take that 'Demon' over Uchiha-sama?"

Koharu felt a massive amount of killing intent directed towards him from Kakashi, Tsunade, but especially Jiraiya. "Don't you ever refer to Naruto as 'Demon' again" threatened Jiraiya.

"Just know that if it wasn't for 'that demon', Sasuke probably wouldn't be alive" said Tsunade.

"What are you talking about?" asked Koharu.

"Before I go any further, just know that what I'm about to say will be considered an S-class secret, punishable by death" said Tsunade. Everyone in the room nodded. "Good, now if you'll make a blood oath to seal the deal."

Homaru and Koharu questioned this decision, but it was obvious Tsunade didn't quite trust these two and as such she was requiring them to make a blood oath, not to mention this to anyone without the Hokage's permission or else they would drop over dead on spot. The two elders sighed as they made the blood oath, their curiosity taking over.

"When I arrived at the scene of the battle, three Sound ninja that Orochimaru had sent to abduct Sasuke were practically obliterated. We were able to retrieve the body of a young girl and it looked as if a claw had been driven through her neck, nearly decapitating her. Also, there was a huge crater in the forest were we recovered the head of another sound ninja. His body was nowhere to be found and we are certain it is no longer in existence" explained Jiraiya. "Furthermore, when I went to check on Sasuke after battling with Orochimaru, it appeared as if some medical jutsu had already been performed on him to stop most of the bleeding. I believe you've already been briefed on the injury Sasuke sustained?"

"Then Orochimaru had to have done something to save Sasuke. After all, he seems to want Sasuke alive" said Koharu.

"No. Sasuke was healed before Orochimaru arrived and Sakura was too injured to even be conscious at the time" said Jiraiya. Tsunade then interrupted.

"The area where Sasuke was injured is an incredibly complex and vital area. Even if the Sound ninja missed his heart, they his left a gaping hole in his right lung and severed many of the arteries in the area. Even I would have been hard pressed to heal that injury. With everything given, Sasuke should have been dead. There was only one being that could have saved Sasuke" said Tsunade.

"Wait…You're not saying the Kyuubi saved Sasuke?!" said Koharu.

"I am. Naruto doesn't have any medical knowledge so the Kyuubi must have at least instructed him how to patch up Sasuke" said Tsunade.

"But then that means the Kyuubi must be trying to gain control over Naruto. We must act before it can escape!" worried Homaru.

"No!" shouted Jiraiya.

"So what?! You just expect us to wait while the Kyuubi breaks free?!" said Homaru.

"This is why I'm taking Naruto as my apprentice. If anyone in the village can teach him how to harness the Kyuubi's power, it's me" said Jiraiya. "I'm the one who best knows my late apprentice's seal and I'm the only one who can stop the Kyuubi if it tried to escape." _"Like he would actually try. It seems as if he's become too fond of Naruto to even attempt something like escaping. Not to mention, there is the contract between the two of them, but they don't need to know about that yet."_

"But why Naruto? It's not Naruto who needs the training, but Sasuke!" protested Koharu.

"Sadly, that's where you're wrong. My spy network has discovered a group of S-class criminals named Akatsuki and I am sure they will be coming after Naruto. They are after the tailed beasts after all" said Jiraiya. "Naruto is in just as much danger as Sasuke and I will not allow him to be neglected like he has for the past twelve years!"

"What are you saying? That we've merely tossed Naruto aside?" asked Homaru.

"Yes. Ever since he was cast out of the orphanage at age 4, Naruto has had to fend for himself with the villagers not even offering the slightest bit of help. In fact, they've merely tossed him out on the street, abused him, and even tried to kill him for no god damn reason!" Jiraiya was beginning to get really worked up. He took a few breaths, calming himself. "I'll be taking Naruto away from the village for a few years to train him once I've wrapped up things in Konoha. There is nothing that you can say or do that will make me change my mind. Naruto is my apprentice and that is final!"

"But regardless of Naruto, what will we do about Sasuke? We cannot allow him to fall into Orochimaru's hands. We were lucky this time, but surely Orochimaru will be back" said a worried Koharu.

It was then that Kakashi spoke up. "We've already discussed that and I've decided that I would be willing to take Sasuke as a personal apprentice of mine" said the one-eyed jonin. "But first, we need to figure out what to do with Sakura. I don't want to simply abandon her."

(A/N: With Haku, he is pretty much trained personally by Zabuza when he has the time. So Haku is not in need of a private mentor.)

"Given that he is the only other one in the village with the Sharingan, Kakashi is the best person for teaching Sasuke" said Jiraiya.

"Very well" scowled Koharu. "We'll give you a month to figure out what to do with the Haruno girl. After that, you are to begin training Sasuke personally. This is what the council has decided, Kakashi."

"I understand" said Kakashi as the two elders left the room. Kakashi then turned to the two sanin. "Can you let me know when my team wakes up?" Tsunade nodded as Kakashi left, out the window…again.

Jiraiya pulled out another bottle of sake. "You know, you could take on Sakura yourself" said Jiraiya.

"I've actually thought about it. Kakashi's reports suggested that she would make for a good medical ninja, but there is something else she needs and I'll only train her if she has IT" said Tsunade. "But there is something else I need to talk to you about. Something came up, regarding sensei…"

Tsunade reached into her desk and pulled out a scroll with the Yondaime's mark on it. Tsunade told Jiraiya to read it and he did.

_Hiruzen,_

_I must apologize, but I am writing this in haste. It has come to my attention that Madara Uchiha is still alive and the one responsible for this attack. I believe the best course of action is now to seal the beast inside my newborn son, Naruto. I will be using the seal that I've been working on, which will allow him to eventually utilize the Kyuubi's power as his own so that one day he will be able to end the thread of Madara once and for all. Unfortunately, this will cost me my own life and I do not think Kushina will survive. With neither of us there, we hope that you will find someone who will care for Naruto like we would have. _

_Within the blood seal on this scroll are two letters from Kushina and I to Naruto. As a Hokage of the Leaf, I understand what you're thinking. I understand that you want to keep my identity a secret from my own son, but I ask you this…Let him know who we were. Let him know that we loved him. I do not want my son to be condemned to the fate of wondering where he came from. Trust me, no trust Kushina. She knows best of all what that fate is like and the emptiness that comes with it. He will need all the love he can get to overcome the challenges that he will face. Kushina and I leave everything to him. Please make sure he is seen as the hero he deserves to be seen as._

_Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage_

Jiraiya was disgusted at the letter, or rather how the Sandaime handled the letter. Jiraiya knew when Kushina first came to the village, she had been an orphan with no knowledge of her family and Minato saw how she suffered because of that. This was the Yondaime's last will and Sarutobi-sensei had disregarded it, keeping Naruto in the dark about his parents and allowing the village to take numerous shots at killing him.

"Tsunade…" was all the old toad could say.

"I don't know anymore, Jiriaya. You and I both knew sensei. We both knew he respected Minato too much to simply disregard his final requests, even if it was for the good of the village. At the very least, he could have given Naruto his mother's name as their marriage was kept secret. Or he could have told Naruto to keep this a secret. Naruto trusted the Old Man, he would have kept it a secret if only sensei asked" said Tsunade. "There's just no way the Old Man could have done this intentionally. There has to be more…there just has to…" Tsunade was in disbelief.

"Instead, Naruto was cast out onto the streets and left to wonder why he was abandoned…a similar fate that Kushina had to face until she met Minato" said Jiraiya, taking a deep breath. "I'll tell him…I owe him that much at the very least."

"Jiraiya, are you sure you want this burden alone? What if something happens?" said Tsunade. "What if Naruto doesn't take it well?"

"What are you really saying? Are you worried that Naruto may actually decide to go on a rampage through the village?" asked Jiraiya, wondering what it was that Tsunade was actually thinking.

"No! It's not that. I trust Naruto as much as you do I just don't trust the village. Ever since that day, I've been worried for Naruto, as worried as I was for Nawaki or Dan. Whatever Naruto's reaction, I don't want the villagers to see this as an opportunity to…to '_kill the Kyuubi'_" she said, adding a distinct hint of disgust to the last part.

Jiraiya thought for a moment. "I need to take another trip here in a few weeks. There is something I need to do regarding the little project Hiashi gave me. I'll take Naruto with me and tell him then…away from the village. That will also give him enough time to let it sink in and for me to clear a few things up with him."

"Wait, are you going where I think you're going?" asked Tsunade.

"Yeah. It'll actually be a perfect trip to tell Naruto on" replied Jiraiya.

* * *

Naruto woke up, still in the hospital with Hinata snuggling up next to him. His stomach was still killing him. The instant ramen at 3:00 in the morning did him no good. He began to work himself out of bed, feeling as energized as ever and made his way over to the window. This woke Hinata, but he assured her that he would be back. He was just going for a little breakfast.

Naruto made his way through the village, still dressed in hospital robes. His target was Ichiraku, but he figured he would get something for Hinata.

"OUT!" shouted the baker as Naruto was thrown out of the bakery that he went to get Hinata some breakfast. This landed him right in front of Hanabi, on her way to the academy.

"Naruto?" asked the younger Hyuga. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in the hospital."

"Hey Hanabi. I am, but I'm just getting breakfast. I can't stand hospital food. I was going to get something for Hinata, but the jerk baker threw me out" said Naruto.

Hanabi sighed and went into the backer, coming out with a box of cinnamon rolls and handing them to Naruto. "Here, these are Nee-san's favorite. See you later, Naruto" said Hanabi, before running off towards the academy.

"_Well that worked out better than I thought"_ thought Naruto.

He then made his way to Ichiraku to get their breakfast ramen that he would usually get for…well breakfast. After collecting the ramen from Teuchi, he made his way back to the hospital. Ramen run successful. Naruto hoped through the window to find Hinata that Hinata had gone back to bed.

Naruto opened the box that Hanabi gave him to find six rather large cinnamon buns inside. _"Can she really eat this much?"_ thought Naruto in a little bit of shock before taking one of the sweets and holding it under her nose. In a comical fashion, Hinata took a whiff of the cinnamony smell of the sweet and instantly snapped awake, snatching it from Naruto's hand (Imagine a starving chipmunk being given a nut).

Naruto just stared at her with shrunken pupils as Hinata's attention was finally brought to him, causing her to blush. A warm laugh filled the room after a few moments of awkward silent. Hinata began to eat her way through the cinnamon buns as Naruto enjoyed his Ichiraku.

"NARUTO!" shouted a voice on the other side of the door as Naruto had just finished the last of his ramen. Perhaps the ramen run wasn't as successful as he though. That voice was strangely familiar and it caused Naruto to jump and cower behind the bed. Tsunade then burst through the door and began scolding Naruto for his little ramen run before shuffling Hinata out the door so she could give Naruto a full check up. Despite Naruto passing the check up with flying colors…minus the violent protests when Tsunade prepared to give him a shot…she still requested that he stay in the hospital one more night.

Since he was allowed to move around inside the hospital, Naruto made his way to Sakura's and Sasuke's rooms. Tsunade informed him that Sakura wouldn't be awaking for a few more days and Sasuke was likely going to be out for another week while they healed, but he just had to see with his own eyes that they were still alive….thankfully, they were.

Opening Sakura's door, he found her parents inside. Surprisingly, they didn't shoo him away like most of the other parents would have done. Naruto tried to offer an apology, but they stopped him. Tsunade had told them everything that had happened (at least everything that she knew) and the Harunos came to the conclusion that if it wasn't for Naruto, then Sakura could have likely died. While Sakura's mother had been a civilian all her life, her father was a retired shinobi. He knew the dangers of the life and didn't place any of the blame on Naruto, or his inhabitant.

Naruto made his way towards Sasuke's room, but was stopped when he encountered a mob that he hadn't seen since the academy…Sasuke's fan girls. He'd come back later…once the fan girls cleared out.

He decided to see if Haku was awake and thankfully he was. Naruto had wanted to know what happened to Haku during that fight and after Haku and Naruo exchanged stories, he was thankful that Haku had managed to take care of Kimimaro. Even with 4v5 instead of 3v4, Kimimaro would have probably made things much harder after Haku described the boy's abilities.

* * *

Author Notes

Well, there is the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed the Jiraiya vs Orochimaru battle and the Jiraiya vs the council debate.

Now starting with Orochimaru, he failed yet again to get his hands on Sasuke although he was rather close this time. In the end, Jiraiya came to rescue and used Sage-mode to fend off the snake. As a result, he used a large Rasengan to practically shear Orochimaru's arms off. In a sense, it was a repeated fate of what the Sandaime did to Orohimaru, except Jiraiya is still alive. Because he recently swapped bodies, Orochimaru has about three more years before he can do it again, meaning that it will be three years before he can pose as a true threat.

Sakura and Sasuke both survived and are expected to make full recoveries. While Sakura's condition may have sounded worse, do realize that you could practically see Sasuke's heart in the hole that Kidomaru's arrow left. If it wasn't for Kurama's help, Sasuke surely would have died.

Speaking of Kurama, despite the contract that he had signed with Naruto, realize that there is still a certain level of distrust with Tsuande and even Jiraiya (but to a much smaller extent). I mean come on, he 'attacked' the village 12 years ago and killed many people. However, they are beginning to realize that the Kyuubi may truly be on their side. I do not plan on having Jiraiya unlock the seal anytime in this book (remember this book takes place up until Naruto leaves with Jiraiya and then I will begin working on the next book), but that doesn't mean he won't help Naruto and Kurama out a little.

One last thing regarding the Kyuubi and Naruto. This is not a story where Naruto and the Kyuubi fuse into one being or Naruto will take on a more permanent fox-like appearance. Naruto will eventually possess the ability to transform into the Kyuubi (much like Bee transforming into the Hachibi in cannon) but it will never be a permanent transformation. I honestly do not like the versions where Naruto grows a fox tail and ears.

Now, regarding the conversation between Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, and the two elders about Sasuke and Naruto's training, please don't be like 'OMG! You ruined the next generation of the Sannin!'. It was never my intention to have Sasuke leave the village. It is my belief that it was the influence of the Curse Mark that drove Sasuke to Orochimaru. Since he does not have it, Orochimaru won't be getting his hands on Sasuke (that doesn't mean though that he won't try…after all, Orochimaru does want the Sharingan). I also believe that Kakashi is the best person to train Sasuke as he truly is a Kage-level shinobi (or atleast he becomes Kage-level after the time-skip).

I have received a comment about Sasuke receiving some training from Anko to help compensate for the fact that he doesn't get trained by Orochimaru. To be honest, I didn't consider this, but now that it has been mentioned, I am. Perhaps I will have Anko give Sasuke some of her snake-based jutsu to help satisfy those of you who think I ruined the next generation of Sannin :P. I don't know yet, but I do thank you for the idea and I am considering it.

One of the biggest things about this chapter is that letter that Minato left to Hiruzen. Minato wanted Naruto to know who his parents were and I honestly believe that if the Old Man told Naruto to keep it a secret, Naruto would have as he truly trusted the Sandaime. He mentioned the fate that Kushina suffered. From my perspective, Kushina was brought to Konoha as an orphan and for the purposes of my story, she had no knowledge of her family as she will have been too young to remember them when they were still alive. Just to let you know, this negligence by the Sandaime will develop into something much, much more, but I will not get to that until a later book.

Lastly, I figured I would try to add a slight bit of NaruHina humor near the end to lighten things up before ending the chapter. And yes, Hinata is about as big as a cinnamon roll addict as Naruto is a ramen addict, although she doesn't show it as much.

Please read and review.


	39. Chapter 39

Posted: 11/30/2012

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Naruto, sadly

A/N: I want to make a few things clear before I begin this chapter. I am in no way a Sandaime hater nor am I Minato hater (Minato is probably my third favorite character with 1 being Ero-Sennin and 2 being Naruto). Regarding the Sandaime though, I strongly believe he could have done more for Naruto…much more. After all, he was the strongest person in the village at the time. He had to have known what Naruto's life was like (especially with his crystal ball) and he had to have known how much Naruto was suffering. Also, I do believe that if Hiruzen would have told Naruto about his parents, and told Naruto to keep his parent's identity a secret, Naruto would have done so as the Sandaime was one of the few people Naruto truly trusted.

There had to have been something going on although no one is really sure yet. Who knows, perhaps we'll find out sometime in the story.

* * *

**Chapter 39: Team 7 No More**

"Yo." Naruto had returned to his own room to find Jiraiya sitting in the window of his room.

"Ero-sennin!" replied Naruto. Jiraiya sighed, not wanting to be called Ero-Sennin but it was probably too late now to change the kid.

"How are you feeling kid?" asked Jiraiya.

"Fine, I guess. It's good that Sasuke and Sakura will be alright" said Naruto.

"See…didn't I tell you Tsunade would make them as good as new?" asked Jiraiya.

"Good old Baachan" said Naruto, before hearing a crash in the hospital. "I mean Hokage-sama" he gulped. Thankfully, there was nothing more that sounded like cracking walls in the hospital.

Jiraiya just laughed. "Alright, now for the real reason I came here."

"Huh? Real reason?" asked Naruto.

"For the next three years, your team, Team 7, is no longer active" said Jiraiya.

"What?!" Naruto began to protest. "What about me? Sasuke? Sakura? Haku? What about the chunin exams the three of us were talking about taking?"

"Calm down, Naruto. Kakashi, Tsunade, and I talked about this and we felt that it would be better for the three of you if you all received individual training for the next three years" said Jiraiya. "From now on, you are officially my apprentice."

"What? You're really going to be training me personally for three years?" asked Naruto, a little excited at the news. "But then what about Sasuke, Sakura, and Haku?"

"Well, Haku already receives private training from Zabuza, and Sasuke is going to be trained by Kakashi, as long as we can find a teacher for Sakura" said Jiraiya.

"Okay, but who will teach Sakura?" asked Naruto.

"I'm hoping Tsunade, but she won't teach Sakura unless she has something that Tsunade called 'IT'" said Jiraiya. "Hopefully Sakura will have 'IT' and Tsunade will take her under."

"Well, whatever 'IT' is, I know Sakura has it" said Naruto, now reassured that his team was being looked at. "Wait, but before we left on the mission, Kakashi-sensei told us about the upcoming chunin exams in Kumo. What's going to happen to that? We all wanted to go?"

"Again, we talked it over and we'll let the three of you take one more shot at the chunin exams before taking the three of you away for a bit" said Jiraiya.

"Wait…you're going to be taking us away?" asked Naruto.

"Yep. After the exams, you and I will be going on a journey for a few years. I don't know where Kakashi will be taking Sasuke, and Sakura will most likely be cooped up in the hospital studying" explained Jiraiya.

"A…few…years? WHAT?!" shouted Naruto. "But…but…what about Hinata? What about the village? Why exactly do we have to do this?"

"Naruto!" shouted Jiraiya, trying to get Naruto's attention. "Do you remember Itachi and Kisame? Why they were after you?" Naruto nodded. They were after Naruto because of the Kyuubi. "Good. Now, my informants have told me that they won't be after you for at least 3 to 4 more years. We need to make you really strong so that you'll be ready. Don't worry about Sasuke or Sakura. They will be in good hands. As for Hinata, trust in her. She's strong and I have a feeling she'll really impress you when you return."

Naruto suddenly changed to a more determined look. "Alright, so when do we get started?" said Naruto

Jiraiya smiled. "Like I said, there are a few things that need to be taken care of. We will really begin training you in a few months, but I have enough to keep you occupied until then. Oh, speaking of which, I'm planning on going on another smaller trip here in a few weeks and you're coming with me. I think it's something that will interest you in particular." Then, Jiraiya hopped out of the window onto a rather large toad. "I'll be back in a few weeks. Until then, if you need something to do, go ask Asuma Sarutobi to help you with your wind chakra."

Naruto was checked out from the hospital the next day. It was still three days before the doctors would even think about waking the other two members of his team from their medically induced slumber. First thing first as he was Naruto after all…Ichiraku.

* * *

"I knew I'd find you here."

Naruto turned around to a very familiar voice. "Iruka-sensei!" Iruka joined Naruto at the counter, ordering his own bowl of ramen.

"I'm sorry to hear about your latest mission, but I'm glad everyone made it back alive" said Iruka.

Naruto looked down, remembering the scene of Sasuke getting shot through the chest. "Iruka-sensei, I don't ever want that to happen again. I thought Sasuke was dead…I nearly lost it."

Iruka took a breath. "I know what you're going through, Naruto. I was on a mission where two of my comrades died and one was in the hospital in critical. It's a part of being a shinobi. You're going to be on missions where friends and comrades get hurt or even die. There is no avoiding it. Just be glad that your friends survived, because not every encounter like that ends with just a trip to the hospital."

"Yeah, you're right Iruka-sensei. I just have to get stronger so that I can protect them if something like that ever happens again" said Naruto with resolve.

Iruka smiled as Naruto returned to the Naruto he knew. "Well, I'm off. I've gotta go train" said Naruto, finishing his bowl.

"Oh Naruto, hold on a moment" said Iruka, stopping Naruto before he could dart off. Naruto turned to see what his former sensei wanted. "I wanted to ask you if you would come in on Monday next week for a show and tell. I want you to come in, show them a few jutsu and maybe tell them about some of your experiences. If that's alright?"

Naruto smiled. He remembered the days in the academy where former students would come in and show some of the jutsu they learned since graduation. Now Iruka was asking him to come in and show off some of his jutsu. "Really?! Then I'll be there, I promise. Dattebayo!" Naruto shouted before running off.

"That's a special bond you and Naruto have" said Teuchi.

"Yep. He can get annoying at times, but we are always there for each other. He's like a little brother to me" replied Iruka.

* * *

Naruto arrived at the Hyuga compound to find Hinata outside sparring with Neji and her father. As such, this distracted her enough that Neji was able to 'deliver a deciding blow', which was a palm strike that he stopped just before it hit her in the face. Hiashi sighed and shook his head a little. She was doing well until Naruto showed, who received a glare at that time.

Naruto picked up on this. "Hehe, sorry Hinata, Hiashi-sama" apologized Naruto.

"Well there is nothing that can be done about it now. So all is forgiven, just be a bit more subtle about arriving next time" replied Hiashi.

"Naruto, it is good to see you out of the hospital. How are you? And how are your teammates?" asked Neji.

"They will be fine after a few more days of recovering" said Naruto.

"Naruto, I hear sensei is taking you on as an apprentice?" asked Hiashi.

"Sensei?...Oh, you mean Jiraiya. Yeah, he said he was going to train me personally for the next few years" replied Naruto. He then looked at Hinata with a sad look. "But he said that we would have to leave for a few years…"

"A-a few years?" asked Hinata. "B-but that mean's I-I won't be able to see you…"

Naruto hated that Hiashi brought up that, but like Hiashi said before, there's nothing that could be done now. Besides, he would have to tell this to Hinata sometime. "Well, it sounds like I've still got a few months before we leave anyways, so we'll just have to spend as much time as we can together during then. Ero-Sennin even said he'd teach me a way that would allow us to write to each other."

Hinata didn't like that Naruto would be away for that long, but she would just have to accept it. "Besides, if there's going to be anyone who becomes really strong after, it will be you" said Naruto, causing her to blush a little.

"Well, she can't become strong if someone keeps interrupting her training" said Hiashi.

Naruto grinned. "Sorry, but I actually came to see if Hinata wanted to train. I was just on my way to see if Asuma-sensei would help us with our wind chakra."

Hiashi thought for a moment. "Very well, Hinata you are dismissed for today if you want to train with Naruto and Asuma." This made Hinata a bit happier as she bowed to her father and cousin before leaving. She wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to train with Naruto for a bit.

It wasn't long before they found Asuma and his team at their designated training ground. However, there was only Chouji and Shikamaru there. Ino was most likely at the hospital, either checking in on Sakura, or with the fan girl mob.

"Oh, Naruto!" called out Chouji as he saw the orange-clad genin approach. Asuma and Shikamaru turned their attention to the new comers.

"Good to see you out of the hospital, Naruto" said Shikamaru.

"Yeah, I'm sorry to hear what happened. Anyways, I assume you're here for wind chakra training?" said Asuma. Naruto and Hinata looked at him, wondering how he knew. "Don't worry, Master Jiraiya told me you'd be seeking my advice out."

Asuma gave them a quick rundown on the next exercise, telling them to pull out a normal kunai and channel wind chakra into it, throwing it at a tree. Asuma emphasized by pulling out his own trench knives and sending it through two trees and a large rock before burying in the dirt. Everyone there just stared in awe.

Naruto then pulled out his own special tri-pronged kunai, causing Asuma to raise an eye. "well, I can already transfer wind chakra into my weapon pretty well" Naruto said tossing the kunai at another tree, sending it through said tree and embedding itself up to the handle in a rock behind. Out of curiosity, Asuma went for the knife, examining it and asking Naruto where he got it. "Ero-Sennin…err, Jiraiya gave it to me."

That answer satisfied Asuma. "You know this is a…very special knife though. What I want you to do is channel your wind chakra into a normal kunai." Asuma did this and sent the normal kunai sailing through two trees and into the ground. Naruto did the same, tossing a normal kunai at the tree, and it only embedded itself a few inches into the first tree. Naruto's head dropped and Asuma just laughed. "Once you get this training down to the point where you can send a regular kunai clean through a tree or two, then you'll be ready for some of the more advanced wind jutsu."

Naruto and Hinata then got to their training, throwing kunai after kunai at the tree. By the end of the day, some progress had been made as they were able to get the kunais to sink into the tree, all the way up to the handle. It wasn't much and it was obvious this exercise would take some time, unlike the previous exercises they had been doing.

Hinata left early, being called by Ko to return to the compound for the evening. Naruto had thought about getting some dinner, but there was something else on his mind that he needed to figure out. Naruto found a nice spot beneath a tree and began meditating.

* * *

Naruto found himself in his own mindscape, standing in front of the large gates that held the Kyuubi inside of him.

"Wow, you are right. Now that I really think about it, the scenery in here is terrible" commented Naruto.

"**Well you haven't been trapped in here for the past twelve years"** said Kurama.

Naruto laughed a little. "Anyways, I wanted to thank you for helping Sasuke the other day. And also, I wanted to ask you what that jutsu was that I used" said Naruto, hoping through the bars of the cage and taking a seat on top of Kurama's head.

"**Oh that? Just a little something called the tailed beast ball" **said Kurama. **"Best technique out there when you just need to mindlessly blow something up. However, regarding that, I suppose I should tell you a little about those chakra cloaks now."**

"So what's up with them?" asked Naruto as he listened in.

"**Well, first there are two types of cloaks there is the first version which you have when you're using up to three tails worth of power and then there is the second version when you tap into four or more tails"** explained Kurama. **"In the first version, you basically use my power to enhance your own attacks but in the second version you pretty much shelve your own abilities and begin to tap into mine. The more tails you have, the more of my powers you can use.**

"Wow, really? What are the other abilities I can use?" asked Naruto, growing ever more excited.

"**Now what would the fun be if I told you that? Besides, with the way the seal is now, I doubt you're going to be able to use them any time soon" **said Kurama.

"Wait, why's that?" asked Naruto.

"**Kit, we came awfully close to the seal's limit the other day. If that happens, then I don't know what would happen. Four tails is the most I can give you for now, and you'll only have a minute or so in the four-tailed form"** explained the Kyuubi.

"Hold on, do you know what happens if we force the seal to much?" Naruto continued to ask questions.

"**I've had a good twelve years to see what we are dealing with, not to mention I'm 1000-years old, so I know a thing or two about seals. Not as much as that pervert teacher of yours, but enough to know what we are dealing with"** said Kurama. **"From what it looks like, if we go too far, some sort of failsafe will activate, cutting the two of us off or something like that."**

"What?! Then what do we do?" Naruto began to freak a little.

"**Calm down Kit. You flipping out is not going to solve anything. I think that the Super Perv knows something about the key. Ask him about it the next time you are alone on that trip he was talking about" **advised the Fox.

"Alright…but what if he doesn't have it? Or what if he has it, but won't do anything?" asked Naruto.

"**Well, to be honest, I don't really know. If he doesn't have it, then nothing happens. If he has it, then we can at the very least loosen the seal and let you use a little more of my power safely or just the opposite happens and he tightens it…"** said Kurama as there was some silence following that last comment. **"Now, about doing something about this sewer…"**

"Well, any ideas how exactly I can change it?" said Naruto.

"**Kit, it's your mind. Try thinking for once…maybe it will do you some good."** Kurama began laughing a little. As Naruto began thinking on a different scenery for his mindscape. There was a large rumbling sound as the floor began to rise, or the water began to recede, and the pipes disappeared. After the rumbling stopped, Naruto collapsed out of exhaustion atop the Fox's head. That has been more exhausting than he thought.

The general layout was still the same and Kurama was still trapped behind a large gate, but they were now in a large chamber that resembled a large audience chamber of some ancient castle. There was a solid wooden floor with torches lining the side of the room and a raised roof, thankfully with no more leaking pipes.

"**A forest with creatures to hunt would have been preferred, but I guess I can't complain" **said Kurama.

"Sorry, but I think that's about as good as I can do" apologized Naruto.

"**No worries Kit. This is definitely a lot better than those damp sewers. Now get going, I can still hear rumbling and it's not the floor or ceiling this time"** said Kurama, pointing a tail at Naruto's stomach. Naruto laughed and disappeared from his own mindscape to go grab dinner.

* * *

Seven days had passed since her admittance to the hospital. Seven days, Sakura had been asleep to allow for her body to heal. Today was the day that Tsunade had designated for Sakura to wake. Tsunade administered the counter agent to Sakura's IV and everyone, Tsunade, doctors, and her parents, waited for the pinkette to wake.

Finally, Sakura began to stir, slowly opening her eyes at first, but then they suddenly burst open and she shot straight up. "SASUKE!" she shouted before being restrained by her parents.

"Sakura, honey, please calm down. Everything's all right now" said Sakura's mother.

"Where…where am I?" panicked Sakura.

"Honey, you're in the hospital. You got hurt on mission, do you remember?" said Kizashi.

Flashbacks of the mission came to Sakura, especially the part with Sasuke standing in front of her with a massive hole through his chest. "No…Sasuke!" she cried out before actually crying.

"Sakura, please stop" begged Mebuki.

"But…but…Sasuke, he's…he's…"

"He'll be alright" assured Tsunade. Sakura looked at her as she began to calm. It was then that some pain and stiffness came back to her body. "But I suggest you just take it easy and relax. You still need to let your body recover."

"So Sasuke he's…?" asked Sakura. "But I saw the arrow rip through his chest…"

"He's a few rooms down from you. It was close, but thankfully the arrow just missed his heart by a few millimeters" said Tsunade, calming Sakura. "He's still asleep, I can let you go see him later if you want, but you've got to promise me that you'll take it easy and not freak out like this again. Okay?"

"Okay. Oh what happened to Naruto and Haku?" asked Sakura, now concerned for the rest of her team.

"They'll be fine. Their injuries weren't as severe and they were discharged a few days ago" said Tsunade.

"But how…how were those Sound guys defeated?" asked Sakura.

"We can talk about that later in private. Just know that help came just in time" said Tsunade. Sakura looked into Tsunade's eyes and figured that something must have happened with Naruto that she couldn't discuss right now…which meant it was something to do with the Kyuubi. If that was the case, that would be the third time the Kyuubi had saved her and Sasuke. Any bits of doubts were slowly working their way out of her head.

A few hours later, after the doctors were able to give Sakura a thorough examination and a few other treatments, Sakura was wheeled out towards Sasuke's room to see him as promised. She let out a slight sigh of relief seeing Sasuke alive and knowing that he would eventually be alright. However, this visit brought other thoughts to her head. As she was taken back to her room, she was left thinking.

What made it worse was when Tsunade came into the room to debrief her on the events that happened after she lost consciousness. Once again, Sasuke and Naruto had done all the work. They had worked together to actually bring one of those monsters down and if it wasn't for her, they certainly would have killed the other three. She was simply a target, a distraction…a hindrance to the two. Sasuke was nearly killed trying to protect her while all she could do was sit there and scream. She had to face the facts…she was simply weak.

Then it caught her eye, the book on medical ninjutsu that Kakashi had given her prior to the mission. If she knew more, she could have been the one to save Sasuke. In fact, she probably could have healed herself to the point where she could either get away and not drag her team down or even help them.

* * *

The next day, it was decided that Sasuke could be woken. His awakening was much more subtle than Sakura's as all he did was ask where he was and what happened. He was then given a few hours to just rest as Tsunade tried to dispel the mob of fan girls.

"_Damn it, I still wasn't strong enough"_ thought Sasuke. Sure, he and Naruto had managed to kill one of them but he had still been defeated. _"What else do I need to do?"_

Interrupting Sasuke's thought was a knock on his door. In stepped his one-eyed teacher. "Hey Sasuke, how is everything?" asked Kakashi. Sasuke kind of just shrugged off the comment, giving Kakashi the answer he needed. "Sasuke, whatever happened, you can't go blaming yourself. Sasuke…"

"Just stop already! I nearly lost them. It was my fault they were nearly killed. Those freaks came after me and me alone. If I…if I had…" said Sasuke, as he actually began to shed a few tears.

"If you had what? Just given up? If you had just gone with them quietly?" asked Kakashi, finishing Sasuke's sentence.

"What would you do?! What would you do if the lives of those closest to you were taken away?!" shouted Sasuke.

Kakashi took a deep breath as painful memories came to him. "Sadly, I know the answer to that question better than you may think. I'm glad that you've come to think of your teammates as being close to you and believe me I know what you're going through. Like you, I grew very close to my teammates, I even fell in love with one of them…and then they were taken from me."

Sasuke was shocked at this as he looked down. "Kakashi, I'm…sorry" apologized Sasuke for bringing up the painful memories.

"It's alright Sasuke. I know where you're coming from. I know you're confused. Just be grateful that they are still alive. Just know that I'm here for you now…and so are the rest of your team…if there's anything you need…" said Kakashi. Sasuke let out a slight smile, if that's what you want to call it. But then his mind focused on what it had been thinking beforehand.

"Kakashi-sensei, I need to become stronger. I need to make sure something like that never happens again" said Sasuke. "My family was taken away once before. I can't let HIM or anyone else take them away again!"

"_Good, he's changing from an avenger to a guardian"_ thought Kakashi, glad Sasuke's reason for seeking power was finally beginning to change. He then sighed for the conversation that was coming. "Sasuke, I would be lying if I said you never had to worry about something like that ever again. You know that." Sasuke nodded. "You now have a fate that I wouldn't wish on anyone, let alone two of my students."

"Wait, two of your students? What do you mean by that?" asked Sasuke.

"By two students, I mean you and Naruto." Sasuke looked at Kakashi curiously. "Both of you will be pursued by extremely powerful foes for something you possess and no matter how hard you try, people close to you will be put in danger."

"Wait, who is pursuing us?" asked Sasuke.

"You, well I already told you a while ago. Orochimaru wants your Sharingan and I have no doubt that he will come at you again. In fact, I'm sure of it. As for Naruto, a group called Akatsuki will be coming after him, or rather what's in him" said Kakashi. Sasuke knew what Akatsuki would be after…the Kyuubi, the same demon that had actually saved his ass on more than one occasion. "And Sasuke, you already know who's in Akatsuki."

"Itachi…" growled Sasuke, clenching his fists. "No…I won't let him. Not this time. He won't take my family away from me!"

"Sasuke, I gave you Chidori so that you would have some power to protect them" said Kakashi. "If I'm correct, you used it kill one of your attackers that threatened your friends?"

"Yeah, but it still wasn't enough" said Sasuke.

"Sasuke, Chidori isn't the only thing I know. I can give you more. I can give you everything I have. I can give you everything you will need to protect your comrades…your family" said Kakashi. "I'm glad that you've finally begun to change and I'm happy to say that you are ready for more."

"What? Are you saying you're going to be training us harder?" asked Sasuke.

"No. I'm only going to be training you" said Kakashi. "An opportunity has presented itself. Orochimaru is too weak to make another move for at least 3 years after what Master Jiraiya did to him. I want to make use of that time and train you to the fullest."

"But, what about Naruto, Sakura, and Haku?" asked Sasuke.

"Don't worry about them. Naruto will be receiving the same type of training from Master Jiraiya, Haku has already been training with Zabuza and they seem to work well together. Sakura is a different story. I haven't secured a teacher for her, but if everything works out how we want it to, she will be asking Tsunade to be trained as a medical ninja. She has the potential to become a great one, she just needs to realize it and set her sights on it. Oh, and that reminds me, you should help to push her down that path" said Kakashi, making an upside-down smile with his eye.

Sasuke nodded and smiled back. "So what is this training going to entail?" he asked.

"Well, it'll be kind of like a combination between the training we did to teach you Chidori and ANBU training. Except instead of only 6 months, which is how long ANBU training lasts, we will have 2 ½ to 3 years to teach you everything we can, and I can think of at least 500 jutsu that I know you can learn, and that's just because you don't know how to use the water or earth element…yet" said Kakashi. "Sasuke, when your brother finished with his 6 months in ANBU training, his skills had increased a great deal. We're going to go through that and much more. We'll make you strong enough so that you can protect your friends to the fullest."

* * *

Sakura had been spending the past day or so doing some serious thinking. She had heard that Sasuke had woken, but for some reason she didn't want to see him. Naruto had stopped by earlier and the two had a serious talk. Naruto's response to all her questions was simple, but it wasn't'. His response was basically to find what she was good at and become the best at it. He had taken a cue from Jiraiya and Kakashi and had 'suggested' medical ninjutsu.

She had even picked up an interest in it after reading through the book Kakashi had given her. After everyone's suggestions, she now wanted to learn more. She wanted to become the best medical ninja she could be. But the only question was…who could teach her to become the best medical ninja possible. The answer was simple…the best medic in the world. She had to take a chance to ask Tsunade if she no longer wanted to be a hindrance.

Despite being confined to her bed, Sakura got up, fighting the pain in her body. This was something she had to do and she didn't care about stupid hospital regulations. First though, she made her way to Sasuke's room. Thankfully, there weren't any fan girls trying to get in his door.

Sakura opened Sasuke's room to find that Naruto was visiting. At least she knew why there were no fan girls as Naruto had always been a sort of fan girl repellant for Sasuke.

"Sakura?" they both asked, wondering what she was doing out of bed.

"Naruto, Sasuke, I'm sorry for everything. From now on, I won't be a burden to you any longer, I promise" Sakura said before closing the door, not giving Naruto or Sasuke a chance to reply, and hobbling to find Tsunade.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other, exchanging glances. Looks like Sakura would be just fine after all.

* * *

There was a knock on Tsunade's door. "Come in" she called out. Sakura stepped through the door. Tsunade was tempted to yell at the girl for leaving the hospital, but stopped herself, hoping Sakura was here for a certain reason.

"I apologize for leaving the hospital, but I have a request that I must make" said Sakura.

"Hmm, what is it, Sakura" asked Tsunade.

"Please, make me your apprentice" she begged. Tsunade looked at Sakura and in her eyes, she saw IT. She saw the determination required to drive one forth to become a top medical ninja.

Tsunade thought for a minute. "Sakura Haruno, very well. But, I won't go easy on you."

"Right!" said Sakura. She was trying her very hardest to keep her composure, but inside she was elated.

"Sakura…" said Tsunade as she now glared at her new apprentice.

"Yes, master?" asked Sakura.

"GET BACK TO BED! NOW!" shouted Tsunade as Sakura hobbled her way out of the Hokage tower and back to the hospital.

* * *

"So how'd it go?" asked Naruto, grinning, as he passed Sakura in the hallway on his way out. Now that Naruto had left, sure enough Sasuke's fan girls were beginning to form around his door.

"_He knew?" _thought Sakura.

"_Damn you Naruto. Playing us like that! When I get out of this hospital, you're going to regret it! Cha!" _shouted Inner Sakura.

At least now she was going to get stronger so that she wouldn't burden her team. She guessed that she could overlook the blonde's actions for that.

* * *

The following day, after receiving the news from Tsunade, Kakashi assembled Team 7 for one final meeting.

"Well, I think you all know why you're here" said Kakashi to Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, and Haku. "As of now, Team 7 is being temporarily dissolved. You all have your own teachers that will be handling your training now for a few years. I look forward to working with all of you again when we reform as a team. I have a feeling it won't be a repeat of the first time we came together." Kakashi was referring to the bell test.

"Sensei, what about the chunin exams you told us about that will be held in Kumo in a few months?" asked Sakura.

"Well, that will be up to the three of you. Master Jiraiya, Tsunade-sama, and myself have talked with one another and we will allow you one more chance at a promotion before your true training begins. Of course, you'll still be trained. But if you chose to take the exams, you will all need to take a few weeks worth of break from your training."

There was no discussion between the three genin of Team 7. "We'll go, dattebayo! Besides it will give us a good measure of our skill before we leave" said Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura nodded with Naruto's declaration as Haku smiled.

"Wait, what about Haku?" asked Naruto.

"Your concern is reassuring Naruto, but you don't have to worry about me" said Haku. "Zabuza-sama and I have our own plans that we want to take care of."

"Don't tell anyone, but those two are looking to become hunter-nins of our village" said Kakashi. "Of course, Zabuza still has a few months left on his probation, so they can't try to become hunter-nins until that is up and the Hokage deems him loyal enough to the village."

"That's great Haku. Just don't forget to destroy Zabuza's body the next time you 'kill him'" joked Naruto.

"Well, this will be it for now. I will bring you all together in a few months just before exams so you can get a feel for your new skills. But until then, I won't be seeing you…except for Sasuke that is" said Kakashi, shooting an almost Anko-like glare towards Sasuke and earning a gulp in return. "I've actually enjoyed my time as your sensei and I look forward to seeing the progress the four of you make after your training."

"_Good bye for now, Sensei"_ thought Sakura and Naruto as Kakashi shunshined away. Team 7 was no longer Team 7, at least not for a few years…oh and the chunin exams.

* * *

Author Notes

Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Team 7 is now going their separate ways and there will be little interaction between the five of them (Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and Haku), with the exception of Kakashi and Sasuke. I will be bringing the original Team 7 back together in coming chapters for the second chunin exams that I have planned and you will be able to get a slight feel for how much progress they will make.

I have one more chapter planned before Naruto's little trip with Jiraiya (and no, they are not going to Myoboku. At least not yet). I will be trying to make this next chapter a little more on the humorous side with the conclusions of Kiba's punishment (that will be the last of the Kiba bashing for now), an eternal rival showdown between Gai and Zabuza, Naruto's day back at the academy, and maybe some potential Naruto/Konohamaru antics. The final portion of the chapter will be the very beginning of the trip that Naruto and Jiraiya leave on for about a month.

Regarding Sasuke: One of the main things I was trying to get to in this chapter is that this is the point when Sasuke truly begins to turn around. Up until now, he has been slowly slipping away from the emo-avenger as he begins to open up, but it is in this chapter where we finally see him admitting that there is a change in his list of priorities and the reasons for his desire for power. In cannon, I believe it was just before he ran away with the Sound Four that he was beginning to turn but the curse mark influenced him too much and he never shied away from that path. With there being no curse mark on Sasuke, his reasons for wanting to become stronger develop into something more noble.

Regarding Hinata: I've been asked a few questions about Hinata's training during the time-skip. Basically, her task over these next few years will be to develop a derivative style of the Juuken that matches her chakra affinity (wind) and her natural flexibility/gracefulness. She will be receiving a lot of help in doing so from Neji and her father. I will not be covering Hinata's training that much except maybe in some future flashbacks.

A very overdue note (More Hinata): One last thing regarding Hinata, I know it has been awhile since I stated Hinata's chakra affinity, and I do apologize for not commenting on this sooner. I chose to give her the wind affinity because 1) I felt it would be a good way to help her and Naruto bond while on their trip and 2) because I felt she had more potential to make something out of it. To my knowledge, nowhere is Hinata's true chakra affinity determined. I think it is just a consensus amongst the fans that she is water, but I have not found a place that says it is confirmed that she has water chakra. Regardless, water will be her second affinity (much like fire is Sasuke's second affinity and fire will also be Naruto's second affinity) and I will be introducing that probably once I start with the Shippuden era book(s).

Poll: So here is something I want to ask. Naruto and Sakura pick up a few traits similar to their masters. What I want to know is in what way should Sasuke become slightly more Kakashi-like (only one answer please)? You can either just include the answer in a comment or PM me.

Kakashi's incredible sense of punctuality

Sasuke wearing a mask just like Kakashi

Sasuke changing his hair style to a more Kakashi-like, gravity defying style

Sasuke developing a liking to a certain series of adult books

If you can think of one that you would like to see more, let me know.

I won't be taking into account the results of this poll until I truly bring Team 7 back together (Shippuden era).

One last thing before I go, I am considering a name change for this story. I'm not sure, but I'm thinking of it. If I do so, I will most certainly let you know.

Comments and Reviews are appreciated


	40. Chapter 40

****Posted: 12/4/12

******Disclaimer**:** I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter 40: Rivalries and the Academy**

Naruto was on his way to the academy for the first time since he graduated. Last week, Iruka-sensei had asked him to come in for a day. During his time in the academy, Naruto had really enjoyed the days that Iruka had brought in a few of his past students to demonstrate some of the new jutsu they had learned and share with them some of the experiences they had. The main purpose was to keep the kids interested in becoming ninja as there was a chance some would drop out throughout the course of the curriculum. The day Iruka asked Naruto to come in, Naruto was really excited. When he was in the academy, that was one of the things he had actually dreamed of, coming back in as a cool ninja with cool jutsu under his belt.

Naruto passed the mission hall where Team 8, minus Kiba, was turning in their latest mission report. Naruto greeted them, mostly Hinata, but he noticed that someone was missing.

"Hey guys, where's Kiba?" asked Naruto.

"Oh, he's just finishing up his punishment" said Kurenai. On cue, Kiba came running down the street, hooked up to a cart that was carrying Anko, who was screaming "Mush Dog-boy, Mush!" Naruto and the genin on Team 8 cringed a little at Kiba's misfortune. Next to her on the cart, Anko had a bag of dango. She took out a stick of dango, cleaning the dumplings off with one bite, leaving the wooden skewer. With a quick flick of the wrist, she sent the skewer into Kiba's ass, causing the Inuzuka to let out a yelp.

"Kurenai-sensei, I know Kiba was an ass, but don't you think Anko's overdoing it?" asked Naruto. While it was true he was mad at Kiba for putting Hinata in harm's way, this was bordering on cruel and excessive punishment.

"Naruto, I'm sure Kakashi has drilled into your head the importance of keeping your team safe" Kurenai said. Naruto looked down, the events of their last mission still on his mind and the near-death of Sasuke and Sakura. Kurenai instantly realized that perhaps she went a little too far with that comment. "Anyways, I just need to be sure Kiba understands what happens when he purposefully gets his team injured. He'll be done after tomorrow. I've got something special planned for him. Oh, that reminds me. Can you stop by training ground 9 tomorrow at around 10am and bring a camera?"

Naruto pulled his thoughts back to reality. He nodded to Kurenai's request, wondering what it was that she wanted him to bring a camera for. Looks like he would be asking Sakura or Ino if he could borrow theirs.

Naruto arrived at the academy just as the class was taking their seats for class. Naruto noticed two other ninja there, the first being Shikamaru. He didn't recognize the other one as he was older. Shikamaru greeted Naruto and complained that he was only there because his mother was present when Iruka asked him. Iruka entered the room and looked towards the current students and the former students. Looking around, Naruto saw that this was a younger class.

"Hey Boss!" shouted Konohamaru from the back of the room. Naruto had come to the class that was three years behind his as he could see the Konohamaru Squad sitting a few rows back from where he was. Naruto turned around and gave Konohamaru a wave. However, Naruto picked something up in Konohamaru's facial expression…a sense of mischief. He wasn't sure what, but he could tell something was up.

A few minutes passed, Shikamaru was already asleep, and Iruka-sensei entered the room. "Good morning class" said Iruka as he turned his attention to the three older ninja. "And good morning to some of my former students. It's good to see you here again."

Iruka wend behind his desk and opened one of the drawers, causing a blast of green dust to explode out in Iruka's face. The entire class laughed as Iruka's face was now greed. "Naruto!" shouted Iruka using his Big Head no Jutsu.

"What?! But I didn't do anything!" defended Naruto. Iruka sighed and turned his attention to the new class prankster.

"Sorry Naruto, force of habit. Konohamaru!" he shouted again, using his Big Head no Jutsu twice in a span of a minute. After some scolding, Iruka turned around to write something on the board. Naruto turned around, giving Konohamaru a thumbs up, knowing that someone had taken up his mantle.

"Now class, today we will be discussing jutsu and the theory behind jutsu" said Iruka beginning his lesson. "Now, before I begin, who knows what a jutsu is?"

Moegi raised her hand. "Jutsu is effectively the art that ninja utilize in their duty as ninja. Jutsu are divided into three main categories: Ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. They also require the utilization of chakra to perform" she explained. Iruka complimented the answer.

"Yes and today we will begin our study into jutsu and the utilization of chakra. But first, I brought in a few guests to demonstrate the jutsu that you will learn in here as well as a few jutsu they learned so far in their career as shinobi. I would like to introduce Hamako Richi, Shikamaru Nara, and Naruto Uzumaki. These are three of my more exceptional students and they have all come a long way since their time here" said Iruka. Naruto felt a sense of pride in his accomplishments, at least until someone opened their mouth.

"Hey Sensei, isn't that the guy who failed three times in a row?" shouted one of the students. "What's a dobe like him doing here?"

"Hey! Don't make fun of Naruto-niichan like that!" shouted Konohamaru.

"It's alright Konohamaru" said Naruto, calming the younger boy down. "Yes, I failed the genin exam twice and I nearly failed last year. But since then I've become a kick ass ninja! Dattebayo!" declared Naruto. Some of the class began talking amongst themselves.

"Quiet!" shouted Iruka. "Now I'm going to have these three demonstrate the three jutsu that you will be required to perform in order to graduate: Transformation, Substitution, and Clone."

"_Crap. Not the clone jutsu"_ thought Naruto.

Iruka had the three ninja perform the first of the jutsu, transforming into a prominent ninja of their choosing. Hamako chose to transform into the Nidaime Hokage, who he later explained was his idol. Shikamaru transformed into Asuma, his mentor and teacher. Naruto was tempted to use the Sexy Jutsu for old time sake, but knew he was a ninja now, not some little snot-nosed kid. He chose his own mentor, Jiraiya.

"Good, now can someone who's read the book please explain the jutsu they just performed?" asked Iruka.

Another student stood up. "The jutsu they performed was the Transformation jutsu. It's a type of genjutsu that allows the user to take on the appearance of the desired person. However, because it is a genjutsu, you don't physically turn into that person. You are still yourself, just surrounded by an illusion" the young boy said.

"Very good. That is exactly…" said Iruka before Naruto interrupted.

"Hey Iruka-sensei, is the Transformation jutsu really jutsu an illusion?" asked Naruto, causing Iruka and the two other ninja to practically face plant.

"_Typical Naruto. Has no idea what the hell is going on"_ thought Shikamaru.

"Yes Naruto, you learned that back in the academy. Or did you miss that class?" asked Iruka, deciding to have some revenge for all the times that Naruto had pranked him back in the academy.

"No, well I mean…yeah I did miss that class. The teacher during that class really didn't like me all that much so I was forced to learn the Transformation technique on my own" explained Naruto. "But I never thought it was a genjutsu. I mean, whenever I transform, I change mass, physical shape, everything. I've even transformed into a fuma shuriken once."

Nearly everyone's eyes were popping out of their head. "Naruto…transform into a fuma shuriken, will you?" asked Iruka. Naruto did so and Iruka examined the transformation. "H-how?"

"What is it Iruka?" asked Shikamaru. Iruka told the class to wait here while he went to get an actual fuma shuriken from the school's weapon storage. Returning, he compared the actual fuma shuriken to the Naruto shuriken and sure enough, they were identical. He couldn't believe it. Naruto had somehow invented a more advanced Transformation jutsu that actually transformed you into the desired person/object.

After a minute, Naruto poofed back into his real form. "You see Iruka-sensei?" said Naruto as Iruka could do the only thing he could and nod.

"Iruka-sensei? What's wrong?" asked one of the students.

"Nothing" said Iruka, although that was a lie. He whispered into Naruto's ear. "We'll talk about this at lunch."

He then addressed the class, moving onto the next jutsu, the Replacement technique. All three ninja performed it without a problem and the explanation followed. It was now time for the final jutsu…the dreaded Clone Jutsu. Shikamaru and Hamako did as instructed and created five normal clones. Naruto began to sweat. He had never been able to perform a normal clone jutsu. Ever since he graduated, he had only used shadow clones.

Naruto swallowed his pride and went through the hand seals for the normal clone jutsu. "Clone Jutsu!" shouted Naruto. A puff of smoke later revealed two dead Naruto clones. Everyone's sweat dropped.

"_He still can't do a normal clone"_ thought Iruka.

"_Damnit. I still can't do a normal clone to save my life"_ thought Naruto although he couldn't hear himself through Kurama's, and the class', laughter.

"How the hell did a dobe like you pass?" shouted one of the students laughing at the dead Naruto. Naruto looked over at Iruka, looking for some help and Iruka nodded at Naruto, giving him a little smile.

"Calm down!" shouted Iruka. "Now, before you go criticizing Naruto, you should know that the reason he failed the first two exams was because of the Clone jutsu, but he came back with an even more advanced jutsu and blew me and the other teacher away, literally." Iruka was referring to the pummeling Mizuki received at the hands of hundreds of Narutos.

The class stared at Naruto, expecting something from him. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" shouted Naruto. Smoke filled the room. When it cleared, there were over 100 Narutos lining the ceiling and walls of the room. The class stared in awe as the ninja who had just created 2 dead normal clones, had created so many shadow clones. The students who actually knew what shadow clones were (through their families most likely) were left speechless.

"Naruto has a special condition where he has more chakra than normal. As such, it was difficult for him to create a normal clone without overloading it. However, the Shadow Clone Jutsu was a perfect alternative. This is why I passed Naruto" explained Iruka. "These are physical clones, capable of doing anything you or I could do."

A few moments later, Iruka dismissed the class for lunch. When they came back, Naruto, Hamako, and Shikamaru would show off some of their own jutsu. But before that, Iruka had something to discuss with the blonde.

A lunch discussion later, they had concluded that the lack of proper instruction in the Transformation jutsu had led Naruto to create his own variant of the Transformation jutsu that actually did transform you into the desired person/object, not jutsu some academy level genjutsu. Like the Clone jutsu, Naruto had initially pumped too much chakra into the jutsu, which was the reason his transformations had always failed in the early days of the academy. They had been trapped in an in-between state of the genjutsu transformation and the real transformation. When Naruto finally got the Transformation jutsu, all he had to do was pump more chakra into the technique to force it out of that in-between state. Fortunately for Naruto, the amount of chakra required was no issue for him.

It was still amazing how an academy student, especially the dobe of the class, could create an enhanced transformation. But then again, Naruto never stopped surprising him. The Advanced Transformation Jutsu was an A-rank, jonin-level technique and Naruto had mastered it completely on his own. Iruka couldn't help but laugh and feel proud of Naruto. At the same time, he was wondering how Kakashi or no one else noticed it and told Naruto.

If any of his pride was lost in the morning, Naruto regained it in the afternoon when he showed off his Rasengan, Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu, and his wind manipulation. He practically had the academy students eating out of the palm of his hand.

* * *

Kiba woke up early the next morning, his ass still sore from being Anko's pincushion. Today was it. Just one more day of punishments and he would be back to normal training. If there was one thing he had taken away from the last couple of weeks, it was not to piss off Kurenai and not to do anything to harm his team. Hinata had accepted his apology as soon as he had a chance to get near her a few weeks ago, but he still had to be weary around her, especially with Neji or Hiashi around.

Even though Hinata had accepted his apology and his promise not to get worked up like that again, he still had to face the punishment as was required for some sort of offense of that nature. He either had the choice between 4 months probation or Kurenai's three weeks of hell. As he walked into the kitchen of his apartment, his sister Hana handed him a scroll. She said it was from her sensei and that he was supposed to read the scroll. So Kiba read the scroll.

_Kiba,_

_I must say that I am proud of you for putting up with this task for the past three weeks and I believe that you are sincere in your apology for what you did to Hinata. Should you complete today's task, that will be it for your punishment and I will allow you to rejoin the team effective tomorrow._

_Report to Training Ground 9 at 9:00am. _

_On this scroll is a seal with some things you will need for today. Do not release the seal until instructed to by your supervisor._

_Good Luck and I hope to see you tomorrow at training._

_Kurenai Yuhi, Sensei of Team 8_

_P.S.: I will know if you release this seal early or fail to do anything that your supervisor requests. If that is the case, then you will have to endure another three weeks of my wrath._

Despite her kind and calm demeanor, Team 8 had quickly learned that Kurenai can be a bit of a slave driver when it came to training (nowhere as much as Gai though), but they knew she was only trying to make them stronger. However, this was on a completely different level. Kiba never knew Kurenai-sensei could be so…so Ibiki-like.

Kiba sighed, grabbing his stuff and the scroll that Kurenai left him as he made his way to training ground 9. Little did he know that Naruto, Hinata, Shino, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Sakura (Tsunade had let her out of the hospital to see this as long as she took it easy), Lee, Kurenai, Zabuza, Anko and even a few others had hidden themselves around the training ground to witness the events that were about to take place.

"Yosh! Neji, Tenten! Our friend is here to join us in the strengthening of our youth!" shouted Gai as Kiba walked onto the training ground. He paled when he saw what had awaited him. His last punishment was with Gai…how could Kurenai be that cruel?

Neji and Tenten gave Kiba an evil grin. Both were fond of Hinata and wanted a little bit of payback. Neji was obviously her family and one of the few members in the Hyuga clan who now showed her some compassion and support. Ever since the chunin exams, he and Hinata had become more like brother and sister instead of just cousins. Tenten had just recently gotten to know Hinata better after she started to train with Neji more often. Hinata has always been so kind and sweet and she quickly grew on Tenten. And then Kiba happened…oh this would be fun.

Kiba handed Gai the scroll as he instructed, ready for this to get over with. Gai set the scroll down in front of Kiba and released it, saying "Yosh! Prepare to feel the Power of your Youth flow through you once again!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

Suddenly, no one who was observing the events could hold back their laughter any longer. Naruto fell off of the tree branch he was sitting in, taking poor Hinata with him (fortunately Naruto hit the ground first, breaking Hinata's fall), Ino and Sakura were practically on top of each other gasping for air, and Lee…well "Yes! Someone else has finally joined me in my journey of youth!"

Lee came bursting out of the trees, startling Neji, Tenten, and the now youthanized Kiba. "Lee? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in therapy" said Tenten, worrying for her teammate.

"No! This display of Youth has invigorated me! In fact, I am ready to resume my training at its full!" declared Lee. Nobody could have imagined Team Gai being even creepier, with Lee and Gai practically being clones of each other. But now, a third clone joined their crew. When Gai had activated the scroll, Kiba found himself wearing the same spandex suit Lee and Gai wore, orange leg warmers on his legs, his hair now in a similar bowl-cut, and for some reason his eyebrows were now extremely bushy (just imagine Lee with brown hair and Inuzuka markings on his face).

"Yes Lee! That's the spirit! Let your youth guide you!" shouted Gai.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Kiba!" the two clones shouted at their newest doppelganger.

"Oh hell n…gagh!" Kiba couldn't finish his response as Gai and Lee embraced with the ocean sunset as a backdrop and poor Kiba caught in the middle of their embrace. It was at this point that multiple flashes came from the trees as everyone who had brought cameras used now as the opportune moment to snap a picture. Kiba would now be regarded as the third Gai.

A fifty lap warm-up around the village later left an exhausted Kiba and an even more energized Lee. "Neji, I am ready. Let us do battle so that our Flames of Youth may grow even brighter" said Lee, challenging Neji to a spar.

Gai put his hand on Lee's shoulder. "I am sorry Lee, but I have just talked with the Hokage while you were warming up. You may rejoin the team for training, but I am afraid you still cannot spar for a few weeks" said Gai. "Please understand that your body needs time to heal."

"Very well Gai-sensei. Then Kiba shall spar in my place while I do 1000 squat thrusts and if I cannot do those, then I will do 500 push-ups. In-fact, I will do 700 push-ups afterwards no matter what. And after that, I will do 500 kicks" said Lee. Kiba just looked wide eyed at Lee. Here was a guy who just got out of the hospital and already diving into a training regimen that even a Greek God would be afraid to do.

"Yes Lee. Let Youth be your body's road to recovery. Neji! Kiba! Now show us your youth!" declared Gai as Kiba and Neji faced one another for sparing. Neji grinned at Kiba, who gulped.

Kiba spent the next minutes trying to dodge Neji's blows. In terms of taijutsu, Kiba was beginning to understand just where he was compared to the Hyuga genius. And then Neji said something that struck even more fear into Kiba. "Up until now, I have only been able to practice this on shadow clones. You are the first opponent that I have been able to practice this on" said Neji. Hinata knew what was coming as she had been allowing Neji to use her shadow clones to practice it on, much like Naruto had allowed her to use his shadow clones to practice with. "You are in my field of divination. Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams, One-hundred-Twenty-Eight Palms!"

The result was not pretty. Hinata had wanted to stop it but was stopped by Kurenai, who explained that Kiba needed this. Kiba lay on the ground, one-hundred-and-twenty-eight of his tenketsu closed from Neji's attack. He wouldn't be getting up for the rest of the morning.

The day came to an end and Kiba had survived. Three weeks of grueling punishment at the hands of Kurenai, Anko, and even Gai. The last day was the worst of them all as he had been 'Youthanized', Neji's punching bag, and Tenten's pincushion. But it was over. It was finally over. He was done with his punishment and he was approached by the rest of Team 8, Team Gai, Naruto, Sakura, and Team 10. Surprisingly, they all congratulated him for putting up with that and Kiba promised never to do something like that again. Of course that didn't stop them from distributing the pictures around town of the 'youthanized' Kiba.

* * *

"Hehe, I've gotta admit. That's one tough training regimen you put your brats through" said Zabuza as he approached Gai. It was later in the evening after Gai had dismissed his team and managed to get Lee to go home and get some rest. Even though he was Gai, he understood the need for rest to properly heal the injuries that Lee had sustained.

"So I see my Second Eternal Rival has taken notice of the training of hard work" said Gai as a fire began to burn in his eyes. Zabuza was seriously regretting approaching Gai now.

"Err, yeah. Anyways I've gotta be going now" said Zabuza, trying to get away from Gai as fast as possible.

"Nonsense!" it was too late. "Come my Eternal Rival; let us go find our other eternal rival so that we may have a showdown of youth!"

At the Hero's Stone, Kakashi felt a chill run down his spine. Moments later, Gai burst onto scene, dragging Zabuza. He should have listened to that chill and gotten the hell out. "Kakashi, my Eternal Rival. Come; let the three of us bask in the glory that is youth together!"

"Huh? Oh, Gai…did you say something?" asked an aloof Kakashi.

"Gagh! Your coolness really gets on my nerves" said Gai. Zabuza was slowly trying to inch his way away until Gai grabbed both he and Kakashi in a head lock. "So, what will it be? Rock, Paper, Scissors?...No we need something more than that!"

"Kakashi, can't you put him in some sort of genjutsu or something so we can get out of here?" asked Zabuza.

Kakashi let out a slight laugh. "Sorry, but doing so actually makes him worse" replied Kakashi. Zabuza cringed at the thought of a more Gai-like Gai.

"I know!" declared Gai. "You see that flag on the top of the Hokage tower? The first one to claim that flag wins." Kakashi and Zabuza sighed, knowing the only way out now was to go along with it. The three lined up on a starting line as Gai flipped a rock into the air. When it hit the ground, the Eternal Rival Trio took off towards the tower. Despite not wanting to be involved in this, Zabuza wasn't going to lose to a spandex freak. It was a smooth run, minus the butting of heads, until they reached the actual village part of Konoha. Once they did, the chaos truly began. The passed a few stands before taking to the roofs. Gai looked over at Zabuza, giving him a smile before getting a chicken thrown into his head by Kakashi, who had picked up a chicken from one of the stands. This made Zabuza laugh in response to it only to receive a spoon to the head as well. Before they knew it, random objects were flying all over the place…including a certain orange book. Kakashi realized that he had just thrown his beloved Icha Icha and ended up tumbling into an ally as he attempted to rescue it. The rescue was successful, but Kakashi found himself crashing through a shop window in the process.

Zabuza laughed as one of the opponents went down. This however, ended when he recognized Kakashi pack of ninja hounds chasing after him. This only made him run faster as Zabuza pulled away from the ninja hounds. At the speeds they were moving at, the Hokage tower quickly approached.

Shizune was just exiting the Hokage Tower after spending the entire day dealing with Tsunade complaining about the damn elders, who had really been getting on her case about the pileup of paperwork. She was looking to finally go home and take a nap…until a dark blur came rushing past her, knocking the Hokage's assistant on her ass. The dark blur was quickly followed by a green blur and then a pack of dogs. That only meant one thing…they were at it again. Shizune sighed and began mentally bracing herself for Tsunade's wrath.

After racing through the tower and creating a rather large mess, Zabuza made it to the top first. All he had to do was grab that flag and the stupid challenge would be over. He jumped, ready to grab the flag as it reached his finger tips.

"Dynamic Entry!" shouted Gai, kicking Zabuza out of the way and into one of the four pillars on top of the tower. Gai then clenched the flag in victory as Zabuza began cursing the Green Beast. They gulped when they heard the sound of cracking knuckles behind them. Turning around, they saw Tsunade…she was not happy.

* * *

About two weeks had passed since Kiba's final punishment and Lee's return to actual training. Naruto was beginning to get a little impatient as he was expecting Ero-Sennin back any day now for their little journey that he promised. Today was his day off. In fact, everyone in the Konoha 13 had today off. They had talked about it a few days ago and everyone figured they would use a day like this to get some training in together.

Naruto was pretty cheerful today. He was excited to be getting in some training with someone besides his own shadow clones as everyone had either been away on missions or he himself had a mission. Today was going to be a good day…until he found a depressed Hinata sitting by herself at Training Ground 8.

"Hey, Hinata" said Naruto, sitting down next to her. "What's wrong?"

"I-it's nothing" she replied. Naruto didn't buy it one bit.

"Hey, come on. I know when something's bothering you, what happened? Is everything alright at home?" he asked. Hinata just shook her head, telling Naruto that she was having family problems…again. First it was Neji and her father. When those two were fixed, then the elders started getting on her case. And just last week there was that other Hyuga boy…Shinji (or Shitji as he wanted to call him). At first, Naruto almost mistook Shinji for Neji if it wasn't for the fact that Shinji had shorter hair, tied in a ponytail down to his shoulders, and the seal-free forehead.

"There you are Hinata-sama" said Neji, coming onto the scene. "I see you at least found some sort of comfort."

"Hey Neji, what's wrong with Hinata? What happened?" asked Naruto.

"It's a little complicated. You see, Hinata and Hanabi had a spar yesterday. It was one of those spars that my uncle has them do to measure their skills against one another and…" Neji said, before being interrupted b a crying Hinata.

"H-Hanabi h-hates me" sobbed Hinata.

"Huh? How could Hanabi hate you? She's your sister and from what I've seen from her, she's almost as kind as you" said Naruto. "Did something happen during the spar?"

Neji spoke, explaining things. "Hinata-sama won."

"Wow! That's great!" exclaimed Naruto.

"I suppose in one sense it is. Until she started spending time with you, Hinata-sama has always been shy and timid. Whenever she and Hanabi sparred, she would always hold back and Hanabi would win, as she didn't want to hurt her sister. Now this began to give Hanabi the expectation that she would become the clan heir, not Hinata, and as such, she began to develop an ego. With Hanabi, everything would be alright if things went her way, if she won, if she felt secure about her position in the clan. This was the Hanabi you came to know. But if things did not go her way, she would become angry and lash out. Up until yesterday, Hanabi always was kind to her sister, but when Hinata won the spar, well…"

"Hanabi felt threatened" replied Naruto.

"Yes. Hinata's victory yesterday showed Hanabi that Hinata isn't as weak as she thought and her position in the clan wasn't so secure anymore. Hanabi's mood changed so fast as she stormed out of the dojo, fuming. Later that night, I believe she said a few…choice words to Hinata and she's been crying ever since. Hinata always loved her sister and last night was hard for her, seeing Hanabi like that. Hanabi is a very intelligent person and a skilled fighter. In fact, when you look at the Juuken alone, Hanabi has the most potential in the clan besides myself…and Hinata, in a way. The only thing that held Hinata back was her confidence issues. But ever since she began spending more time with you, she has begun to come out of her shell. I think Hanabi realizes this. She realizes that a confident Hinata is a very strong Hinata and I think the part of her that is jealous and threatened is trying to force Hinata back into her shell" said Neji.

"What?! But why would Hanabi do that? And to her own sister?" asked Naruto.

"I don't think Hanabi is knowingly doing it. I think it is just a reaction, something her subconscious is bringing forth" said Neji. "This part of Hanabi feels threatened and is afraid."

"Afraid of what? Hinata would never hurt her on purpose?" asked Naruto, pulling Hinata in closer to him.

"No. it is what would happen to her if Hinata is stronger. If Hinata becomes the heir. You know what I'm talking about" said Neji, pointing at his forehead.

"No…really?" asked Naruto in slight disbelief.

"There can only be three lines in the main family. Usually, the eldest child in each family becomes the heir of that family while any younger children are sealed into the branch family. Hinata and Hanabi's case is a little different. When she was young, Hinata was labeled a failure because of her lack of confidence. As such, the decision for who would be the heir of her family, and coincidentally the clan, was pushed back until her sixteenth birthday. On that day, a decision will be made regarding her fate in the clan" said Neji.

"So plain and simple, Hanabi's afraid of getting the seal" said Naruto. Neji nodded. The rock that Naruto was clutching with the hand that was not comforting Hinata shattered as Naruto's temper rose. "That's bull shit! That's why I hate how your clan works. Family shouldn't be forced against one another!" Hinata looked up into Naruto's eyes, seeing the look of determination that was so familiar to her. "I already promised the two of you I'd fix your clan. Consider this even more motivation. I'll do it so that Hinata can have a loving relationship with her sister!"

"N-naruto?" said Hinata, hopeful that if anyone could pull something like that off, it was Naruto. Her spirits began to lift and some of her confidence returned.

"Don't worry Hinata. It's a promise of a lifetime!" said Naruto, giving the "good-guy" pose. Neji was reassured. If there was one thing he learned from Lee, it was to trust that pose. "I'll fix your clan and I'll make sure neither you or Hanabi have to suffer because of that stupid seal."

"Naruto…thank you" she said, a few last tears of hope coming to her eyes as she gave him a quick kiss, Neji turning away at that moment.

"Now, what training ground were we supposed to meet at? I need to go blow off some steam!" declared Naruto.

"596…597…598…" counted Lee. Neji, Naruto, and Hinata had just arrived at training ground 13, the place they had staked out for the day, to find Lee already doing pushups. "599…600!" shouted Lee as he jumped to his feet. "Ah Neji, Naruto, Hinata, good day!"

The three newcomers greeted Lee. Lee was also excited for today, as it was the first day that he was now allowed to fight again. Tsunade had given him a check-up yesterday and everything cleared just fine. "Come and join me in my youthful endeavor!" shouted Lee to Naruto.

Naruto's sweat dropped. "Sorry Lee, but I need to work on this wind chakra exercise before Ero-Sennin gets back" said Naruto, taking out a set of kunai from his backpack. He moved over to a tree where he began to work on throwing wind chakra-enhanced kunai, Hinata joining them.

"Neji, why is Hinata practicing wind chakra?" asked Lee. "Don't Hyuga's have earth chakra?"

"Normally, but Hinata is special and has wind chakra" said Neji.

"Why does she have to be so lucky? I would give just about anything for a wind chakra nature" said Tenten, joining them.

"Tenten!" shouted Lee, earning a wave from Tenten.

"From what I understand, isn't lightning not too bad for a weapons user?" asked Neji. "In fact, didn't Gai-sensei even begin training you in the lightning chakra nature?"

Tenten sighed in defeat for now. It was true. Gai had bypassed norm where ninja weren't taught chakra nature manipulation until they were chunin and decided to teach Tenten lightning release when she said it would…'further strengthen her youthfulness'. Gai couldn't resist after that and began training her in lightning chakra manipulation.

She pulled out a light bulb from her back pocket as the first exercise in the lightning nature manipulation was to get a light bulb to light up with your chakra. For her, it had been three weeks and she had barely been able to make it glow faintly. Nature manipulation was a lot harder than she thought.

Naruto and Hinata tossed kunai at the tree, embedding them in the tree completely. The kunai didn't go out of the tree, but they were making progress. Channeling wind chakra into a weapon like this was much harder as it required a much finer wind chakra to keep the additional wind blade strong enough to pierce the tree completely. Naruto sighed, feeling like he wasn't getting anywhere.

"Well, when working on something and you need motivation, just use something that gives you the end result" said Naruto, pulling out one of his tri-pronged knives. He threw it through three trees before it became embedded in a fourth.

"Wha…how?" said a shocked Tenten. "You could barely do it a minute ago and now you can throw it through three trees?"

Naruto grinned. "Well, you see that's a special kunai. You know, one of those that amplifies your chakra or something like that" said Naruto. Tenten knew what Naruto was talking about, being a weapon expert. Regardless, she went to retrieve Naruto's knife, wanting to see his special kunai. She nearly fainted when she saw it.

"Naruto…d-do you know what this is?" she said with a slight stutter. Naruto looked at her slightly confused.

"Yeah, it's a special kunai that's made of metal that amplifies my wind chakra" replied Naruto.

"No…this is…this is a HIrashin Kunai" Tenten said, staring at the knife in awe.

"…What?!" shouted Naruto. "You mean the Hirashi, the jutsu that the Yondaime was renowned for?!" Naruto pulled out his other kunai as everyone who was present gathered around.

"W-where did you get these? I thought the only one left in existence is the one on display in my father's shop" said Tenten. "If there was one weapon I've ever dreamed of holding, it's the Hirashin Kunai. My dad won't even let me take it out of the case, but…how?"

"Naruto, she's right. How you have not one, but two Hirashin Kunai…where did you get them?" asked Neji.

"_The Hirashin Kunai? The weapon of the Yondaime?"_ thought Naruto. He was just as stunned as they were. He has been using the same weapon that his hero, the Yondaime Hokage, had used. "Well, Ero-Sennin gave them to me as a birthday present."

"Gave them to you? Do you have any idea just how rare these things are?" asked Tenten. "There's only three that are known to still be in existence, and you have two of them…wait, Ero-Sennin?" Now Tenten and Lee were confused as to who Naruto was calling a perverted sage.

"Yeah, Ero-Sennin…err, Jiraiya" said Naruto. Now they knew who this 'Ero-Sennin' was. "Anyways, he gave them to me for my birthday."

"Well, that explains why he had those kunai" said Tenten. Naruto was confused. "Wasn't he the one who trained the Yondaime?"

"Oh yeah, that's right" said Naruto. Now there were some questions Naruto really wanted to ask Ero-sennin.

A few minutes passed and more people began to show, including Kiba. "Yes! My partner in youth has finally showed! Come, let us have an excellent battle!" said Lee, challenging Kiba.

Being Kiba, he accepted the challenge, but without as much 'youthfullness' as Lee. Needless to say, a few months downtime didn't slow Lee down and even Kiba had trouble keeping up with the spandex wearing Lee. In the end, it was Lee's match.

"Naruto, I do want to ask you a favor" said Neji, turning to Naruto. "I've been working on improving my Kaiten and I want to test it out."

"So you're saying I fire up my Ransengan and you fire up your Kaiten and we crash them together?" asked Naruto, Neji nodded.

"You're the only one I know to defeat the Kaiten and I wish to test my improvement to it" said Neji.

"Oh dear…" said Tenten, looking at the two. It was around this time that Sakura joined in. Tsunade wasn't letting her spar just yet, but she was discharged from the hospital a few days ago.

"Hmph…let's do it!" declared Naruto and he and Neji faced one another. "Ready?" Neji nodded and Naruto charged, forming a Ransengan.

"Rasengan!"

"Kaiten!"

The two jutsus collided and an explosion resulted, sending Neji sliding back. Naruto also slid back a little.

"You two really are troublesome, you know that?" said Shikamaru, coming onto scene. "Although I'd say you've improved Neji. You weren't thrown back into a wall this time and Naruto even had to give up some ground."

"Yes, it seems so. There is still room for improvement, but I am satisfied for now. Thank you, Naruto" said Neji, giving Naruto a bow. Naruto awkwardly returned the bow, only to receive a fist to the head.

"Baka!" shouted Sakura.

"Sakura!" shrieked Hinata. "Don't do that to Naruto."

Sakura sighed. "Sorry, force of habit" she said, rubbing her head. Hinata came over and rubbed the bump on Naruto's head.

"Jeez Sakura, I think you hit me a little too hard that time. I'm seeing a square rock…wait, square rock?" said Naruto, looking over at a square rock. Everyone else looked at where Naruto was looking. Indeed there was a rock there that was a little too square.

Naruto's sweat dropped. _"He still hasn't gotten any better, has he?" _thought Naruto.

"**Nope."**

Naruto walked over to the 'rock'. "Alright Konohamaru. I know it's you" said Naruto, picking up the 'rock'. A big explosion of smoke followed, leaving everyone coughing. When the smoke cleared, Konohamaru was standing in front of Naruto.

"Just what I'd expect from my rival. But now that I am a ninja, I'll be the one becoming Hokage!" declared Konohamaru. Naruto looked at the boy, who had a Konoha headband on his head.

Naruto felt his own head, feeling as if something was missing. "Hey! That's my headband! Give it back!"

"Never!" shouted Konohamaru taking off with Naruto on his tail. Everyone else's sweat dropped. He really was improving, but it was always one step forward, two steps backwards with Naruto.

* * *

Konohamaru looked back, not seeing Naruto on his tail. "Haha! His headband is mi…umph" said Konohamaru as he ran into something.

"There you are!" shouted Naruto, catching up to Konohamaru.

The man that Konohamaru just looked down at Konohamaru. "Who are you, brat?"

"Ero-Sennin!" shouted Naruto.

"Yo" replied Jiraiya.

"_Ero-sennin? So this guy's just a pervert? Then I know how to deal with him" _thought Konohamaru.

"Who's the brat that just ran into me? And why's he wearing your headband?" asked Jiraiya.

"Hey! I'm not a brat! I'm Konohamaru and you'd better move if you know what's good for you" said Konohamaru.

"Oh really? Do your worst" said Jiraiya, challenging the young boy.

"Grr…take this! Transform!" shouted Konohamaru. When the smoke cleared, there stood a rather busty…and naked woman.

"OOOHHHH YEEAAHH!" shouted Jiraiya, getting that perverted look on his face. He went through his inspection process of Konohamaru's Sexy Jutsu. "You're a real cutie. Say, what's your name and what are you doing later tonight?"

"Just cut it Konohamaru. It doesn't affect him like it did the Old Man or any other pervert I know. Ero-Sennin's just too much of a pervert" said Naruto. Konohamaru released his jutsu, much to Jiraiya's displeasure.

Naruto reclaimed his headband from Konohamaru. "So Ero-Sennin, you're back. Does that mean…?"

"Yep. Pack your bags because we leave tomorrow!" said Jiraiya.

"What?!" shouted Naruto. He was excited to leave, but tomorrow was just too soon.

"Yo" said Kakashi as he came onto scene as well. Sasuke was next to him.

"Sasuke? Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here?" asked Naruto.

"We're leaving for a little. The same reason you're heading out, if I'm correct" said Kakashi.

"Training trip?" asked Naruto. Sasuke nodded. "Heh. Just make sure you train hard enough. You don't want to be too far behind me when you get back, now do you?"

"Don't worry Dobe, I'll be fine. It's you who should think about training if you don't want to fall behind me" said Sasuke. Kakashi and Jiraiya had to pull the two apart quickly before their argument could progress any further.

"So when are you coming back?" asked Naruto, calming down.

"Probably just before we leave for the chunin exams" said Sasuke.

"Well I'll see you then. I look forward to fighting you in the exam, Teme" said Naruto.

"Hn. As do I, Dobe" replied Sasuke. "Later." Sasuke and Kakashi took off, towards somewhere private to get in some quality training.

"Alright Naruto, I'm going to check-in with Tsunade. We'll meet up tomorrow morning at the gate at 10:00am" said Jiraiya.

"Hey Ero-Sennin, where are we going anyways?" asked Naruto.

"That's a surprise kid, but I think our destination will interest you in particular" said Jiraiya.

"Really?!" said Naruto. "Oh come on, can't you tell me anything? At least why we are going?"

"I guess I can tell you that. You know that little err project Hiashi has me working on?" asked Jiraiya. Naruto nodded. "Well I don't have what I need to complete the seal removal, but I know a place that might."

"Alright! The sooner we get rid of that seal, the better!" shouted Naruto. This trip would definitely help him with the promise he made to Hinata and Neji.

"We'll be working on your training a bit along the way. Oh and pack the same you did for our little Tsunade-recovery trip. And bring some blank scrolls as well" said Jiraiya, taking off.

"Damn. I wanted to ask him something else, but he ran off before I could. Oh well, I'll ask him tomorrow" said Naruto to himself.

* * *

Naruto met Jiraiya at the get the next morning. He had just gotten breakfast with Hinata, asking her to take care of his apartment and water the plants while he was gone. Unfortunately, his promise to teach Konohamaru the Shadow Clone Jutsu would have to wait until after he returned, but he told Konohamaru to try and build up his chakra reserves a little, warning him that the jutsu took a lot of chakra and the only reason he could make so many clones was because he had an ungodly amount of chakra in him.

They left, Naruto nagging Jiraiya as they traveled. Jiraiya shrugged off most of Naruto's comments, telling him stuff like 'he would answer them later' or 'if I answered, it would ruin the surprise'.

It was getting late and they found a rest cabin out in the middle of the wilderness where they opted to stay for the night. Jiraiya had told Naruto to go practice his wind chakra for a bit while he got things set up.

"_Damn, I've had a month to think how I'm going to do it and I'm still not sure"_ thought Jiraiya. _"I told Tsunade I would tell Naruto everything, but even I don't know how he'll take it. I suppose I could wait until I'm sure how to tell him…no, it's got to be now. Naruto's suffered long enough."_

Jiraiya sighed as he got a few scrolls out of his backpack. One was the scroll that Tsunade had him read that night and the other was a blank scroll where he began to scribe a privacy seal on it. He didn't trust anyone else's privacy seal, only his own. This information was something that needed to be said, but it was also something that had to be kept secret. _"Naruto, I hope everything will be made clear after tonight. Hopefully we can put some of your worries to rest."_

Jiraiya took a deep breath. Once Naruto stepped inside the cabin, he wasn't sure of what would happen. "Hey Naruto, come over here for a bit" Jiraiya called out.

"Huh?...Okay!" replied Naruto as he ran towards the cabin. Jiraiya's mind was set. There was no turning back now.

* * *

Author Note

Well, there you have it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Regarding Naruto's day at the academy, I'm sorry, but I just had to do it. Naruto still can't do a normal clone to save his life. The main reason is that he simply hasn't had to even think about the normal clone jutsu until now. It's one of those things that he kind of forgot about as he's had the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

As for the Advanced Transformation Jutsu, I did decide to finally declare a normal transformation as a type of basic genjutsu, where the transformation is just an illusion. The Advanced Transformation Jutsu is a jonin level technique that is more effective than a normal Transformation Jutsu as it physically transforms you into desired form. The reason it is a jonin level jutsu is the chakra requirement to truly transform yourself, which is no issue for Naruto. It is more powerful than a normal transformation in that its harder to detect and more effective for infiltration missions.

As for Kiba, this will be the end of the Kiba bashing for quite awhile. Hopefully it entertained you to some extent and I didn't overdo it, but hey…you hurt Hinata, you're going to pay.

A few more developments regarding the Hyuga clan and its current situation. Hopefully I explained them well enough with Neji's explanation. If not, then ask me and I'll try to clear something up.

So, Naruto and Jiraiya have set out their trip. Where are the going? What will Naruto learn? And how will Naruto handle the information that he's about to receive that will change his life?

If you haven't yet, I'm still taking suggestions on which Kakashi-like trait Sasuke requires. So far, it's leaning towards he will become an Icha Icha fan.

As for where this book is going before I start the next one, this trip will be the last major arc before the next chunin exams. There will be a filler chapter or two in-between this arc and the chunin exam along with a few chapters after the chunin exam to wrap things up after the chunin exams and then I will call this book finished and begin on the sequel.

Until next time…

Please review/comment


	41. Chapter 41

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

Author Note

First, to those of you who have pointed out a few of my mistakes. I do thank you for letting me know about them. I am by no means a great writer who never makes mistakes. I am human, and like all humans, I make errors. Thank you to those of you who have brought some of my mistakes to my attention (whether they are simply grammatical errors, or there are some inconsistencies with my story). I will revise them when I get time to.

Also, I hate to do this, but I have found myself lapsing into the Japanese naming style more and more. As such, I am switching from the English naming convention (ex. Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuga) to the Japanese naming convention (ex. Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Hinata). I hope this does not cause much confusion. I plan to stay with the English names for jutsu as I feel it helps with understanding what the technique is.

Anyways, here is the next chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 41: Heritage **

"_Damn, I've had a month to think how I'm going to do it and I'm still not sure"_ thought Jiraiya. _"I told Tsunade I would tell Naruto everything, but even I don't know how he'll take it. I suppose I could wait until I'm sure how to tell him…no, it's got to be now. Naruto's suffered long enough."_

Jiraiya sighed as he got a few scrolls out of his backpack. One was the scroll that Tsunade had him read that night and the other was a blank scroll where he began to scribe a privacy seal on it. He didn't trust anyone else's privacy seal, only his own. This information was something that needed to be said, but it was also something that had to be kept secret. _"Naruto, I hope everything will be made clear after tonight. Hopefully we can put some of your worries to rest."_

Jiraiya took a deep breath. Once Naruto stepped inside the cabin, he wasn't sure of what would happen. "Hey Naruto, come over here for a bit" Jiraiya called out.

Naruto stopped his training, gathered his kunai and proceeded to the cabin. Upon reaching the cabin, he saw Jiraiya's face…something was wrong. Something was worrying him. "Ero-Sennin…what's wrong?"

For Jiraiya, this was it. He had always been a person who, once his mind was set on something, he would do it. Even though there were still doubts in his head, he knew if he couldn't tell Naruto now, he wouldn't be able to at all. He had made up his mind the day he read that letter that was addressed to his sensei…the letter that Naruto should have been given years ago, or months at the latest.

"Hey Naruto, close the door and make sure it's locked" said Jiraiya as he moved to the windows and closed them. All that remained as light sources were the candles inside the shack.

"Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto, slightly confused as to what's going on. "What's going on?"

Jiraiya took a deep breath. "There's something we need to talk about. Something that needs to remain secret, but something that needs to be said" said Jiraiya, activating the privacy seals. Jiraiya and Naruto were now alone.

"Secret? What kind of secret?" asked Naruto.

Jiraiya paused a moment, Naruto looking at him. "It regards…your parents." Naruto looked wide-eyed and in shock. His parents? As a child, that was all he wanted to think about. Who were his parents? Why was he never told of them? The uncertainty of who his parents were was probably the greatest pain of his childhood. Even the Sandaime never told Naruto. He would just brush off the question with something like 'they were good people'. That may have been enough to comfort him for the moment, but the pain returned. All he wanted as a name…a picture…something to tell him who his parents were.

"You…you knew my parents?" asked Naruto. The wounds from his past were reopening. Was this going to be another one of those times where someone mentioned the word 'parents' and he still never got anything out of it? When he became a ninja, the distractions provided by his life as a ninja were enough to keep him from thinking about who his parents might be. But now that Jiraiya had mentioned it, he couldn't hold it back any longer. He didn't want it to happen again…another person he trusted, keeping that secret from him. Who were they? Now that the wounds were reopened, he had to know.

Jiraiya nodded at Naruto's question and Naruto began to lose it. "Please! Please just tell me who they were! I-I need to…" said Naruto as he burst out in tears.

Jiraiya placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder causing Naruto to look up to Jiraiya. "Naruto, this is hard for me as well. I'll tell you, but please just be patient with me. I'm still not sure how to go about it" said Jiraiya. Naruto couldn't believe it. Someone was finally going to tell him. He was finally going to know where he came from. "First, I need to understand a few things. I need to you to promise me a few things, can you do that?"

Naruto started to wipe the tears from his eyes. "Yeah, just name them. I'll keep those promises" said Naruto, regaining himself.

Jiraiya took a deep breath. "Okay. First, what I am about to say has been kept secret for a reason. Your parents were very powerful people and they had enemies. If people knew you were their child, you would be in even more danger than you already are. Because of this, what I tell you I need you to promise me you'll keep secret and you won't tell anyone, save a few people."

"I can do that, but who can I tell?" asked Naruto.

"The only people in the village you can talk to about this are myself, Tsunade, Kakashi, and Hiashi. They already know. There are also a few other jonin that know, but they aren't important right now" said Jiraiya.

"Wait, Hiashi and Kakashi-sensei know? But how? And if Hiashi knows, can I at least tell Hinata?" asked Naruto.

"You'll know in a little why Kakashi and Hiashi know. And for the time being, no you cannot tell Hinata. I'll tell you who you can tell and when you can tell them, but until you're sixteenth birthday, this needs to remain a closely guarded secret. Do you understand?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yeah, I do. I promise I won't tell anyone outside those four people" said Naruto.

"Good. Now, the second thing I need you to promise is not to get mad at the Old Man for keeping this from you" said Jiraiya.

"Wait, why would I get mad at the Old Man Sandaime?" asked Naruto.

"Because Naruto, you should have known a long time ago. The Sandaime should have told you a long time ago. Your parents never wanted you to suffer like you have been. I don't even know myself. The Sandaime was my sensei and I don't even understand why. All I can say is that I feel as if there is more going on, although I don't even know what yet. So please don't look at the Old Man in a negative way until we are absolutely certain what happened that caused this lapse of judgment." Jiraiya looked at Naruto with a sad expression. He knew Jiraiya was hurting from this just as much as he was, but Jiraiya wanted to hold onto hope that it wasn't entirely the Old Man's fault.

"I can do that" said Naruto. "Anything else?"

"No…" said Jiraiya. New he really wasn't sure where to go. "But, before I tell you who they were, I want to tell you something about myself, okay?" Naruto nodded. "You know that book that I gave you for my birthday?"

"Yeah. It's actually really good. I mean, I'm only about half way through it, but it's really good" said Naruto. Jiraiya smiled. For someone like Naruto to like a book, well maybe there was hope for his writing skills after all.

"Heh, thanks Naruto. There is a reason that your name is the same name as the main character in that book" said Jiraiya. "I already told you that my first real novel didn't sell to well. But, there were a few people who liked it. Your dad was one of them. In fact, he even asked me if he could name you after the character in the book. In a way, he made me your Godfather."

"Really?" Naruto's eyes lit up a little. "Wait…my dad wasn't a pervert like you, was he?"

Jiraiya laughed. "No, I had the utmost respect for your father…but, I should have come back for you. I should have taken you instead of leaving you in the hands of the villagers. For that Naruto, I'm truly sorry."

"Ero-Sennin…" Naruto looked up into his godfather's eyes, smiling. He forgave Jiraiya with ease.

"And stop calling me 'Ero-Sennin', brat!" protested Jiraiya. Both laughed a little.

"So who were they? Who were my parents?" asked Naruto after a momentary pause.

Jiraiya reached down into the pile of scrolls and papers in front of him and handed Naruto a small photo. "Your mother, was Uzumaki Kushina" he said.

Naruto looked at the picture. "Wow! She's beautiful" said Naruto. Indeed she was. What really stood out was the long red hair on her head. Naruto was really wishing that he had inherited his mother's hair now. "What was she like?"

Jiraiya laughed at that. "She was a lot like you. Loud, and very stubborn as a child. But when she matured, she became more calm and kind. However, the one thing she never lost was her temper. Oh man…she was one person you did not want to piss off. Hell, I'd rather be staring down Tsunade sometimes than her. I believe she was called the Bloody Habanaro for her fiery temper and red hair." Naruto laughed at that.

Suddenly, Jiraiya went straight from laughing to serious. "There is one more thing you need to know about her" he said. Naruto stopped his laughter and looked at Jiraiya. "She was…the Kyuubi's previous jinchuriki…she died the night of the Kyuubi attack."

"W-what?!" said ay shocked Naruto. _"My mother was the Kyuubi's jinchuriki?"_

"**Hmm…Uzumaki Kushina. Yes Kit, it's true. She was my previous vessel" **replied Kurama.

A question came to Naruto's mind. One he didn't want to ask, but one he really had to know. _"Did you…did you, you know. Did you kill her?"_

Kurama sighed. **"Not directly Kit. Like I told you before, a jinchuriki dies when the beast is ripped out of them. That's what happened to your mother. She died as a result of me being ripped out of her. Although I will say she was strong for surviving for a short time afterwards. Usually, a host will die the moment the beast is extracted, but she still lived a few minutes afterwards."** Naruto looked down. It was a better answer than he had hoped for.

"_But, how did you get out then? Who released you?"_ asked Naruto.

"**You already know the answer. I told you the day we met back in the Wave"** said Kurama. Naruto instantly realized who it was…Madara. **"Kit…Naruto, I'm sorry I didn't say anything until now."**

"_No…it's…it's okay"_ said Naruto. On the outside, Jiraiya was letting Naruto take some time to let the recent information soak in.

"Naruto, are you alright?" asked Jiriaya.

"Yeah, just had a difficult conversation with Fuzzball" replied Naruto.

"What did he say?" asked Jiraiya.

"Well, at least he wasn't the one who killed her" said Naruto.

"Huh? Well then who did?" replied Jiraiya.

"He said that she was dying from having the Kyuubi ripped out of her by Uchiha Madara" said Naruto. "He said she was strong for being able to survive for a few moments afterwards."

Jiraiya wasn't mad at the Kyuubi for that. What happened happened and there was nothing that could be done about that. What really surprised Jiraiya though was when the Kyuubi actually complimented Kushina for being strong. He didn't think the Fox, a demon, had it in him to compliment a human. Besides, this was now something Naruto and Kurama would have to work out by themselves.

Naruto perked up deciding not to dwell on the conversation with the Kyuubi. Kurama was not the one truly responsible for his mother's death so Naruto held no grudge. He would have to talk to him again, but that could wait until a later time.

"So who is he? Who is my dad?" asked Naruto. Jiraiya took a deeper breath, knowing this one would be harder than Kushina.

"I don't really know the best way to tell you this, so I'm just going to show you" said Jiraiya, handing Naruto another photo. Naruto looked on at the photo in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing. "Your father was my best student and one of the greatest men I ever knew. There is a reason I taught you the Ransengan. It's practically your birthright after all."

"T-this i-is…the…the Youndaime Hokage" said Naruto, trying to grasp hold of words.

"Yes Naruto. Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, is your father" said Jiraiya. Naruto practically broke down in tears. He didn't know what to do. The flood of emotions being too much for him to handle. He finally knew. He finally knew who his parents were.

"Hey, Naruto? Is everything alright?" Jiraiya asked the frozen Naruto.

Tears came to Naruto's eyes. "Yeah, Jiriaya. Everything's going to be alright. I mean, I finally know who my parents are and I can't believe it. My hero…is my father" said Naruto. Jiraiya smiled, grabbing a few more pictures and giving them to Naruto.

The first picture was a picture of Minato and Kushina on their first date. "Hey, this is Ichiraku!" realized Naruto.

"Yep. It's where your dad took your mom out on her first date. She was as big of a ramen nut as you are" laughed Jiraiya. "In fact, you know that Ramen Passport that you have?" Naruto nodded. "Your mom completed hers. Ask Teuchi and he'll show it to you. Oh and that reminds me, you can talk to Teuchi about your parents. He knows you're their son as they practically lived at Ichiraku." Naruto laughed along with Jiraiya.

Naruto flipped through the pictures, stopping at a particular one. It was both of his parents sitting together, with Kushina having a rather large belly. "I guess that's the closest thing I've got to a true family picture of the three of you. This was taken a month before you were born while your mom was still pregnant with you" said Jiraiya. That did it. Naruto really broke down now and Jiraiya spent the next fifteen minutes trying to pull the blonde back together.

"Ero-Sennin…why did everything have to happen? Why me?" asked Naruto, finally asking the questions on the top of his head.

"I don't know. Perhaps this will give you answers" said Jiraiya, handing Naruto the scroll. "There is a seal on this scroll that only you can open. I believe it has a few things from your parents. Perhaps some answers. Also, I'm sure the Kyuubi may be able to clear up a few things."

Naruto nodded, taking the scroll from Jiraiya and opening it. "Now, just smear some of your blood on the seal and channel some chakra to release it" explained Jiraiya. Naruto did as such and into existence popped two scrolls along with one of his dad's Hiraishin Kunai, seal and all. One scroll was yellow, probably from his dad, and the other was red, probably from his mother. Naruto decided to start with the one from his mother first.

_My dearest Naruto,_

_This is your mother, Uzumaki Kushina. I hope everything has been well for you and you have made lots of friends. I wish I could be there to see you grow up into the handsome young man I know you will become, but as I am writing this, I can feel my own life slowly leaving me. So please forgive me, but know this, you look loke you have your father's looks, so you'll be fine. He was always the better looking of the two of us. And I know the day will come when you meet a pretty girl, hopefully someone like me._

_But enough of that, I know what Minato is doing, making you the Kyuubi's next jinchuriki. I really wish it didn't come to this, but even I know that this is the only way to save the village. Besides, I think beneath that demon exterior, he really is a softy on the inside. I don't really know, but it felt like I was starting to get through to him. I do know this though. If anyone can get through to the Kyuubi, it will be you, Naruto._

_I'm sorry but my time has come and I must leave. I hope you can forgive us for everything. Know that Minato and I will always love you, no matter where we are, -ttebane. Love,_

_Uzumaki Kushina, your mother_

_Oh, and stay away from that pervert of a teacher your father had._

Naruto's reactions were a mix of sadness and laughter. "Mom, thank you and don't worry, I love you too. Huh? -ttebane?" There was one word that caught Naruto's attention and Jiraiya laughed a little.

"Oh yeah, that's right. She had that same verbal tick you do. And the funny thing was that she was hoping you wouldn't get it" Jiraiya laughed, Naruto joining in. He then took one last look at his mother's letter before picking up the one from his father.

_Hey Naruto,_

_This is Namikaze Minato, your father. I hope you can forgive me and your mother for everything. I truly do wish we could have been there for you, although you probably would have come to hate us. I'm just kidding there, although Kushina would have most likely been spying on you during the first time you ever took a girl out on a date. I'm also sorry to say that it looks like you got my looks. Your mother always had the better looks._

_With regards to what I did to you, sealing the Kyuubi inside you, I truly regret having to do this, but I felt there was no other way. I would not have done it if it hadn't been for the fact that the true mastermind behind the attack was Uchiha Madara. I know that it will take someone who can control the Kyuubi's power to be able to defeat him, and I know that someone is you. I'm sorry that I had to place that burden on you, but I have absolute faith in you. I know you will grow into the man we know you will become._

_Love,_

_Namikaze Minato, The Yondaime Hokage and your father_

"Mom, Dad…don't worry, I'll make you proud, -ttebayo!" declared Naruto.

* * *

Somewhere in the pure world,

"Achoo" a read-hair spirit sneezed.

"Is everything alright, Kushina?"

"Yeah, but I have a bad feeling about something, -ttebane."

* * *

"Don't worry Naruto. I'm sure they are proud of you" said Jiraiya, reassuring Naruto. "Are you going to be alright?"

Naruto was silent for a moment. "Yeah, I think I will be. Thank you, Ero-Sennin, for everything. It means a lot, really" said Naruto. "Hey, can I keep one of those pictures you have?"

Jiraiya held the one picture of Minato and a pregnant Kushina. "Not like this Naruto. Like I said, it risks the secret getting out, you do understand, right?"

"Yeah, I guess" replied Naruto. He was sad to hear that, and Jiraiya could easily pick up on the sad tone of his voice.

"But, I suppose I could put a seal on one of these pictures to hid the image so that only you can see it" replied Jiraiya.

"Huh? Really?!" shouted Naruto. "Can you? Can you please?!"

Jiraiya smiled at Naruto's reaction. "Yeah, just give me a day or so."

"Now, try to get some rest. We've got a long trip ahead of us tomorrow" said Jiraiya as he cleaned up the scrolls and papers scattered around the house. _"And Tsunade was worried. That went easier than I expected."_

"Hey Ero-Sennin, so where are we going?" asked Naruto.

"Well, now that I've told you what you need to know, I guess I can say" said Jiraiya. "You see, there is this one bath house in the Land of Hot Water that has the most beautiful girls…and mixed bathing…"

"Gagh! You just dragged me along on another of your research trips, you old pervert!" shouted Naruto as Jiraiya laughed.

"Alright. That's not where we are going, although we may stop there for a little. Besides, I'm almost finished with my next book and I just need to do a little more research. No the place we are actually going is the ruins of Uzushiogakaru, the village of your ancestors" said Jiraiya.

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Naruto.

"I'll explain it more in the morning. Besides, it will give us something to talk about tomorrow" said Jiraiya. "Now get some sleep."

Naruto laid back, thinking of what had just happened. He finally knew what he had been looking all these years, the identity of his parents. He couldn't believe it. His mother was a beautiful kunoichi and his dad was the most powerful shinobi of his time, Konoha's famed Yellow Flash and the Yondaime Hokage. However, that only brought up more questions, ones that only the Kyuubi could answer right now. Naruto closed his eyes and tried to enter into his own subconciousness.

* * *

"We need to talk" said Naruto, standing in front of the gate that contained the Kyuubi.

"**I figured as much. After what you've heard today, I don't blame you at all for coming to seek me out"** replied Kurama.

"How much of that did you know? I mean, did you actually know who my parents were?" asked Naruto.

"**Your mother, yes. Being my previous host, I know who she was and I knew you were her kit. Your father, no. The difference between my current seal and the one used to seal me inside your mother was that yours allows me to connect with your senses and memories…hers didn't. Within your mother, I was in complete isolation from the outside world. I only knew what was going on within her, not outside of her. The only way we could talk was when she contacted me. However, she did not have access to my chakra as her seal was meant to simply contain me. Your seal is different. Because your seal allows you to use my power, it also allows me to see what's going on outside of you. I know who your friends are, who your vixen is, and how big of a pervert that teacher of yours is…don't worry, I'm not threatening them."**

"But why didn't you tell me who my mom was?" asked Naruto.

"**Because Kit, it wasn't my place to tell you. In a way, I don't think you would have believed me."**

"Maybe, but still…anyways. So you fought my dad, what happened on that night. We were told he died defeating you. I don't want to think you killed him, but what happened?"

"**Hmm…I'll be honest, the night you were born, I was trying to escape myself from your mother. The time when a woman gives birth is the time when the seal weakens to a point where I could actually get out. However, I was not able to as the Yondaime was holding the seal together. Then a few minutes passed and I was released from your mother by some external force. When I was finally out, I saw your mother chained to a rock, weak but still alive. I do have to give her that much. She survived the extraction. To my knowledge, no one has ever survived the extraction. Even if she was dying, she should have been dead the moment I left her, but she still had some life left in her."**

"Enough time…to see me. Enough time to say good bye" Naruto realized, thinking back to the letter. The way she wrote it, it sounded like the Kyuubi had already been extracted and she was dying.

"**It seems like it. I don't know what happened to her afterwards, but I assumed she passed shortly after due to the extreme drop in chakra inside her. Anyways, all I remember seeing next were those accursed eyes. That was when I knew HE was back."**

"Uchiha Madara?" asked Naruto.

"**Yes, that son of a bitch. Anyways, by the time I finally regained my own mind, it was already too late. The Yondaime had me trapped in some sort of restraining seal and he was beginning the sealing process. I used a seal called the Reaper Death Seal I believe is what it was called. Anyways, he summoned the Shinigami himself and used it to seal me inside you. But if I know how the Shinigami works, then your dad had to sacrifice his own life to use that jutsu."**

"I see…" said Naruto, looking down.

"**No matter how you look at it, it all comes back to that one person"** said Kurama.

"How could one person be the cause of so much suffering? And one that should have died years ago" said Naruto.

**Trust me on this Kit, I would not have come within a thousand miles of your village if it hadn't been for him. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be stuck inside you and you would probably be trying to steal the Hokage hat from your dad right about now"** said Kurama.

Naruto laughed a little at that. "Yeah, I probably would have. Well it doesn't matter because that hat will still be mine one day. I just have to get it from Baachan now. I'll become Hokage, and I'll make sure that Madara's reign of terror is finally put to an end, -ttebayo!"

"**Hehe, so we're good then?"**

"Yeah. I don't blame you for what happened. Besides you couldn't kill my parents, you're just a big softy" joked Naruto.

"**Soft?! Get back here you little brat and I'll show you 'soft' by ripping your head off!" **Kurama shouted as Naruto disappeared from his own mindscape, laughing. _**"Damn you Kushina."**_

* * *

Jiraiya and Naruto stopped for lunch the following day. The entire morning, Jiraiya had been bombarded by questions from Naruto, wanting to know more about his mom and dad. One thing though that Jiraiya had wanted to ask was if Naruto had talked to the Kyuubi since last night and wanted to see what the Fox had to say about the entire issue. Naruto basically repeated what Kurama had told him last night.

"_It's good to know that they are still in this together, but troubling as to who was behind this. Even Minato mentioned Uchiha Madara's name…that can't be good. Perhaps I should also think about loosening Naruto's seal. Not a lot, but enough to allow him to use the Kyuubi's power without as much difficulty" _thought Jiraiya. He did have to admit that perhaps the Fox wasn't as bad or evil as everyone initially thought. Perhaps there was more to the Kyuubi than some demon bent on mindless destruction. That didn't mean he fully trusted the Kyuubi yet, but perhaps the Kyuubi and Naruto did earn a little bit of trust with how they handled the Orochimaru situation. Besides, if the Kyuubi really did want to hurt Naruto or his friends, then why did help save Sasuke?

"Hey Ero-sennin, so you said you were going to train me on this trip. What are you going to teach me this time? Is it another of my dad's jutsu? Or perhaps another cool wind jutsu?" said Naruto, slipping into annoying brat mode. "Oh and what did you do with that kunai that was in the scroll? Wait, are you going to teach me the Hiraishin?!"

Jiraiya sighed, handing Naruto back the kunai, saying he just needed to look at the seal on the handle. "No, you're not ready to learn THAT jutsu yet" said Jiraiya, Naruto pouting in protest. "So how far are you on your wind chakra training?"

Naruto pulled a normal kunai and channeled some wind chakra into it, throwing it at the tree. "I've got it to where I can get it sticking out of the end of the tree, but it's hard to maintain a sharp enough wind blade on it after I throw it. I just wish it was as easy as with the Hiraishin Kunai" said Naruto.

"Well, it looks like you're coming along pretty good. This isn't exactly an easy exercise to master. Unlike the leaf and waterfall exercises, this one is much harder. You have to create a strong enough blade so that it sustains itself, unlike the previous exercises where you could sustain it by adding more chakra" said Jiraiya. "Anyways, I wanted to start teaching you something different. Both of your parents were exceptionally gifted as the art of fuinjutsu. While your father was the better of the two, being an actual seal master, your mother had a gift for fuinjutsu as well, being an Uzumaki."

"What does being an Uzumaki have to do with fuinjutsu?" asked Naruto.

"Well, it's kind of the purpose of the trip we are taking. The Uzumakis were a clan that inhabited the village of Uzushiogakaru in the Land of Whirlpools. In fact, that is where the red swirl on the back of your jacket and the standard flax jacket came from. Konoha and Uzu had close ties, mainly due to the relationship between the Senjus, Konoha's founding clan, and the Uzumakis. If you trace back far enough in the Uzumaki and Senju family trees, you'll find that they were distant relatives and the two clans saw each other as cousins" explained Jiraiya.

"Really?! So we are going to see the Uzumaki clan? I wonder if I have any distant family there" said Naruto.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I highly doubt that" explained Jiraiya. Naruto looked at the Toad Sage with a confused look. "Back during the time of the Second Great Ninja War, the Uzumakis were considered a great threat to many of the shinobi nations. As such, Iwa launched an all-out assault on Uzu, resulting in the city's destruction and the scattering of the Uzumakis. To be honest, all that is left are ruins of the once prominent village. There aren't many Uzumakis left. I hate to tell you this, but there is even a possibility that you may be the last Uzumaki."

Naruto grew depressed. "But why? Why did Iwa do that? Why did they nearly wipe out the Uzumaki clan…my clan…" said Naruto.

"It was because of what the Uzumakis were good at. The Uzumakis were powerful seal masters and many nations like Iwa feared what the Uzumakis could do with a seal. Just to give you an idea, the seal on your stomach is an Uzumaki-style seal" said Jiraiya.

"But what exactly do seals do? I mean, we've been taught about storage seals and explosive seals in the academy, and I guess you can seal a demon with them, but what else could they do?" asked Naruto.

"Well…to put it in the simplest terms possible…just about anything" said Jiraiya. Naruto stared wide-eyed at him. "Anywhere from storing items and weapons to amplifying the power of a jutsu 100 fold to grating a ninja a massive power source to healing even the most gruesome of injuries. In fact, it was a sealing matrix that allowed Tsunade to save your friends when they got injured. With the correct formula, you could do just about anything with seals" explained Jiraiya.

"Wow!" gasped an amazed Naruto. He had no idea that the people he was descended from were that cool and powerful.

"Yep. Your dad was well versed in Uzumaki sealing techniques, primarily due to your mother, and it was his knowledge of seals that made his who he was" explained Jiraiya.

"So we are on this trip to train me in this fuinjutsu?!" exclaimed Naruto as he began to bounce in excitement.

"Well, that wasn't the main purpose of the trip" said Jiraiya. Naruto gave him a bit of a glare. "I actually needed to go to Uzushigakaru to see if I could find something on how to remove that Caged Bird Seal that Hiashi has me working on. If anyone has a way to remove it, it's the Uzumakis. But, I also figured I could start teaching you the art of fuinjutsu."

"Wait, but you said the city was destroyed. How do you expect to find a way to remove a seal if everything is destroyed?" asked Naruto.

"Well, the thing is that the Uzumakis sealed away their knowledge in vast archives throughout the city before Iwa attacked. Those archives are still in fact but they are secured by a vast network of blood seals. Only someone with Uzumaki blood can even hope to open them and access the scroll and knowledge within" said Jiraiya. "I guess that's the real reason I brought you along…so that you could open the blood seals."

"Well if it will help with the removal of the Caged Bird Seal, then I guess so. But what's so difficult about removing just one seal?" asked Naruto.

"While a seal might not be that complex or difficult, there are certain elements that seals may contain that make them nearly impossible to remove. The problem with the Caged Bird Seal is that it's integrated so tightly into the brain that it's nearly impossible to remove without killing or handicapping the bearer. I need to find some way to untangle the seal from the brain to be able to remove it safely" said Jiraiya.

"Well what are we waiting for? The sooner we can get rid of that seal, the sooner I can fulfill my promise to Neji and Hinata, and the sooner they won't have to worry about any sort of family problems because of that seal!" exclaimed Naruto.

Jiraiya just smiled at Naruto's enthusiasm. "Hey Ero-Sennin, you said you're going to teach me fuinjutsu, right?" asked Naruto. Jiraiya nodded. "Great! When can we get started?!"

"Pack up your stuff. I'll explain while we are walking and you can start your training once we settle down for the night" said Jiraiya.

* * *

Author Note

Okay, so I am really hoping I did not jump the gun when I had Jiraiya tell Naruto about his parents, but I felt that Naruto had to know where he came from if I was going to have Jiraiya teach him fuinjutsu (after all, his dad was a seal master and his mom was an Uzumaki). Naruto will not become a seal master over night, but he will notice that he has a knack for it (kind of like pranks). He will not be considered a seal master until sometime in the Shippuden era, but he will begin his training in fuinjutsu in this arc. Also, there will be NO bloodline for Naruto. The Uzumakis were seal masters, but they didn't have a bloodline.

Regarding Kurama, I am making some slight changes to the way Minato and Kushina died in the cannon. In the cannon, both of them were stabbed through with Kurama's claw when Minato was just finishing the sealing. That is not the case here. Kurama didn't have anything to do with Naruto's parents' deaths except for the drain on Kushina's chakra system and Minato using the Reaper Death Seal.

Also, as I tried to indicate, Kurama had been gaining some amount of respect for Kushina to the point where he actually apologized to Naruto for everything that happened. With regards to my own story and interpretation, if Kushina had remained Kurama's jinchuriki and survived, then she would be about at the same point Naruto and Kurama are at. For my purposes, Kushina was never mean to Kurama and had confronted him, trying to befriend the biju. There was a bond that was beginning to form between the two of them…until Madra/Tobi got in the way. In a way, consider Kurama's willingness to work with Naruto his way of respecting Kushina.

As for the verbal tick, -ttebayo (for Naruto) and –ttebane (for Kushina), I am actually thinking of having Hinata subconsciously pick up on the verbal tick after she's spent more time around Naruto.

As for next time, Naruto will finally begin his fuinjutsu training and the will arrive at Uzushiogakaru. Will they find what they are looking and what surprises lurk in the ancient home of the Uzumaki clan?

Hope you enjoyed, please review/comment.


	42. Chapter 42

A/N: So, it was brought to my attention that I have been misspelling the names of the villages. I have been spelling Konohagakure as Konohagakaru. I have corrected the spelling starting in this chapter and will work on revising it in previous chapters. I apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto

* * *

**Chapter 42: The Art of Fuinjutsu**

"**Why am I not surprised?"** said Kurama.

"_That pervert really was just on a 'research trip'" _commented Naruto.

Naruto and Jiraiya found themselves in Kantona Town, a town in the south of the Land of Hot Water and a town known for its many hot spring baths. "Hey, Ero-Sennin" said Naruto. Jiraiya turned his head to the blonde. "Why the hell are we here?! I thought we were going to Uzushiogakure!"

"Calm down Naruto. We are, but this town is a nice stop before we take a boat to the island. We'll be here for a few days, so just relax and enjoy yourself, because after this we will pretty much be camping. There is nothing left on the island of the Land of Whirlpools. Consider these our last few days in civilization before heading out into the wilderness" said Jiraiya.

"Just admit it you old pervert, you're just here for research!" said Naruto.

"Umm well…I kind of do have a deadline that I have to meet for the final draft of my next book by the end of the week" admitted Jiraiya.

"I knew it! We are just on a research trip!" shouted Naruto as he began freaking out. "You said you were going to teach me fuinjutsu, but now you're going to be spending all day peeping on girls in the baths!"

"Quiet Brat" said Jiraiya, shushing Naruto. "I said I would teach you fuinjutsu and I will, but I also have other things that need to get done. Don't worry, I'm almost done with my book, and all I have to do is finish the ending chapter. It won't take me more than a week. After that, we'll go to Uzu. Besides, you're going to be spending most of this week reading a bunch of scrolls on the basics of fuinjutsu."

"What? Reading…" complained Naruto. "But I don't want to read. I thought fuinjutsu was going to be fun and exciting."

Jiraiya sighed. It was around this time that they arrived at a bar/restaurant to get some food. "Listen, fuinjutsu is complicated. It requires two things to even begin, knowledge and creativity. You already have the creativity aspect, but you still need the knowledge. If you don't know how seals even work, then there is no hope in even learning them. Just read the scrolls I have until you understand the very basics of seals and then I'll help you to learn actual sealing. Okay?"

"But why can't you just teach me everything from the beginning?" asked Naruto.

"Because, this is just something that you have to do. If I just told you everything, I'm afraid it would just go in one ear or out the other ear, or I would forget to say something important, or I would say something out of order. I used those scrolls to teach your father. Besides, if you want to lean fuinjutsu, it's going to require a lot of studying. This isn't like becoming a master of ninjutsu or genjutu where you can just repeat the jutsu over and over again until you get it, this is completely different. So just put up with it for the rest of the week, study your scrolls during the day and just relax during the night. After this week, there isn't going to much time to truly relax for the next few weeks" explained Jiraiya.

"Fine" said Naruto, a little disappointed that he would be stuck basically reading for the next week, but he couldn't help it. He would give the scrolls a chance and then complain to Jiraiya later.

The rest of that night, Naruto did as Jiraiya said, relax. They had found a hot springs bath where Naruto was simply relaxing while Jiraiya well…let's just say his attention was diverted towards other places, particularly the bath on the other side of the divider.

The following day, Jiraya was busy working on the rest of his book while Naruto had finally decided to pick up the scrolls. After all, the sooner he finished them, the sooner he could get back to bugging Jiraiya to actually teach him.

Naruto opened up the first scroll and began reading.

_Scroll 1: What is Fuinjutsu?_

_Fuinjutsu is as its name implies. It is the art of sealing techniques. It is also a very misunderstood art. Most people see fuinjutsu as simply that…sealing. For the most part, they see it as simply sealing weapons inside scrolls. It however is much more than simply sealing a simple tool inside a scroll._

_In terms of sealing an object of power within something, a tool being sealed inside a scroll is the simplest form of sealing jutsu. Another simple form of sealing is containing energy within a slip of paper. In other words, these are paper bombs. They contain some sort of energy, usually fire and heat, which is released in an explosive manner when the seal is released._

_The pinnacle of sealing was seen when beings were sealed within other beings. This was most prominent during the early days of the shinobi world, before the establishment of the Great Nations and hidden villages. During this period in time, it was common for humans to seal other beings, primarily demons, within themselves so that they could try and tap into the demon's power to enhance their own strength. Early methods of this sealing were unsuccessful as the more powerful demons would usually absorb the consciousness of their human vessel, only becoming more powerful themselves. This trend occurred of the first 500 years of the practice until the Sage of the Six Paths successfully sealed the Jyuubi inside himself to prevent it from wreaking havoc on the living world. _

_The Sage of the Six Paths is considered to be the founder of modern day jutsu and was exceptionally gifted at sealing techniques. However, despite his power, his time eventually came to an end. Out of fear of the Jyuubi being released upon his death, the Sage used his power to split the Jyuubi into nine parts, creating the nine Biju. _

_For the next three hundred years, the practice of sealing demons in humans continued, but no success. It wasn't until the year 341 CE* (see note at the end of the chapter) that he sealing of demons proved successful. It was then that the Yonbi was securely sealed into a human. It was at this time where the term jinchuriki was invented for someone who contained a demon and could tap into its power. This term was given because the human vessel for the demon gave up their prospects for a normal life, but in return they were actually able to tap into the power of the demon sealed within them. Until the year 752CE, the only successful sealings of demons were the sealing of the biju. The reasons why only the sealing of the biju were successful are still unknown, but it is believed that it was because the biju were considered 'chakra monsters' that humans were able to tap into their power and contain them more easily, whereas many of the other demons used a different form of energy from chakra to sustain themselves. _

_In the year 752CE, the attempted sealing of the Fox demon known as Hikare failed, resulting in the death of the demon, the first true death of a demon at human hands, particularly the Hosharuka clan who used to be located in a prominent village north west of current day Earth Country. Following the failed sealing, the Hosharuka clan was obliterated by the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the most powerful of the Fox Demons. Reasons behind this attack are still unknown, but it is believed that the attack was out of retaliation for death of Hikare. Ever since then, the sealing of demons, with the exception of the biju whose sealing has been proven successful, has pretty much stopped to avoid any accidental deaths of more demons and potential war between demons and humans. _

_In the year 973CE, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the last of the unsealed biju, was finally sealed following the fabled battle between Senju Harishima and Uchiha Madara…_

Naruto put down the scroll as he felt a mixture of anger, sadness, and regret from within him. However, it wasn't his own emotions. _"Kurama, is something wrong?"_

"**I just really wish you wouldn't have read that Kit"** replied Kurama, trying to keep himself together. Naruto had never seen the Kyuubi like this. **"It just brought back some…painful memories."**

"_Huh? Was it concerning your own sealing? I mean, you've never been happy about that"_ said Naruto.

"**Kit, right now, I could care less about my sealing. At least I survived…but she…"**

"_What are you talking about?" _asked Naruto. Suddenly, his attention was drawn to the first line of the last full paragraph he read. _"No…you don't mean."_

"**I do. Kit, why do you think I attacked the Hosharuka clan? What did you almost do when you found out that Mutt Boy was responsible for your vixen's injuries? What would you do if you found out someone killed her?"**

"_She was your…"_ said Naruto in disbelief.

A rare tear came to Kurama's eyes. **"Yes Kit, she was my vixen…"**

"_Kurama, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring back those memories" _apologized Naruto.

"**It's okay Kit, you didn't know"** replied Kurama.

Jiraiya had put down his pen and turned around to see Naruto staring off into space. "Naruto, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just found out something that was kind of hard to take in" said Naruto.

"Well, why don't we get something to eat, you know, to help get your mind off it. I hear there is a ramen shop in this town" said Jiraiya. Naruto instantly perked up at the mention of ramen. Sadly, this shop wasn't mentioned in his passport (the only ramen shop in his passport was located in the capitol of the Land of Hot Water), but the ramen was still pretty flavorful.

Following lunch, Naruto resumed reading the first scroll. It didn't contain much more besides a bunch of examples of fuinjutsu, besides actually sealing. Reading the list, a few applications of fuinjutsu that stuck out to Naruto were amplification, transportation, barriers, and even medicine. He hated to admit it, but that first scroll was surprisingly interesting.

Naruto put the first scroll aside and picked up the second scroll.

_Scroll 2: The seal_

_Sealing formulas used in fuinjutsu are comprised of two main components: the central kanji(s) and sealing matrix. Every seal has these two components and each component serves a vital function of the seal._

_The central kanji(s) is what gives the seal its identity. It is the central kanji that distinguishes a storage seal from an amplification seal and an explosive seal from a containment seal. While these are usually written as kanji, it is possible to use symbols as 'kanji' if one is skilled enough to incorporate them into the seal. The use of symbols in place of kanji usually results in making the seal more powerful, but it requires a much more complex sealing matrix (to be explained later in this scroll). _

_Some seals may even contain multiple kanji or symbols. These seals are considered the most advanced form of fuinjutsu as they must perform multiple functions to achieve a single purpose. The seal matrix is also much more complex than a seal with a single central kanji or symbol as the matrix has to connect and integrate multiple kanji._

_The sealing matrix is a series of interconnected symbols and characters that serve to manipulate the chakra present in the seal so that it can perform the designated function of the seal. The sealing matrix can perform multiple functions, including: moving chakra throughout the seal, enforcing the seal to make it stronger, manipulating the chakra to perform an appropriate function, and much more._

_Every seal needs those two components to function. Without one, the other cannot function. With only a central kanji, the seal knows what function it needs to perform, but it does not contain any of the tools to perform said function. With only the sealing matrix, the seal has the tools to do what it needs to do, but it doesn't know what it needs to do._

…

Naruto continued reading through this scroll and even reread it. So much for getting through it quick and bugging Ero-Sennin to actually teach him. He started on the third scroll, which was a scroll explaining the theory behind the storage seals, until Jiraiya got up and they went to dinner. Naruto had no idea that he had been reading those scrolls all afternoon. He couldn't believe it, this fuinjutsu was actually interesting and he didn't even care if it meant reading a dozen or so scrolls on the subject before he could even begin training. Jiraiya just told him that it must be something he was meant to do, like it was in his blood. In a way, it made sense as he was the son of two great seal masters.

The rest of the week was spent with Naruto reading over the rest of the scrolls. The remaining ten or so scrolls that Naruto had focused on some of the more common types of seals: Storage, explosion, barrier, amplification, sealing, and seal removal. The last few scrolls were dedicated more onto explaining how to design the seal itself, primarily how to design the matrix and the components required to get the seal matrix to perform the proper operations. He evenings were spend with Naruto trying to track down Jiraiya at whichever hot spring bath he was in followed by Jiraiya up late at night trying to finish his book.

The last night they were supposed to stay there came and Jiraiya was busy freaking out how he was still missing the last dozen or so pages of his book. He had been up for the past 50 hours trying to figure something out until he finally collapsed from exhaustion. Naruto looked over at his exhausted master and sighed before walking through the sea of crumpled up papers on the floor. Naruto then took the last few pages Jiraiya had written in the manuscript and read them. Unlike Jiraiya, ideas flooded into his head and he began writing what he thought was a suitable ending to Jiraiya's book, including a small adult scene that wrapped up the next Icha Icha.

**A/N:** Well, he had to have some idea on what was going on in the adult scene. After all, he's been hanging around Jiraiya for the past few months and he invented the Sexy Jutsu.

* * *

This was not a good week for Sasuke's fangirls. He had been hospitalized almost a month ago after sustaining injures from when Orochimaru had tried to abduct him. Tsunade had tried her best to keep that quiet, but word surrounding the truth of the ill-fated mission spread too fast for her to control. Before she knew it, the entire village knew that Sasuke and his team were ambushed by freaky Sound ninja.

But what really made things worse was that earlier in the week, he had just disappeared from the village. Usually, the fan girls were able to track Sasuke down after a few hours. Some of the shinobi fan girls even used some ninjutsu they knew to facilitate in finding him, like Ino using her Mind Transfer Jutsu to take over a hawk's mind to search for Sasuke from an aerial perspective. However, they had no luck at all. Rumors began spreading between them that Sasuke had either died from his injuries or had run off to join some pedophile who liked to play with snakes. These rumors were mainly started by boys who had gotten tired of all the girls in the village fawning over Sasuke. Regardless, there were a few fan girls who accepted these rumors and then they spread like wildfire.

The only Sasuke 'fan girl' who wasn't freaking out was Sakura. Despite her noticing Sasuke missing, she had also noticed an absence of a particular silver-haired jonin. She was smart enough to deduce that Kakashi-sensei had to have taken Sasuke on some sort of training trip. Besides, she would see him in a few months when Team 7 reconvened before the chunin exams.

As a matter of fact, Sakura didn't even have time to worry about Sasuke. She had begun her training with Tsunade in full and she was already being drilled on chakra control exercises, human anatomy, poisons and antidotes, and anything medicine. For her, it was pretty much 8am to 10 pm studying and learning the basics of medical ninjutsu. On the days that Tsunade had given her a break, or at least let her go home early, Shizune had offered to teach her how to fight with poisoned senbon. Sakura saw the value to this, thinking it would make her that much more useful in the upcoming chunin. A few ago days, Sakura was even lucky to run into Haku who, after being asked, agreed to help Sakura learn to throw senbon in combat. Yesterday, Haku and Sakura had a sparring session where they fought each other using only senbon. Needless to say, Sakura looked like a mix between a human and a porcupine afterwards. She was just happy Haku had used some duller senbon so that they didn't pierce as deep.

Regardless, her skills with the senbon were showing improvement after her first week out of the hospital and it was only a matter of time before she was able to use them proficiently in combat.

* * *

For Hinata, it was a lonely week. She had been in Konoha for most of the week as her team had not been given many mission assignments. Normally, that wouldn't be a bad thing…if Naruto were here. Instead, she was stuck in Konoha with just her father and family. Neji had been assigned to a mission and while she didn't mind being at home, there was still a great deal of tension between her and Hanabi from their most recent spar.

She was at the training grounds right now, trying her best to work on her wind chakra manipulation. It was early morning and her father had some business with the clan to deal with before he could focus time on training with her. Ever since after the chunin exams, she actually liked training with her father as he was becoming more open and less…harsh. The one thing that did trouble her a little was that he was still training her in the juuken, which she was finding more and more uncomfortable the more she advanced with it. Neji was right; she wasn't well suited for the juuken due to her wind nature.

Taking the next kunai, she held it, working on channeling her chakra. She really wanted to get through this step as she would then be able to begin the next part of her training which her father had mentioned would be to incorporate her wind chakra into the juuken. His personal hopes for her were that a wind-enhanced juuken would result in a much more powerful strike. If he was right, this could finally get the elders off Hinata's back for a while.

Despite her progress, everyone else in the main branch still saw Hinata as weak and unworthy. He figured it was because they saw that Hanabi had much more potential in the juuken and as the Hyuga clan heir than Hinata and saw training her as a waste of time that could have been better spent on Hanabi. As a father, he hated how the rest of the family was playing favoritism towards Hanabi, which was the main cause behind this superiority-inferiority complex that Hinata, Hiashi, and Neji were afraid she was developing.

Hinata focused her chakra into the knife, taking a few extra seconds to try and refine it as best as she could before tossing the knife. The kunai left her hand, sailing towards the training post she was using. A crack was heard and Hinata examined her result. The knife had sailed clean through the post, embedding itself in the ground behind the post. She had done it. This phase of wind manipulation was complete.

* * *

Jiraiya let out a big yawn. _"Damnit, I fell asleep. And I've only got a few hours left before I have to send the manuscript to my publisher for editing and publishing. What makes it worse is I still don't have any idea what to write"_ said Jiraiya. He then took a look at the blank pieces of paper in front of him, only to realize they weren't blank. Sitting in front of him was the completed final chapter of the book…but it wasn't written by him. _"This is…"_

Jiraiya took a look over the chapter sitting in front of him. It definitely wasn't his handwriting on the paper, but it was familiar handwriting. He took a look at the paper and then to the sleeping blonde in the next room. _"No, it couldn't be. Naruto couldn't have finished it"_ thought Jiraiya. _"Well, let's see what the brat wrote. If anything it will give me a good laugh."_

Jiraiya spent the next twenty minutes reading over the manuscript. He hated to admit it, but it was good. Even the small adult part that was included was good. The chapter was just lacking some constancy with the rest of the book, but that was easy enough to change. He had an idea now on how to write the last chapter and he began writing, using Naruto's ideas, but just adjusting them to better fit the story. However, he didn't notice that said boy had woken up and was looking over his shoulder.

"Ero-Sennin!" shouted Naruto, making Jiraiya jump.

"Brat! Don't do that!" replied Jiraiya. "Now go get ready because we are leaving after I finish writing the last chapter."

Naruto sighed as he walked off to go pack his stuff. _"I guess he didn't need my help writing that after all"_ thought a slightly depressed Naruto. He had thought what he had written was good and was hoping for some form of acknowledgement from Jiraiya.

A bit later, Naruto came out of the room, everything packed and another of the fuinjutsu scrolls read. Jiraiya was busy now sealing up the envelope that contained the manuscript for his next book, Icha Icha Violence. Jiraiya looked up at the boy. "Hey Naruto, thanks. It really helped me get over that writer's block" said Jiraiya, holding up the envelope with the manuscript. "You know, if you ever decide to give up on your dream to become Hokage, I'm sure you could make a good adult novelist."

Naruto knew Jiraiya had actually used his work now, but that still didn't mean he was happy about Jiraiya suggesting he should write more Icha Icha books.

"_Oh don't worry Naruto, it's only a matter of time before you come over to the dark side of the perv" _thought Jiraiya, grinning.

* * *

The two left Kantona town shortly after checking out of the town and mailing the manuscript to the publisher. Jiraiya had to admit he was surprised that Naruto had actually taken to the scrolls on fuinjutsu that he had given him. He was honestly expecting the blond to have started bugging him by the end of day two, but instead Naruto had only asked for a few examples of seals to look over. Regardless of that, their next stop was the port city of Shakuzima, their last stop before the ruins of Uzushiogakure.

It was late in the evening when they arrived. The sun was already beginning to set and they were standing on a cliff overlooking the port and ocean. Jiraiya pulled out his spyglass that he would normally use for peeping but aimed its gaze off into the ocean.

"Hey Naruto, take a look over in that direction" said Jiraiya, handing Naruto the spyglass and pointing off towards a distant island in the ocean. He couldn't make out too much of the island except for what looked like an old run-down pier and a few whirlpools surrounding the island.

"Is that…" asked Naruto.

"Yep. Uzushiogakure" said Jiraiya. Naruto couldn't believe it. He was almost there, almost at the home of his ancestors.

"Alright, let's go. Get to bed early because we've got to leave early. We need to pass the reefs surrounding the island tomorrow between 1 and 3 in the afternoon or we risk getting sucked into the whirlpools that surround the island" said Jiraiya. Naruto gulped a little at the thought of getting sucked into a whirlpool but went with Jiraiya to the town anyways.

"Hey Ero-Sennin, so when are you actually going to start teaching me fuinjutsu? I mean like actually teach me? I've already read the scrolls over a few times and I think I get them. I don't know why. I never really liked reading scrolls and stuff during the academy, but for some reason these were interesting" said Naruto.

"Heh, well it's good that you finally began to read some stuff. As to why you actually like the subject, it could be because you come from a long line of seal masters, not to mention your dad was one of the best there ever was. As for when I'll begin teaching you, we'll start when we get to the island tomorrow. I've made arrangements for a few fishermen to get us through the reefs tomorrow and then pick us up about three weeks later. That should give us ample time to find something that could help my task of finding a way to remove the Caged Bird Seal and to teach you some of the basics in fuinjutsu. Sound good?" asked Jiraiya.

"Can't wait to get started! –ttebayo!" declared Naruto.

* * *

"Gagh! That bastard! He'll pay for doing this!" cried Orochimaru in one of his hide outs. He was sitting in his throne with bandages around the stumps he had for arms after a sage-powered Rasnegan practically tore them off Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru-sama, please settle down" said Kabuto.

"How can I, not to long after I regain the function of my arms, that bastard of a teammate Jiraiya rips them off again!" hissed the snake.

"Please Orochimaru-sama…" Kabuto was cut off.

"Shut up Kabuto, unless you have a way to give me back my arms!" shouted Orochimaru.

"Well, I don't right now, but I think I know who does, or did, have a way to grow back body parts" said Kabuto. Orochimaru knew Kabuto well enough to know what he was talking about.

"You're talking about the Uzumakis aren't you?" asked Orochiamru.

"Yes Orochimaru-sama. If anyone knows how to design a regeneration seal, it's them. With your permission, I would like to take an expedition with me to see what we can recover" said Kabuto. "Also, I'm going to need HER. You see, I don't think I'm going to be able to access the information without her."

"She can be quite a handful, you know that Kabuto. But nonetheless, if it will get me my arms back, then I'll allow it. You have two weeks" said Orochiamru. "After that, I expect you to get right to work giving me my arms back."

* * *

Author Notes

So there you have it. Naruto has begun to learn about fuinjutsu, even if it was only from scrolls. This was also the part where I had Naruto show off his ability to ghostwrite for Jiraiya (which he did in anime episode 177). Also, I know that in cannon, Naruto doesn't really like to read and study, but I know from personal experience that when you come upon a subject that really interests you, you can be surprised. For Naruto, this is fuinjutsu. Basically, his interest in fuinjutsu was something that he inherited from his parents and it will get him far (to the point where he will be considered a seal master sometime in the later chapters of the shippuden book). One thing I don't like about cannon is that there was so much potential for Naruto to pick up on some fuinjutsu or the Uzumaki techniques, but he didn't for some reason.

I did regard a small part regarding a bit of Kurama's past. There will be more revealed in time, and I am also thinking of adding more on demons in later books (not sure when or how I'm going to do it yet though).

*Regarding the dates that I am using for this story, they are in no way related to the calendar we use. CE will still stand for common era, but for the purpose of this Naruto universe, the start of the common era is distinguished by the defeat of the Jyuubi at the hands of the Sage of the Six Paths. Just to give you an idea of what year it is in my timeline, it is the end of the 11th century in the common era. Again, these years are in no way related to the years in our time. I know this might be different from what cannon says, but this timeline is for the purposes of my story.

I also included a small part giving an insight into Hinata and Sakura's training. It was suggested to me in a previous comment about Sakura starting to use poison and I actually liked the idea, so thank you to the one who suggested it.

(Side note: I do apologize if I'm not one for acknowledging people by name. To those of you who have helped me with suggestions, I know who you are and I am grateful for your advice. If you truly are offended by me not giving you a true acknowledgement, then let me know and I'll try to work something out.)

As for the two scrolls that I showed that Naruto read, I am no seal master so I just did my best to write down how I think sealing jutsu works. Hopefully how I explained the scrolls makes some sense and I didn't just confuse the crap out of everyone.

I did receive a question regarding Tobito (Tobi/Obito). I will be completely honest that I'm not sure entirely how I will do Akatsuki and 'Madara'. I don't want to do the 'Eye of the Moon Plan' and I am looking for something different. I am also thinking that I might make 'Madara' and Akatsuki separate, but I am unsure yet.

Hope you enjoyed. Until next time…

Please review and comment.


	43. Chapter 43

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto

Posted: 12/15/12

Quick note: A small formatting change I am making. Technique/jutsu names will now be underlined (ex. Rasengan). I am also going to be including a description of the jutsu at the end of the chapter if that was the first time the jutsu was introduced into the story.

* * *

**Chapter 43: The Ancient City of the Uzumakis**

Naruto couldn't believe it. He was finally there…the village of his mother's ancestors. The village itself was in ruins, but he had kind of been expecting that. However, based on the ruins, he could tell that Uzushiogakure used to be a great and powerful village. Jiraiya guided the two of them over to a collapsed building just outside the center of the village which he decided would make for a good base camp. He went around, putting a few barrier seals up, providing them protection. While it wasn't a common occurrence, there were occasionally bandits who would come to the island and try to loot anything valuable that may have been in the ruins. Despite that, Jiraiya was still confident that they had not managed to break into the archives of the village, which is where he suspected the clan scrolls the Uzumakis had were being stored, under the protection of blood seals. No one without Uzumaki blood was going to get into the clan scrolls, and thankfully for him, Naruto was an Uzumaki

"So Ero-Sennin, what are we going to do first?" asked Naruto. "Are we going to get the Uzumaki scrolls, or are you going to teach me fuinjutsu?" All of the sudden, Naruto's stomach began to growl and Jiraiya laughed.

"We'll start examining the scrolls tomorrow. Let's grab a bite to eat and I'll teach you a few things as well" said Jiraiya, taking a scroll from his pack and unraveling it to reveal a seal on it. "Alright, so what type of seal do I have on here?"

"Hmm, it looks like a storage seal, but I don't know what those markings around the center are" said Naruto.

"_Hmm, I guess he has been reading the scrolls a bit. That's not exactly a standard center for a storage scroll"_ thought Jiraiya. "Well, you're partially right. It is a storage seal, but it's also a preservation seal." Jiraiya released the seal and much to Naruto's delight a few bowl of ramen poofed into existence.

After taking a few slurps of ramen, Naruto was surprised that they were still warm. "Wow, I can't believe this ramen is still fresh" said Naruto, finishing off the first bowl and moving onto the second one.

"That's the preservation seal for you. It's not permanent preservation, but it's good enough to keep a few bowls of ramen fresh for a couple of days" said Jiraiya. Naruto then moved onto the third bowl…and the fourth bowl…well it looks like they weren't having any more ramen during the trip.

Jiraiya then went into explaining the basics on how to make a storage seal, starting with the simplest storage seal, and he would eventually go into the more advanced storage seals, like the preservations storage seal he used on the ramen.

It was getting late in the night and the two were about ready to turn in for the night. However, Jiraiya wanted to have a little fun with the blonde. "Hey Naruto, about the last chapter of the book you wrote, thanks."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I just thought it was the least I could do, after everything you've done for me" said Naruto.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" asked Jiraiya.

"Well you know, everything. From training me back in the chunin exams, to coming to get me once you figured it was Orochimaru that sent us on that mission, to telling me about my parents, and even teaching me fuinjutsu. No one's ever really done that much for me. You know, you might be an old perv, but you're pretty cool at times" admitted Naruto.

Jiraiya smiled warmly upon Naruto saying that. "Thanks Naruto. So does this mean you'll stop calling me 'Ero-Sennin'?"

"Nope" said Naruto without any hesitation. Jiraiya's head dropped in defeat. "I just call them as they are, and even if you are a cool ninja, you're still just a perverted old sage."

"Hmph, says the boy who wrote a perfectly good adult sex scene and invented the Sexy Jutsu" said Jiraiya. "If I didn't know better, you're a perv as well."

"What?!" refuted Naruto. "I'm not a perv!"

"Then answer this. When you saw Hinata in that dress, what were you thinking? I'll bet it was something perverted" said Jiraiya, getting that perverted look on his face.

Naruto's face instantly went red and he began sweating profusely as he searched for a not so perverted answer. "Well, umm…you see…umm…"

"**Check and mate. I'm sorry Kit, he's got you there"** replied Kurama, getting a laugh out of it.

"Gahahaha…alright, that's enough messing with you for one night, Ero-Gaki" said Jiraiya, flustering Naruto.

"Hey! Who are you calling perverted, Ero-Sennin?! At least I don't go wandering into women's bathhouses!" replied Naruto.

"Sure…sure, whatever you say" said Jiraiya, as he crawled in his sleeping bag. _"I doubt you've never snuck into a woman's bathhouse to invent that…that wonderful jutsu from Kami."_

* * *

"Whoa!" exclaimed Naruto. Jiraiya and Naruto had come to what the Uzumakis had called the Hall of Sealing, the place where they had stored all of their knowledge on sealing techniques. They were standing in the middle of a large domes structure with the only light coming through a hole in the ceiling. However, through a careful arrangement of mirrors, the light managed to illuminate the entire hall. "Hey Ero-Sennin, what are all these compartments?" asked Naruto. Looking around the circular room, he could see the walls lined with various compartments.

"Oh those? You see, every Uzumaki family had their own notes and techniques on sealing. While a lot of their techniques were common knowledge amongst the clan, every member had a few seals and techniques that were unique to their family. Think of it as a time capsule" said Jiraiya. "This room was built underground and protected by a number of barriers that we already came through which is why his room is still intact despite the entire village being in ruins."

"Cool! Do you think any of them are mine?!" said Naruto.

"Well, it really depends on your ancestors. Those lockers have blood seals on them that are designed to open with the blood of a descendant of the person on the locker. Usually lines concentrate their lockers around each other so there may be a chance there is more than one locker if your ancestors left multiple lockers" explained Jiraiya. "Alright, their archives are over there, beyond those doors. However, I need you to open the doors for me."

"Right!" replied Naruto. Jiraiya and Naruto made their way across the room to the double doors with Naruto unlocking the blood seals on the archives.

"Now, I'll be in here researching for a little" said Jiriaya, catching the look on Naruto's face. "And it's not THAT kind of research. Now, why don't you go and see if you c open any of those lockers. You know what to do, just smear some of your blood on the locker. If the seal opens, then it's yours. Let me know what you find."

* * *

"Oh good, you're here" said Kakashi, reaching the top of a cliff.

"I've been here for nearly two hours" said a slightly irritated Sasuke.

"Well, you see there was this little bird that needed my help…"

"Just can it" said Sasuke. Kakashi chuckled.

"Kind of like last time, isn't it?" asked Kakashi.

"Yeah. Although there is more on this cliff than the one we camped out during the exams" said Sasuke. The last time, they were on top of a small bluff overlooking a barren wasteland. This time, it was more of a high cliff overlooking a forest that they had decided to camp out on. "So what are we doing this time?"

"Glad you asked. We'll be here for a little more than a month before heading back to Konoha and leaving for the exams. And while we're here, you'll be needing these" said Kakashi, pulling out a few weights from his pack.

"Are those?"

"Well, kind of. Lee just had training weights on. These are chakra weights. Put them on and I'll explain" instructed Kakashi. Sasuke put the weights on, which felt like nothing. Once they were secured onto his arms and legs, Kakashi smiled and activated a seal. Sasuke was instantly thrown to the ground. The weights had to weigh at least 500 pounds each.

"What the hell?" swore Sasuke.

"Those are chakra weights. Right now, they weigh 400 pounds each. However, they were designed to have their weight reduced to only 10% if you constantly floated chakra into them. One problem you have is your chakra capacities are lacking. While you'll never be Naruto-level when it comes to chakra reserves, training with these on will certainly help you build them up" explained Kakashi. Sasuke tried putting some chakra into the weights and struggled to get himself up. It took a few minutes, but he finally got the amount of chakra to balance out and he could move with a little bit more ease. He looked over to see that Kakashi had the same thing on. "What, you didn't think you were the only one training, were you?"

"Wait…you train? I thought all you did was read those books and walk around looking for old ladies and cats to help out" said Sasuke, making fun of Kakashi's excuses for being late.

"Nope. I train as well. Besides, if I didn't train with you, then you would probably surpass me in skill in a year or two, and I can't let that happen, now can I?" said Kakashi, smiling. Sasuke smirked, knowing his teacher wasn't all THAT lazy.

For Sasuke and Kakashi, a few days passed. This was mainly physical conditioning and Kakashi trying to build up Sasuke's stamina and chakra reserves. Whenever Sasuke began getting frustrated with this, a simple phrase like 'Naruto would have run ten laps around you by now' was usually sufficient to get Sasuke back on his feet.

By the end of their first week, Sasuke could already feel the increase in stamina he had from wearing those weights, not to mention he had noticed an increase to his speed as well. Perhaps Lee had something going for him using those training weights.

"Not to brag or anything, but I told you before that I know over a thousand jutsu" said Kakashi.

"Sounds like bragging to me" muttered Sasuke, quiet enough for Kakashi not to pick up on it.

"Anyways. I'll be teaching you as many of them as we can do. Now, as I said last time we did this, your primary element is lightning with our second element being fire. I know the extent of your fire jutsu and I happen to know the lightning variant to your Katon: Dragon Fire Jutsu" explained Kakashi. He took out a few wired shuriken and tossed them at a tree, wrapping the chords around the tree. "Raiton: Lightning Dragon Jutsu!" Electricity and sparks traveled down the wires just as the fire did in his dragon fire jutsu. Jolts of electricity were sent through the tree, splintering it, until it eventually broke. _"I need to remember to bring Tenzo with me next time if we don't want to run out of trees."_

Sasuke followed Kakashi's lead, throwing a set of wired shuriken at a tree. He then proceeded to channel lightning chakra into the wires. The electricity traveled down the wires and into the tree, splintering it, but not breaking it, like Kakashi's tree had done.

"Not bad for a first attempt" said Kakashi. "That was better than my first attempt at it, but even with your Sharingan, you may be able to copy a jutsu to the point where you can use it, but you're not going to master a jutsu the first time you use it."

* * *

Naruto was getting frustrated. He had spent nearly the past two hours going through lockers. He was starting to get to the end of the lockers, and so far…nothing. "Grr…why won't these stupid lockers open! I've already shown that I really am an Uzumaki by getting Ero-Sennin through the blood seals, now why won't these stupid lockers open?!" shouted Naruto.

"Oh? Having any luck there?" asked Jiraiya, joining Naruto.

"No. None of these stupid lockers want to open!" said Naruto, slamming a slightly bloody hand into another locker. This time, the seal glowed and disappeared.

"Hey! There you go!" said Jiraiya. Taking a look on the door, the plaque read 'Harou Uzumako'. _"Hmm…why do I recognize that name?"_

The excited Naruto opened the door to see what was in this vault. Inside were a few scrolls a framed picture and what looked like a letter. Naruto picked up the picture and saw a man standing next to a woman who closely resembled his mother. In the mother's arms was a small baby wrapped in blankets. The woman had the same long red hair as his mom but her eyes were a little too narrow to be his mother. The man standing next to her was also a red-haired man. His hair was shorter and a little spiky. He looked to be wearing some sort of shinobi gear. His face was more defined than his mom, but he noticed that his eyes were the same as his mothers. Naruto picked up the letter, wondering what it said.

_My dearest daughter,_

_Kushina, I hope you have grown up well into a strong and beautiful woman like your mother. I sincerely wished we could have seen you once more, but with the combined forces of Iwagakure and Kusagakure on our doorsteps, it will be a miracle if we see you again. I have sent you to Konohagakura, our sister village for your protection. Should you ever find your way back to the great city of your ancestors and come across this letter, know that your mother and I have always loved you._

_Love,_

_Harou Uzumaki and Hayase Uzumaki, your mother and father_

"These were…" said Naruto almost speechless.

"Looks like they were your grandparents, Naruto" said Jiraiya, placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Here, this will make it easier finding the rest of your lockers." Jiraiya had taken one of the more ornate scrolls from the locker to find that it was actually a family tree. They found the next locker a few lockers below the one that belonged to Naruto's grandparents. According to the family tree, this belonged to Naruto's great grandfather, Morio Uzumaki. Again, inside the locker, he found a number of scrolls and this time a rather unique forehead protector. This one had the Uzumaki spiral carved in it. Buried deep in the back was also what was a bound red and black book. After taking a quick look through it, Jiriaya realized that it was a book of highly advanced seals, the ones that the Uzumaki's were famous for.

The next name on the tree was the one that was most surprising to Jiriaya, and given the book of sealing techniques they found in the last locker only gave more credit to the possibility of what he was thinking being true. The next name on the tree read 'Shuichi Uzumaki', Naruto's great-great grandfather. They found the locker a few lockers over and Naruto placed his blood on the seal while Jiraiya was busy holding his breath, turning purple when Naruto felt the urge to scratch his back before opening the locker.

"Just open it already!" shouted Jiraiya, releasing all the air that he had held in his lungs.

"Jeez, why are you I such a hurry, got a hot spring that needs 'researched'?" asked Naruto.

"Just open the locker. I need to know something right now" said Jiraiya. Naruto sighed at his impatient master and placed his hand on the seal. The seal glowed before dispelling and Jiraiya's jaw nearly dropped. Naruto opened the locker and his jaw dropped along with his masters. Sitting inside the locker was a quadrilateral Kage hat with the Uzumaki insignia on it.

"E-Ero-Sennin…?" asked Naruto. He really wanted to know now, was his great-great-grandfather a Kage?

"Well what do you know. Looks like you're related to two Kages, Naruto" said Jiraiya as Naruto's eyes widened. "Shuichi Uzumaki was the Shodaime Uzukage and the one who made the founding alliance with the Senjus and Konoha in the beginning days of the villages. He was also one of the best seal masters of his time, which explains the book his son had in his locker" explained Jiraiya. Naruto then did what was expected as he grabbed the old Kage hat from the locker and placed it on his head. There were a few tears and smudges, but what else did you expect of a 100 year old hat. What was under the hat, made Naruto's eyes grow wider, if that was even possible without his eyes taking up all of his head.

Underneath the hat was a katana with a black hilt wrapped in red bindings in a black sheath with a red wave-like pattern. At the end of the hilt was the Uzumaki icon. Naruto unsheathed the sword and it was brilliant. He didn't know much about swords but even he could tell it was an exceptional piece of craftsmanship.

"Heh, if that's what I think it is, then what a find" said Jiraiya.

"Huh? Wait, what? You know more about this?" said Naruto.

"The Uzumaku Shio no Ken (Sword of the Swirling Tides) I believe. It's about as famous in the shinobi world as the Nidaime Hokage's Raijin. It was thought lost when the city was destroyed, who would have thought that it would be here in the archives and that a little brat like you would be the one to find it" laughed Jiraiya.

"Wow! Really?! What makes it so famous?!" asked Naruto, jumping up and down, nearly knocking the hat off his head.

"I really can't say, not too much is known about that sword, but the legends say it ranks right up there with the Raijin and the Seven Swords of the Mist, so it must have some kind of special power or something" said Jiraiya. "But still, what a day it has been. Who would have thought that you would be directly related to the Shodaime Uzukage and find this old sword?"

"Hey, Ero-Sennin, does that mean you'll teach me how to use a sword?!" asked the already excited Naruto.

"Err…well, you see I'm not so much of a sword expert" said Jiraiya.

"Oh come on. What's the real reason you won't teach me? It'll take up too much of your 'research' time?" said Naruto.

"Gagh!" said Jiraiya, coughing in response to Naruto's comment. "In all honesty though, I'm no sword expert. Although I think I might be able to pull a few strings with the toads. Some of them are rather skilled in kenjutsu."

Naruto was so happy as he and Jiraiya retuned back to their camp. He had his hat full with scrolls and that journal they found. Unfortunately, he was a little too happy that he didn't notice one of the scrolls fall out from the hat and roll underneath a pile of rubble.

When they got back to the camp, Jiraiya basically went through all the scrolls they found. Some were sealing scrolls, some were kenjutsu and taijutsu scrolls that detailed the Uzumaki style in each discipline, and then there was one scroll titled 'The Treasure of the Uzumaki'.

Naruto couldn't resist as he undid the seal on that scroll. Releasing the seal, a small black book popped into existence. Naruto opened the book to see what was so special about it.

* * *

"YATA!" was heard all across the elemental nations, especially in Konoha. Many people there recognized the voice.

"Hey was that Naruto?" asked Sakura. A few of the Konoha 13, Team 8, Team 10, and Sakura, were at the training ground sparring with one another when they heard the scream.

"Sure sounded like it" replied Kiba. "Even when he's not in Konoha, he still finds a way to make a scene."

"So what do you think he did this time?" asked Ino.

"I don't know, knowing Naruto it was probably some stupid or perverted jutsu" said Sakura. Hinata, who was there as well, went red with the mention of 'perverted jutsu'. Her Naruto would never do something like that, would he?

"Hve some faith in your comrade" said Shino, startling most of the genin there. "He probably just mastered an amazing technique."

"Well, umm…I heard master Jiraiya mention something about sealing and fuinjutsu. I-I think he got past a important stage in fuinjutsu" said Hinata.

"Naruto? Fuinjutsu?" Ino said, having an incredibly difficult time connecting the dots.

"Nah, he probably devised some way to prank the village" said Kiba. At this time Shikamaru and Chouji got done discussing something with one another.

"You're all wrong, and Chouji and I have 100ryo that says you are" said Shikamaru coming forth.

"Fine, mister smarty pants" said Ino. The remaining four five genin there accepted the bet as well, even sweet little Hinata. "So, what do you think it was?"

"It's troublesome really, but there is only one thing Naruto gets that excited about…" said Shikamaru. Everyone else was listening in for Shikamaru and Chouji's answers.

"Munch…Ramen…munch" said Chouji in between handfuls of chips.

* * *

In about a month time, Shikamaru and Chouji would be a couple hundred ryo richer as it did indeed have something to do with ramen. Naruto had just hit the jackpot. The Treasure of the Uzumaki was none other than a collection of about a dozen 'special' ramen recipes. He couldn't wait to get back home and see if Teuchi could whip up a few bowls of this.

A few weeks passed with the general day looking something like Jiraiya would be in the library researching and he would be teaching Naruto the basics of designing seals. Naruto would try to make a seal, test it, and watch as it blew up in his face. As an end result, Naruto would get a little frustrated and Jiraiya would get a laugh. Something encouraging would be said to Naruto and Naruto would laugh along with Jiraiya.

It had taken about two weeks of dedicated practice before Naruto finally succeeded in making his own working storage seal. Jiraiya figured that they would celebrate that night by breaking out the remaining ramen he had sealed away. It wasn't as good as the first time they had ramen, but the preservations seals had done enough to keep the ramen still tasting good.

"Don't worry Naruto. The hard part was making that first seal, but now that you know how to do that, storage seals should be no problem. You know how to make the central components for the seal and te rest is just adding on" said Jiraiya, giving his student some encouragement.

The rest of that week was spent with Jiraiya finishing up the research and Naruto continuing to practice the storage seals. He was showing much improvement with the storage seals and now it was only a matter of time and practice before he had the concepts of storage seals mastered. The same could not be said for Jiraiya's project.

For three weeks, he had been sorting through countless scrolls on seal removal and various other things, only to come up with nothing so far. Nothing that could remove the Caged Bird Seal without killing the original bearer. It wasn't until late in the evening on Dec. 29, the day before the fishermen were scheduled to pick them up and they would return to Konoha, that Jiraiya finally found something. The funny thing was that it was not a scroll on seal removal; it was a scroll on a certain type of medical seal. However, this seal worked along the lines of cell preservation and regeneration. Perhaps if this could be applied to the removal seal, the deaths of the neurons (brain cells) could be prevented when the caged bird seal was removed. This would definitely be something he and Tsunade would have to look over when they got back. But Jiraiya smiled none the less. He was finally over his sealer's block that had stopped his progress on finding a way to remove it and his brain had begun clicking again with ideas on how to get rid of that accursed seal.

"Naruto, let's go" said Jiraiya. Naruto, in the middle of scribing his own storage seal lifted his head.

"Did you find something that can help, Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto.

"I think so. I'm going to need Tsunade's help with this one though. Let's head back to camp and get packed, the boat will be here for us early tomorrow morning" said Jiraiya.

They left the archives with Naruto trotting along ahead; thinking of what everyone would say when they saw his 'amazing sealing talents'. It was then that he felt a tug on his jacket collar as Jiraiya quickly pulled the blonde behind the crumbled wall of an old building.

"Hey, Ero-Sennin what…" Naruto was interrupted when Jiraiya put his hand over Naruto's mouth.

"Shh" he gestured, pointing over to a few people walking through the ruins. Naruto could see that they were ninja. When one of the ninja turned their head, he could easily see which village they were affiliated with…Sound.

* * *

Jutsu

Katon: Dragon Fire Jutsu (C-rank): The user breaths fire along a chord or any type of long object, which rushed straight forward, catching the enemy on fire.

Users: Uchiha Sasuke

Raiton: Lightning Dragon Jutsu (C-rank): Like the Katon: Dragon Fire Jutsu, lightning is channeled through a chord until it reaches its target, sending an electrical current through the entire body.

Users: Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Kakashi

* * *

Author Notes

Yes yes, I know. One of the most overused plots out there…Naruto is practically the heir of the Uzumaki clan. Still I couldn't help it. I can't wait to see the look on everyone's faces when Naruto's true heritage is revealed to everyone.

So they have spent around three weeks on the island and Jiraiya may finally have a lead onto removing the Caged Bird Seal. Naruto's training in fuinjutsu has gotten him to the point where he pretty much had the storage seal down (one of the more common, yet versatile seals).

I have received a few comments back when they went to find Tsunade that I had ruined the bonding moment between Naruto and Jiraiya by bringing Hinata along on that trip. When I wrote that, I full intended for this to be more of the bonding trip between Naruto and Jiraiya with that trip being more of a way to start off on the NaruHina aspect of the story.

Naruto will be learning kenjutsu, but not too much until his big two-year long training trip. I may have him take a short lesson or two from Zabuza when they return to Konoha though.

I also decided to include a short training scene for Sasuke in here as I did one for Sakura and Hinata in the previous chapter. This will kind of give you an idea of what Sasuke has been doing during the month or so that Naruto was in Uzushiogakure although there will be much more to his training than that.

Hope you enjoyed. Next chapter we'll see the confrontation between Naruto/Jiraiya and the Sound. Will the Sound get what they came for or will Naruto and Jiraiya put a stop to their plans? What was in that scroll that Naruto unknowingly dropped?

And yes, in my mind the entire Uzumaki clan has some sort of addiction to ramen :p

Please review/comment.


	44. Chapter 44

******Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

Posted: 12/21/12

* * *

**Chapter 44: Battles of Uzushiogakure**

They left the archives with Naruto trotting along ahead; thinking of what everyone would say when they saw his 'amazing sealing talents'. It was then that he felt a tug on his jacket collar as Jiraiya quickly pulled the blonde behind the crumbled wall of an old building.

"Hey, Ero-Sennin what…" Naruto was interrupted when Jiraiya put his hand over Naruto's mouth.

"Shh" he gestured, pointing over to a few people walking through the ruins. Naruto could see that they were ninja. When one of the ninja turned their head, he could easily see which village they were affiliated with…Sound.

"What are the Sound doing here?" asked Naruto.

"I don't know, but it can't be anything good" said Jiraiya.

"Well what are we waiting for then? Let's go kick some Sound ass" said a brazen Naruto as he tried to run off in to the group of Sound to attack them and kick their ass out of Uzu. He was held back by Jiraiya once again.

"Just hold on. We don't even know why they're here or even how many of them there are" said Jiraiya. "Summoning Jutsu!" Jiraiya summoned Gamakichi.

"Yo!" said the small orange toad.

"Hey. We need you to do some scouting for us. There are a bunch of Sound ninja on this island and we need you to find out how many there are and if there are any distinguishable individuals" said Jiraiya. Gamakichi nodded and hopped off to do his scouting.

He then turned to Naruto and went through the summoning hand seals again. "Summoning Jutsu!" A small orange toad appeared that had multiple white folds across its midsection.

"Hey Ero-Sennin, who's that?" asked Naruto.

"Hey Jiraiya, is he who I think he is?" asked the toad.

Jiraiya nodded to the toad. "Naruto, this is Gerotora. He's the keeper of the key to your seal" said Jiraiya.

"_The key?! So Ero-Sennin does have the key" _said Naruto. Kurama nodded and smiled.

"Naruto, after your last encounter with the sound, I'm not taking any chances. Whatever they're here for, it can be for no good. And I think I know why they're here" said Jiraiya. "Now, you told me that those four sound ninja transformed into monsters and you had to use a large portion of the Kyuubi's chakra to beat them, correct?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with the Sound being here right now?" asked Naruto.

"Because, if I know Orochimaru, there is a good chance that there are more of those freaks here. Also, realize we can't let Orochimaru have his way with this place. There are too many powerful secrets here for us to allow the Sound to have their way. And you're not ready to take on those freaks on your own. In fact, even with me, you're not ready to take them on. However, you have something that can beat them and that's the Kyuubi, but we can't have you going unconscious afterwards, so we are going to loosen your seal to allow you to draw on the Kyuubi's chakra longer" said Jiraiya.

"Really!?" said an excited Naruto.

"Are you sure about this Jiriaya?" asked Gerotora.

"I am. While I still don't fully trust the Kyuubi, he's proven that he's not quite what we thought he was. If it wasn't for the Kyuubi, there is a good chance Naruto and his team would have been dead, multiple times. I won't fully unlock the seal just yet, but loosen it enough to extend the amount of time Naruto can spend in that four-tailed form" said Jiraiya. He then turned to Naruto. "Naruto, you understand what I'm about to do, right?" Naruto nodded. "Good. Now does the Kyuubi understand that if he does anything that I don't approve of, I will make the seal so tight that getting out will be the last of his worries, once he figures out how to breathe again."

"**Touchy. Fine, tell that pervert I understand and I won't try anything funny" **said Kurama to Naruto.

"He understands, Ero-Sennin" said Naruto.

"Good. Now you and I are going to have a long talk regarding the Kyuubi chakra after we deal with the Sound. Understand?" asked Jiriaya. Naruto wasn't sure what this talk entailed, but he wasn't looking forward to it. Still, he knew the Sound had to be taken care of ad if any of those freaks showed up, he would need the Kyuubi's chakra to take care of them. Naruto nodded and Jiraiya copied the key onto his own arm. He activated the key and pressed it into Naruto's seal, loosening it by a few turns. Naruto and Kurama could instantly feel the effect of the weakening seal as their connection with one another strengthened.

"_Hey Kurama, what do you think?"_ said Naruto to his inhabitant.

"**Hmm…looks like I might be able to push you to a seven-tailed form now. Still, the four-tailed form should be good enough for those freaks and I think you should be able to hold it for maybe upwards of 15 minutes now"** replied the Fox.

"So?" asked Jiraiya, wondering what Naruto was feeling.

"He said this could get me to seven tails, and I should have 10-15 minutes in the four-tailed form" said Naruto.

"Good. That should be enough for the Sound." Just as Jiriaya said that, Gamakichi returned.

"Looks to be about 20 or so Sound ninja" said the small toad.

"Anyone in particular stand out?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yeah, there was this guy with grey hair and glasses that appeared to be the leader" said the toad.

"Kabuto…that's not good if he's here" growled Jiriaya. "Anyone else?"

"Yeah, there was this girl standing next to him that had red hair. I thought she sensed me, but hopefully I was wrong" said Gamakichi.

"Damn. They might just have an Uzumaki with them. Do you know if she was a prisoner or if she was working with them?" asked Jiraiya.

"Hate to say it, but she didn't look like a prisoner" said Gamakichi.

"Hmm. Then that's not good…Naruto move!" shouted Jiraiya. The two moved just in time to avoid a barrage of kunai and shuriken heading their way.

"Well it looks like you were right Karin, we weren't alone" said Kabuto as the two overlooked the location where Jiraiya and Naruto had been hiding out.

"What do you mean 'looks like', my Mind's Eye of the Kagura never lies" said a slightly frustrated Karin.

"Regardless, we can't have them alive, especially if one of them is Jiraiya of the Sanin and the other is the Kyuubi Brat" said Kabuto. He turned to the squads of Sound ninja that had accompanied them. "Kill them. We'll take their corpses back to Orochimaru-sama and he'll surely reward you all."

16 Sound ninja took off towards the location where Jiraiya and Naruto had retreated to, having received their location from the redheaded Karin. "Kabuto, do you realy think that they can beat Jiriaya of the Sanin?" asked Karin.

"No, but it will give us enough time to take a look around and gather the sealing scrolls. You know where the medical scrolls are, don't you?" asked Kabuto. Karin nodded, pointing towards the entrance to the Hall of Sealing.

Naruto and Jiraiya were forced to scatter once again as a wave of Sound ninja descended upon them.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" shouted Naruto, creating dozens of clones. The clones engaged some of the Sound ninja as some others got through the wave of orange and engaged Naruto and Jiraiya directly.

Naruto ducked underneath a pair of thrown kunai only to find that his legs had been taken out from underneath him. He rolled just in time to avoid the slash of a sword that went through the air where he had been lying just a second ago. Naruto managed to regain some ground, now facing 10 of the sound ninja. His clones had only managed to incapacitate one of the Sound ninja before they were defeated and Jiraiya was busy fending off the other 6 Sound ninja. Naruto made another clone and the two nodded at each other.

Naruto threw a few shuriken at the Sound. To the Sound, a few shuriken were nothing and they were practically laughing at the blonde's futile attempt. If only they had taken notes from their fallen comrades from the invasion during Konoha's chunin exams.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Futon: Gale Palm!"

Naruto and his clone shouted in unison. Before the Sound could eat their laughter, the few shuriken turned into 200 shuriken before they were picked up by the gust of wind and sent hurling at an increased velocity towards the unsuspecting Sound. The shuriken were too fast for most of them to react to and only the few Sound that were able to shield themselves with their comrades were able to survive the assault. Three Sound ninja were forced to retreat, not wanting to face another barrage of shuriken from one little boy.

Naruto looked over to see that Jiraiya had easily dispatched his attackers. Of course they were no match for a Sanin. "Huh? Ero-Sennin!" shouted Naruto, pointing towards the Hall to see Kabuto and Karin enter the chamber. Both Jiriaya and Naruto took off towards the two Sound, hoping to stop them from obtaining any of the Uzumaki sealing knowledge.

Kabuto and Karin ducked just in time to avoid a pair of kunai wiz over their heads. When they looked behind them, they saw Naruto and Jiraiya running towards them. The two ran further into the chamber, hoping to beat the two Konoha ninja past the blood seals.

"Enough time my ass" swore Karin. They had were almost to one of the main doors when two puffs of smoke appeared in front of them, revealing Naruto and Jiriaya in front of them.

"Rasengan!" shouted Naruto, catching Kabuto unexpectedly in the stomach and sending him flying out of the Hall. Jiraiya's methods were a lot less damaging as he simply had to tackle Karin, sending her into the Jiraiya and Naruto that were originally chasing them.

The Jiraiya and Naruto that were restraining Karin disappeared, revealing them to be nothing more than shadow clones while the two kunai had been Naruto and Jiraiya transformed. The real Naruto and Jiraiya looked behind Karin to see an obviously injured Kabuto forcing himself to his feet, having thrown a pair of knives at the shadow clones.

"I must say…Naruto, that attack of yours…is really something" said Kabuto, regaining his breath. "It made me look at my own self regeneration since our last meeting and try to improve it." He stood up straight, still in obvious pain, but not compared to the last time he got hit with a Rasengan.

* * *

The three Sound ninja who managed to escape from Naruto and Jiraiya found their way back to the camp, where a heavily restrained orange haired man was sitting and talking to himself about killing something.

"Are you sure we should be doing this? What happens if he just goes berserk and kills all of us?" asked one of the Sound.

"We don't have any other option. There is no way we can take on one of the Sanin without Jugo" said another Sound as he reached the cage Jugo was contained in. He began unlocking the locks on the cage.

"What are you doing?! Stop that before I lose it and kill you!" shouted Jugo as two of the Sound ignored his warnings and kept unlocking the cage. The third Sound just stood back and grinned.

"_This should take care of Jiraiya and the Kyuubi brat"_ thought the third Sound ninja.

"Go…now…before…I…I" said Jugo, clutching his head as the last of the restraints were removed from him. Before the two Sounds could react, a grey, transformed arm shot out, grabbing the head of one of the Sound ninja. "I'm gonna kill you!" He swung the first Sound ninja into the second, sending them flying back, but not before his transformed fist made contact with their stomachs, smashing both of the two Sound ninja.

He turned to the third Sound ninja. "And now, I'm going to kill you too!"

"Please Jugo, there is no need for that" said the Sound ninja, unmasking himself to reveal his identity as Kabuto. Jugo stopped mid swing at Kabuto. Kabuto was one of the very few people that he could manage to restrain himself against. "But, if you really want to kill someone, there is a particular blonde boy who I believe was a part of the team that killed Kimimaro."

"Kimimaro?" said Jugo as he seemed to calm down, but also in shock. "He's…dead?"

"Yes Jugo. I am sorry. He was sent to acquire Orochimaru's next reincarnation, Uchiha Sasuke, but was killed by the blonde kid and his team" said Kabuto. "I am truly sorry; I know how close the two of you were."

"Kimimaro…" said Jugo before the transformation fully began to take over his body. "Where is he? I'll KILL HIM!"

Kabuto pointed in the direction of Naruto and Jiraiya and Jugo took off, screaming 'I'm going to kill him!'

* * *

Naruto and Jiriaya were facing Kabuto and Karin, trying to figure out what exactly it was that they wanted.

"Well, perhaps I will tell you, after all, you won't be alive much longer" said Kabuto with his usual smug demeanor. "You see, Orochimaru-sama was pretty upset with what you did to his arms almost two months ago."

"So you're here to get hold of some medical seal to re-grow his arms?" asked Jiraiya.

"My you catch on quickly" said Kabuto as he grabbed Karin and shoved her into a cubby in the wall. Before Naruto and Jiraiya could react, there was an explosion as shards of rock came flying towards them.

"You…I'm going to KILL YOU!" shouted Jugo as he burst through the wall and charged at Naruto. Naruto barely had enough time to brace himself for the incoming punch as he was sent flying through the roof and out of the chamber. Jiraiya looked on, slightly horrified at the thing that had just smacked Naruto. So he was correct that Orochimaru had sent one of those freaks with Kabuto.

He looked over to see Karin running out of chamber as well and something that resembled Kabuto slumped over a rock. Before going to check on Naruto himself, he took a good look at 'Kabuto' and found that it was only a corpse that had been disguised as Kabuto. The real Kabuto had to be somewhere around here and he was sure Karin knew where he was. Unfortunately, he had to go check on Naruto to see if the blonde had survived that gruesome impact from a transformed Jugo.

Jiraiya followed the Naruto-shaped hole in the roof to find said blonde picking himself out of the ruble and clutching his side as Jugo faced him, ranting on about killing.

"Naruto!" shouted Jiraiya, making his way to Naruto's side.

"Gagh…" grunted Naruto as he clutched his side in pain. "What the hell is that?"

"That would be one of those freaks I was talking about. And to make it worse, Kabuto and that redheaded chick got away" said Jiraiya.

"What?! Then we have to stop them!" said Naruto.

"I know. But we can't have Ugly here beating on us while trying to find those two" said Jiraiya. "I'll go try and find Kabuto. Think the two of you can take care of the freak here?" asked Jiraiya. Naruto knew he was referring to him and the Kyuubi. "Naruto, like I said, you're no match for them by yourself. But, if you use the Fox, you can take him. Just try not to destroy too much or get yourself killed, okay?"

Naruto nodded and Jiraiya took off to go find the other Sound.

"**What do you want?"** asked Kurama.

"_You said 10 minutes in the four-tailed cloak, right?"_ asked Naruto. Kurama nodded in response. _"Well then, hit him hard and fast, I say."_

"**Sounds good, Kit"** replied Kurama as he began to flood Naruto's system with demonic chakra.

Jugo looked on in surprise at the transformation Naruto was undergoing. When the transformation was complete, a miniature blood-red fox with four tails stood in front of him. He wasn't the only one with some sort of special transformation.

"You…Now I'm really going to kill you!" shouted Jugo as he ran at high speeds towards Naruto. His fist was caught by Naruto. He transformed it even further, forming a few chakra thrusters coming out of his elbow as he drove his fist into Naruto at an even greater force than before. This was enough to send the cloaked Naruto back into a pile of debris.

"_Damn he hits hard"_ thought Naruto.

"**Yeah, for once I get to have a little bit of fun"** smiled the Kyuubi. Glad to have somewhat of a challenge for the first time in years.

Naruto picked himself out of the debris and faced Jugo. He then disappeared, using his increased speed when in the Kyuubi cloaks catch an unsuspecting Jugo by surprise, sending him into the air. A few chakra arms followed the flying Jugo and continued the barrage while Jugo struggled to regain himself.

After a few shots, Jugo finally managed to somehow regain himself and began to block Naruto's blows. The two then continued their melee.

* * *

Karin was making a run for the Sound camp, hoping to rendezvous with Kabuto. Suddenly, she felt something slimy wrap around her. When she looked to see what had caught her, she was freaked out to see that it was the tongue of a frog that had her.

"Got you" grinned Jiraiya. He spoke a little too late when Karin disappeared in a puff of smoke to be replaced by a few rocks.

Karin was hiding behind a collapsed wall, trying to conceal herself the best she could. She knew that there was no way she could handle one of the Sanin, the same group of ninja Orochimaru had descended from. Her best bet was to hide and wait.

Karin nearly freaked out when she felt someone's hand clasp her mouth. She turned, wondering if she had been caught, only to realize that it was Kabuto, thankfully. (Well someone has to be happy to see him) "Shh…Orochimaru-sama's not going to like this, but even I don't think we are going to be able to get past those two" said Kabuto.

"But what about Jugo? Surely his rage can kill them. Once he does, then we can get through" said Karin.

"Jugo has his hands full with something even I didn't expect" said Kabuto, referring to Naruto being able to control so much Kyuubi chakra. "Just focus your sensing in that direction and you'll see what I mean."

Karin nodded and focused on her sensory abilities, hoping that wouldn't give away their position. What she felt startled her. She could feel Jugo's chakra and the signature it gave out when he was transformed, but there was something else. There was another chakra signature that was fighting with him and this chakra was enormous…and demonic. She had never felt anything like that and she was honestly scared for her life.

Kabuto was doing his best to try and calm her down, not wanting to give away their position, however, something else caught Kabuto's eye as he reached underneath a pile of rubble to pull out a scroll. "Well, perhaps this wasn't a complete waste after all" he said, reading the scroll.

"What?" asked Karin, wondering what was on the scroll.

"Heh, who knew the Uzumakis were capable of something like this?" responded Kabuto, congratulating himself on his luck. "We might not have found a way to give Orochimaru-sama his arms back, but perhaps this will more than make up for it."

Outside their hiding place, Jiraiya was forced to jump to the side as Jugo came sailing through the air, crashing through the building Kabuto and Karin were hiding in.

Kabuto and Karin had managed to regain themselves, after nearly being crushed to death by the falling debris. Naruto appeared before Jugo and the two were deadlocked, matched now in a battle of strength. Out of Jugo's back came over a dozen chakra cannons that were quickly gathering chakra. Karin and Kabuto barely had time to duck for cover before the cannons exploded on Naruto, sending him flying back into a pile of rubble.

Unfortunately for Jugo, Naruto picked himself out of the rubble. Karin and Kabuto made their way behind Jugo and Jiraiya working his way out of the fight. Right now, there was no way he would be able to get Kabuto or Karin without risking getting hit by Jugo, or even Naruto in this case.

"**Kit, let's just end this now before that perverted teacher of yours gets himself caught in the crossfire"** said Kurama. Naruto agreed and he began to gather balls of chakra from the air and condensing them into one ball.

Karin panicked as her sensory abilities picked up on the energy contained within the ball. Jugo sensed this energy as well and was about to run, but somehow his conscience caught up with him when he realized that Karin and Kabuto were right behind him. Instead of trying to dodge the incoming attack, he began to transform himself into a more shield-like figure, hoping to save Karin and Kabuto as his senses came to him.

Naruto unleashed the Tailed Beast Ball upon Jugo and when the explosion cleared, Kabuto and Karin had managed to survive by hiding behind an unconscious and hurting Jugo. Jugo had managed to survive the attack, but not without taking considerable damage. There was no way he would be able to fight for awhile now.

Naruto recalled the four-tailed cloak, somewhat exhausted, but nothing like before. The loosening of the seal had managed to relieve most of the strain on his body and he was still able to hold himself together rather well after using the Kyuubi's chakra.

"Like I said, you won't be getting your hands on the Uzumaki scrolls" said Jiraiya, joining Naruto's side.

"Sadly it appears you're right. I guess we will be taking our leave now" said Kabuto, grabbing an unconscious Jugo. He shot the two Leaf ninja one of his signature smirks, indicating that this was more than them just giving up. Jiraiya had that feeling in his gut that they had managed to find something after all, but he didn't quite know what. Before he could make a move to capture or kill the three Sound, a tremor was heard felt in the ground and a large snake appeared underneath them, taking the three Sound off the island.

"_I've got a bad feeling"_ thought Jiraiya. He turned to Naruto. "Not bad Naruto. You're controlling the Kyuubi chakra rather well."

"Really?!" said Naruto, regaining most of his energy.

"Yep. Oh and that reminds me, I need to talk to you about that" said Jiraiya. That was the part Naruto was hoping Jiraiya would forget in the midst of all the action. "But before that, we need to go reapply the blood seals and add a few more."

"What do you mean by a few more? Shouldn't the blood seals be enough?" asked Naruto.

"Normally, I would say yes. But it appears as if Orochimaru does have an Uzumaki working with him. As such, a normal blood seal won't secure the Uzumaki scrolls from him. However, I do have some of that girl's hair and I can use it to modify the blood seals so that they will allow any Uzumaki in, except for her" explained Jiraiya.

Without saying much more, Jiraiya and Naruto left to go and reapply the seals. Later that night, Jiraiya and Naruto were back at their camp, enjoying their last night in the wilderness before the fishermen they had hired came and got them. While Jiriaya didn't have ramen on board, the waters surrounding the island were filled with fish and it wasn't hard for them to catch a bounty from the sea. While they were eating, Jiraiya used this time to discuss a few things with Naruto, something the blonde wasn't really looking forward to.

"Naruto, do you remember what I said to you on our last training trip? About using the Kyuubi's power?" asked Jiraiya. Naruto recalled that Jiraiya had told him not to rely on the Kyuubi's to much. "Good, now while the past few events have been exceptions, I just want to reiterate that I don't want you relying on that power."

"But why Ero-Sennin? I've only used the Kyuubi's power when my friends were in danger and well, now" said Naruto.

"I understand that, but now that you can use a little more of the Kyuubi's power I just need to make sure you understand what it is you are dealing with" said Jiraiya. "I told you back during the trip to get Tsuande that we need for you to be strong on your own, not with the help of the Kyuubi. You understand me, right?"

"Yeah, but…" Naruto was interrupted.

"Just hold on, I was getting to that. Your dad sealed the Kyuubi inside you to give you a power that you could use to protect the village. And up till now, you've done good restraining yourself to using it, only using that power when your friends and comrades were in life or death situations. I just want you to promise me that you won't get carried away with the Kyuubi's power. Only using it as a last resort and only if you or your comrades will die unless you use that power" said Jiriaya.

"Don't worry Ero-Sennin. I won't let it go to my head. I'll only use the Kyuubi when my friends are in danger" said Naruto.

"It's not just danger, kid. As a ninja, you have many tools under your belt to deal with various situations. Different tools that can be used to handle different situations. There are many dangers that can be handled correctly by using the correct tools. The Kyuubi's power is one of those tools, but it is one that should only be used as an absolute last resort. Only used if there is no other way to save your friends" said Jiraiya. "Do you understand where I'm going?"

"Yeah, I think I do. Basically, don't rely on the Kyuubi unless people are going to die" said Naruto.

"**Sadly, even I agree with the pervert on that one, Kit. My power's not to be taken lightly. I can do a lot, helping you. But, once the results of my power have been felt, there will be consequences. Some good, some bad. I cannot tell you what they will be, but there will be consequences of both kinds. The good consequences will seem to outweigh the bad at first, but it won't be too hard to make the bad consequences outweigh the good"** advised Kurama. **"Now, normally I would do everything in my power to influence you into using my power and eventually using it to try and get you to free me in some way, but I don't want to. I want to try this way, as I already know the consequences of what will happen if I try and force my way out."**

"_Hmm. Alright, thanks for that"_ responded Naruto to the Fox, before turning his attention back to Jiriaya. "Don't worry Ero-Sennin, I'll think next time before using the Kyuubi chakra."

"Good. Now, getting back to what we can do about you, the fuinjutsu you are learning is more of a supplementary art. You won't be able to use it that much in combat until you become more proficient in it, so we've also got to focus on your ninjutsu and taijutsu…" said Jiriaya.

"And the sword to, right?!" said an excited Naruto.

"Maybe. I'll teach you the sword, but I don't quite think you are the sword type" said Jiriaya. Naruto sent him a pleading look. "But, that doesn't mean it won't hurt for you to learn how to use one. Anyways, back to the Uzumaki taijutsu, it is a powerful form of taijutsu once mastered. We don't have the time to teach you right now, but we will once we leave for a few years."

"Hey Ero-Sennin, about that trip, how long will we be gone for? And what will I be learning?" asked Naruto.

"Well, we'll leave after the chunin exams and we will be gone for at least two years, but possibly a bit longer. As for what you will be learning…to put it simple, a lot. You'll be learning everything from taijutsu and ninjutsu, to advanced sealing, hopefully. There is a reason why I'm letting you participate in these chunin exams, and it is the same reason why Sasuke and Sakura are also being allowed to, instead of waiting till after your time of training" said Jiriaya.

"Really? I thought you were just giving us another chance to get promoted again" said Naruto.

"Well, that is a possibility. You may be promoted, but what Kakashi, Tsunade, and I really want to see is where the three of you are at before we really get started and what desperately needs to be improved" said Jiraiya.

"Okay, but I'm still going to get chunin this time" declared Naruto. "I'm not going to stay a genin forever."

"Heh, anyways I do have something you can work on, but first let's see how your wind chakra is" said Jiriaya. Naruto nodded and took out a kunai knife, ready to show Jiriaya his improvement. He waited a moment, channeling the chakra into his regular kunai before throwing it at a collapsed wall. When he released the kunai, it shot through the wall and even the wall behind it. "So I see you've pretty much got that down. Well then, I think it's time for a new jutsu, don't you?"

"Really?! What sort of cool jutsu will it be this time?!" bounced Naruto. Jiriaya handed Naruto a scroll.

"Futon: Great breakthrough" said Jiraiya. "It's a C-rank jutsu and an improved version of your Gale Palm that releases a more condensed and powerful blast of air at a target. Why don't you work on that for a little and if you manage to get it down before the exams, well I'll let you pick the next wind jutsu you want to learn."

"Really? What kinds of jutsu can I pick?" asked Naruto.

"Hmm…I'll tell you what. If you can master that jutsu and you can show either myself or Tsunade, if I'm not around, we'll let you pick out a B-rank wind jutsu from the village jutsu library" said Jiraiya.

"Really?! A B-rank? Just watch, Ero-Sennin, I'll have this jutsu done by the end of the week! –ttebayo!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Whoa there, we've still got to travel back to Konoha. And there are still 4 weeks till the exams. I'll tell you what. If you can get that jutsu done within a week of returning to Konoha, then that will give you a good 2-3 weeks to work on that new jutsu. But for now, go to bed…we've got to get up early to meet the fishermen" said Jiraiya.

* * *

Jutsu

Futon: Great Breakthrough (C-rank): A rather simple, yet powerful wind technique where the user unleashed a gust of wind after exhaling. This gust has the potential to uproot trees and even blow away all things in the user's sight. _Users: Uzumaki Naruto_

* * *

Author Notes

Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

This chapter was basically Naruto and Jiraiya kicking the Sound out of Uzu. Most of the Sound that was there are what I would consider Orochimaru's grunts. In short, these are 'disposable' ninja (in Orochimaru's eyes) that aren't really that powerful, maybe stronger than bandits but not quite genin level (as seen by how easy Naruto was even able to handle them). Most of Otogakure's forces at the moment are considered these 'grunts' while Orochimaru is building up his true military might which would consist of actual missing-nin, more experienced ninja, and then his cursed seal ninja. Realize that Otogakure is still a young village and it is still in the development process. Not to mention, Orochimaru lost a good chunk of his actual ninja during the invasion.

Naruto's seal has been loosened to a point where he can acsses the Kyuubi chakra easier (now to the point where he can use the four-tailed form for about 10minutes instead of 1minute). He still can't fully tap into the Kyuubi chakra (aka, full biju transformation) due to the design of his seal, but he can use more demon chakra. Also, with this newly enhanced Kyuubi power, Jiraiya was trying to reiterate to Naruto not to rely too much on it, as is his goal in training Naruto.

This chapter concludes the Uzushiogakure arc. I will be including a few more filler chapters before getting into the final major arc of this story, which will be the second chunin exams, followed by a few more chapters to end this story before continuing onto the sequel.

Please review/comment.


	45. Chapter 45

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

Posted: 12/27/12

* * *

**Chapter 45: Revelations**

"W-what…th-these are…"

"Yep, the ramen recipes of the Uzumaki" said Naruto, showing that black book to Teuchi upon arriving back in Konoha.

"I know, b-but I every ramen chef has thought these recipes lost. I can't believe I'm actually holding them" replied Teuchi reading through the recipes. Teuchi couldn't stop shaking his hands and he was practically crying at the fortune that had just presented itself. "Where did you get these?"

"I kind of found them in my great-grandfather's locker in Uzushiogakure no Sato" said Naruto. Teuchi's eyes picked up by Naruto's mentioning of a family member. Naruto had never actually referred to an actual family member in the past.

"So you know, don't you…" said Teuchi, reaching under his counter into a locked drawer.

"Yeah, Ero-Sennin told me" said Naruto. "But how do you know?"

"I've known you were their child. Back before you were born, those two were practically inseparable and they were two of my best customers. I knew your mother was pregnant with a child and after I saw you the for the first time, after you told me your name I began to put the pieces together" explained Teuchi. "Besides, you look just like him. I'm surprised no one else has figured out."

"Yeah, but they probably just saw me for what was inside me…" said Naruto, lowering his head. Teuchi gave Naruto a few reassuring words. "So do you think you can make those recipies for me, Old Man?"

"These are some of the greatest ramen recipies in history. Of course I'll make them. Who wouldn't. I'm just honored that you're letting me be the one to make them" said Teuchi.

"Well, Ichiraku is the best, so who else would make them the way they are supposed to be besides you?" said Naruto, smiling.

"Just for that, I'll make you a bowl on the house. For the Uzumaki recipes though, I need to get the ingredients, but I promise you'll be the first to have a bowl of Ichiraku's new Uzumaki-style ramen" said Teuchi, plopping down a bowl of Naruto's favorite ramen.

"Ah, there you are. Why am I not surprised" said Jiraiya, entering Ichiraku to find Naruto. "Come on, now's no time for ramen. We've got to go see Tsunade and tell her about the events that happened."

Naruto groaned while leaving the stand, but not before Teuchi handed Naruto a familiar blue book. "That was your mother's. She actually completed it about 4 months before you were born at my shop" said Teuchi, handing Naruto his mother's Ramen Passport before he left.

* * *

"None of what you're saying is very comforting, Jiraiya" said Tsunade. Naruto and Jiraiya were in Tsunade's office, describing the confrontation they had with the Sound and Kabuto.

"And the worst part is that I'm certain we kept them from getting access to the archives, but I've still got a feeling that Kabuto managed to find something. He had that look" said Jiraiya.

"I know what you mean. Orochimaru's always been a slimy bastard. Always managing to get away with something no matter how much we try and stop him" said Tsuande. "Anyways, we don't have any leads on where Orochimaru may be hiding, so unfortunately all we can do now is sit back until your spy network uncovers something."

"Yeah, anyways we actually made some good progress before Kabuto's intervention. I did tell Naruto what I said I was going to say and we actually discovered something about his heritage that was surprising" said Jiraiya. Tsunade's eyebrow raised in interest. "The Brat here is actually the great-great-grandson of the Shodaime Uzukage, Shuichi Uzumaki."

"Really?" said Tsunade. "You know, I've gotten to the point where nothing about him would surprise me anymore, and yet he still surprises me."

"Heh, that's not all. Check out the goodies we found" said Jiraiya, unsealing a scroll, revealing the Uzumaku Shio no Ken that they uncovered in the lockers.

"Is that?" said Tsunade, her eyes widening.

"Yep, the Uzumaki Shio no Ken. The famed sword of the Uzumakis that was thought lost decades ago" said Jiriaya. Tsuande unsheathed the sword and looked on in amazement. This was definitely the sword of the Uzumakis.

"And Ero-Sennin said he'd teach me kenjutsu!" exclaimed Naruto. Tsuande got a laugh out of that. "What's so funny, Baachan?"

"Nothing, Brat. Just you…the sword type, I don't see it" said Tsunade, trying to control her laughter. Jiraiya and Shizune's sweat dropped as they knew all too well what was coming.

"Oh yeah. Well I think I am!" exclaimed Naruto.

"I know you're not and I'm willing to bet you're not" said Tsunade.

"Fine. This just means that I am the sword type! After all, you're not too good at winning bets, Baachan!" said Naruto.

"Alright Brat, if you can come back after your training trip and honestly tell me that you prefer fighting with the sword after your couple of years with this old pervert, then I'll admit that perhaps you are the sword type and I'll even buy you a month's supply of ramen. And if, not…well, you've still got a lot of money left from our last casino adventure so If you're not, then you owe 7,000ryo" said Tsunade. _"Just enough for a case of my favorite sake."_

"Fine, you've got a bet, Baachan! I'm going to enjoy an entire month of free ramen when I get back! –ttebayo!" exclaimed Naruto, shaking Tsunade's hand, sealing the bet.

Jiraiya coughed. Tsunade snapped back out of Vegas. "Anyways, how was the progress with the sealing research?" asked Tsunade.

"Good. I might have found something, but I need to discuss that with you since it's a type of medical seal" said Jiriaya. Tsunade nodded. "Also, Naruto's made some pretty good progress. He's actually more than proficient with storage seals and we started explosive seals. For a month's time, he's come really far."

"Good. I look forward to seeing how far he's come in the exams coming up in three weeks, assuming he can go" said Tsunade.

"Huh, why wouldn't I be able to go?" asked Naruto.

"Because, I can't get a hold of Kakashi or Sasuke and knowing Kakashi, he'll show up the day after the exam starts" said Tsunde. Dealing with Kakashi's habitual tardiness was not the highlight of her career as Hokage.

"Actually, that's where I would win the bet. I'm sure Kakashi will be back in two weeks time" said Jiriaya.

"Really, and why's that?" asked Tsunade. Jiraiya pulled a book out from his pack, a red-bound Icha Icha book, the same one he finished at the beginning of their trip.

"Is that more of your smut?" asked Tsunade.

"It's not smut!" defended Jiriaya. Naruto nodded with Tsunade, supporting her. "Anyways, my next book is scheduled to be released in two weeks time, and if I know Kakashi, he'll be back in time for the release."

"Sadly, I actually agree with you. Alright, Naruto you've got two weeks then until I order the reconvening of your team for the exams" said Tsunade.

"Great! Two weeks where I can train!" said Naruto. I've got to get this jutsu down so that you'll let me chose a B-rank wind jutsu!"

"Haha, and who said you'd have time to train" laughed Tsunade. "You've been gone for a month, training, and you're going to be gone for a few years…training. Nope, I've got a mission for you, so report to my office tomorrow at 9:00am."

Naruto sighed and groaned as he left the office. His only hope now was to get the jutsu done while he was on his mission and then get the new B-rank jutsu and do nothing but focus on it until the chunin exams. Jiraiya left the office as well and Tsunade heard a knock on the door, her 3:00pm appointment was here. "Come in" she said. In stepped a man and what appeared to be his son. They both had pale eyes, marking them as Hyuga. "Ah, Hyuga Kenjo and Hyuga Shinji, what can I do for you?"

The elder Hyuga spoke up. "Hokage-sama. As you know, the chunin exams are coming up in three weeks. While I understand that my son's team has not been nominated for the exams, his sensei did comment that Shinji here is in fact ready for the exams. I'd like to request that he be assigned to a temporary team for the purpose of taking the exams" said Kenjo.

Tsunade thought for a moment. She didn't like dealing with Hyugas all that much, especially the main branch Hyuga. The branch members were fine and Hiashi was tolerable, but the rest of the main branch was…well arrogant and prideful as hell. "While I would like to honor your request, you are aware that teams consist of 3 members. And unfortunately, at this point in time, we don't have enough genin where I can put together a three-man squad for these exams."

"I understand that is how you usually approach these situations, gathering together three-unteamed genin and forming a team from them, but is it not possible to place Shinji on a team that already has two members? I believe Team Asuma is short one member because of the promotion of Nara Shikamaru after the last exam" said Kenjo

"_Damn"_ said Tsunade. She was hoping that Kenjo would just drop it there, although she knew he wouldn't. It was true that Asuma had recommended his team last week for the exams, or at least the remaining two members that were not chunin. It was also true that he was looking for a third member. What would most likely happen is that if she denied Kenjo's request now, he would go to the village counsel and get them on her ass for why she did not assign Shinji to a two-man team that was in the process of looking for a third member. It would be a major headache for her, one she did not want at this point.

"So Hokage-sama, is it possible we could assign Shinji here with Yamanaka Ino and Akamichi Chouji on Sarutobi Asuma's team?" pressed Kenjo.

Tsunade gave in, not wanting to get the counsel on her case. "Very well, I will speak with Asuma and arrange for a few times for Shinji, Ino, and Chouji to meet and work on their teamwork. Speaking of which, Shinji, for that team, teamwork is the most important attribute, do you understand me? If you are to join that team, then you must show that you can work well with Ino and Chouji."

"I understand, Hokage-sama. I'll try my best to find my place on that team" said Shinji. He and his father gave Tsunade a quick bow before leaving the office.

"_Asuma's going to hate me"_ thought Tsunade.

* * *

"_Damn it, why does Hinata have to be on a mission today? And to make it worse, Baachan said she's got a mission that will take me all of these next few weeks so I won't get to see her until then. And even then, everyone's going to be focused on the upcoming chunin exams. And it's even starting to get late. I guess I could get training, but it won't be anything like if I were to have an entire day" _thought Naruto, dragging himself towards the training grounds.

"Naruto!" Nartuo heard a familiar voice coming from behind him. He turned around to see his pink-haired teammate hastily walking towards him.

"Sakura? What are you doing here?" asked Naruto. "Wait…did you cut your hair or something?"

Sakura looked at Naruto, a little confused, but then realized that Naruto hadn't seen her new haircut. She had it only at about neck length now, instead of mid-back length. "Oh yeah. I did. I actually kind of like it. Honestly, I only grew it out as a way to get Sasuke's attention, but I figured I should worry about my shinobi training before worrying about growing my hair. Anyways, I just got done with my work for today. Tsuande-shisou let me off early because she said she had a mission for me tomorrow" said Sakura.

"Huh? Really, she said she had a mission for me as well. Do you think we are on the same mission?" asked Naruto.

"Well, I would suppose. I mean, we are on the same team. Hey, speaking of which, have you seen Sasuke at all? There are some rumors going around about his disappearance around the same time you left with Jiriaya-sama. Something about leaving with a snake pedophile or something?" said Sakura.

"Huh? Someone's spreading rumors about Sasuke leaving for Orochimaru?" asked Naruto. "That would never happen. I mean you were there when we fought with Orochimaru's freaks. In what world would Sasuke ever betray us for that snake?"

"Yeah, don't remind me. Watching Sasuke nearly die, even if he was trying to save me, is not something I want to remember. Besides, my side is still slightly sore from that" said Sakura, clasping a hand over her left ribcage. "So anyways, what have you been up to?"

Naruto looked surprised at Sakura. For once, she was showing a hint of interest in what he had been doing. "You know, traveling with Ero-Sennin, training and finding out about my ancestors" said Naruto.

"Ancestors…?" Sakura looked at Naruto with a bewildered look on her face. This was the first time Naruto had ever referred to family. As far as they knew, he was an orphan with no family since he was born.

"Yeah, Ero-Sennin and I went to Uzushiogakure and there he taught me about fuinjutsu and my ancestors. I even found out who my mother…" Naruto stopped there. Ero-Sennin had said he could discuss his mother, but he couldn't talk about his father. That would still need to remain a secret.

"Your…mother?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah, she was really beautiful and had long red hair. And I heard she was one hell of a kunoichi" said Naruto. Naruto told Sakura a few other things he heard about his mother, leaving out the jinchuriki part.

"Wow. That's great that you found out about your mother and that she turned out to be who she was. So did you learn anything about your father?" asked Sakura.

Naruto slightly panicked. In truth, he wanted to tell everyone. He wanted everyone to know he was the Yondaime's son. He wanted to see the look on every villager's face. It would be like the ultimate prank on the village, but he promised Jiraiya he wouldn't say anything. "No…I still can't find anything on my father. My mother was orphaned as a baby when Uzushiogakure was destroyed and she was brought to the village as a young child, so my father was probably a ninja of this village at some point in time, but I don't know who he was" said Naruto, doing his best to act sad and depressed.

"Naruto…I'm sorry for bringing that up" apologized Sakura.

"It's okay, Sakura. I'm just happy I know who my mom is" said Naruto, giving her a grin. "So what have you been up to this past month?"

"Uhg…don't ask. Tsunade-shisho is an excellent teacher, but there's just so much. I've been spending practically every day from dawn until dusk studying everything there is on medicine. I swear I spend more time studying now than I ever did back in the academy, but it's been worth it. My chakra control's gotten so much better and she's even begun to teach me some actual medical ninjutsu" replied Sakura.

"Wow, that's great!" exclaimed Naruto. "It sounds like you're going to be ready for the upcoming exams."

"I hope so. I think I've finally found what I'm good at, something that won't make me a burden to the two of you…" said Sakura, trailing off.

"Sakura, you've never been a burden. What made you think that?" asked Naruto.

"Well, to be honest, you and Sasuke have always been getting stronger and stronger at a pace that I thought I could never catch. And then against those Sound freaks, I wasn't able to do much besides nearly get Sasuke killed" said a depressed Sakura.

"Nonsense, if it wasn't for you, I might've been seriously hurt there" said Naruto. Sakura picked her head up and looked at him. "I knew that 6-armed guy had me trapped and I wouldn't have been able to free myself in time if it wasn't for your genjutsu. So thank you for that. You're not a burden, you were just missing what you were really good at and I think you've found it. You're going to get really strong, I know it. So strong that everyone, even Sasuke will have to take notice" said Naruto, offering Sakura the 'nice-guy pose'.

"Naruto, thank you. I'm giving up on being one of Sasuke's fan-girls" Sakura said. Naruto looked at her confused.

"But that doesn't mean you should give up on Sasuke" said Naruto.

"I'm not. I'm just taking a note from you and Hinata" said Sakura, earning a questioning look from Naruto. "The two of you have been there for each other, supporting each other and helping one another no matter what life has thrown at you and you ended up together. I'm not giving up on Sasuke, but being one of his fan-girls has done nothing but hinder my ninja training. I think that's what he wants, someone who is themselves and can help him, not hold him back. So that's what I'm going to be. I'm going to be a kick-ass medical ninja and do whatever I can to truly help him. It's kind of a win-win. And if you need any help from me, don't be afraid to ask. I've held you back as well and I'm done doing so." Naruto couldn't help but smile at Sakura's newfound resolve. That is until she began talking again. "Now, about you…fuinjutsu? You? Seriously, what have you been up to this past month?"

"What?! No really, I've been studying fuinjutsu" said Naruto.

"Come on, Naruto. Fuinjutsu is even more scholarly then medicine and I've never seen you as the scholarly type" argued Sakura.

"What is wrong with everyone? First Shizune and now you. Why doesn't everyone believe I'm learning fuinjutsu?" asked a pouting Naruto. "Not to mention the Furball inside my head. I swear I couldn't get him to stop laughing the entire trip. I'll even show you, watch!" Naruto pulled out a scroll and began to scribe a more advanced storage seal. He took his own equipment and Sakura's equipment and sealed them within the scroll. Sakura just stared in awe. Naruto wasn't lying about the fuinjutsu part. He really could make his own seals. "I've only started my training and can only do storage seals and explosive seals, but Ero-Sennin even said that's pretty advanced for someone who's only been studying it for a month. Oh, that reminds me, are you eventually going to learn medical seals?"

"Yeah, Shisho told me she would begin teaching me once I've mastered a few more medical jutsu. Why?" asked Sakura.

"Because my great-grandfather had a lot of seals that he passed onto me and I think some of them were medical seals. I can take a look through them and give them to you if you want. I'm sure you could find them useful" said Naruto.

"Really? Are you sure? I mean those are your family's seals" said Sakura. If this wasn't Naruto, she would be in disbelief for someone offering her advanced Uzumaki seals. Even she had heard of the sealing prowess of the Uzumakis. She supposed that's why Naruto was actually good at sealing…because his last name was Uzumaki.

"Yeah. I mean you would have more use for them. I might be learning fuinjutsu, but I don't think medical seals are my specialty. I might look into them, but nowhere near the extent you will" said Naruto. With that Naruto left to try and get in some training for the day on his new wind jutsu.

Sakura looked on as Naruto left. She couldn't help but feel jealous about a lot of things that involved Naruto.

* * *

Team Gai was the only other team in the Konoha 13 that was still in Konoha. Team 8 and Team 10 were both on missions and Team 7 was still considered disbanded. Gai had been pushing his team to the bone to prepare them for the upcoming chunin exams which they would also be participating in. Unfortunately for Neji, Lee, and Tenten, Gai had turned these chunin exams into another competition with Kakashi. The winner would be the teacher with the most students to be promoted chunin from the exams.

As such, he had been spending as much free time working with and preparing his team. Of course for Neji and Tenten, this meant workouts that, in all reality, only Lee could keep up with. However, all three of them were determined to do their best until the chunin exams so that they would all be promoted. That was the goal all three of them had set was to see that they finally made chunin, and make their sensei or families proud of them.

When the work out for the day came to an end, Neji and Tenten found the two of them collapsed on the ground, completely exhausted. Lee, on the other hand, was still bouncing off of trees as he was finishing his self-imposed part of the work out.

"Neji…I-I don't think I can get up" grunted Tenten. Her entire body was sore and exhausted. Neji managed to get to his feet, although still a little shaky. He then offered a hand to Tenten and helped her up, having to help support her so her legs wouldn't give out from exhaustion. "Gai-sensei's really been overworking us, hasn't he?"

"Yes, but I agree with him that we need to be ready for these exams. From what I understand, the Kumo exams are different from our own" said Neji. Tenten asked why and Neji answered. "From what I've been told, there are more people in these exams and as such, the tests are more demanding as a result. Of course we will all do fine, but a little preparation never hurt."

"Tell that to my legs, arms, and back" replied Tenten. This actually earned a rare laugh from Neji.

"Gai-sensei may be a little…extreme, but he truly does care for our progress and he truly wants to see us succeed" said Neji. "If a little hard work means a promotion, then I would gladly run laps on my hands with Lee before sunrise."

"What's gotten into you, Mr. 'Fate determines everything'?" joked Tenten. "Ever since the first exams, you've been more open to working for things and less into fate and everything. It's like Lee's brushed off on you…"

"Naruto."

"Huh?" asked Tenten. "What about Naruto?"

"He's the one who opened my eyes for once. He showed me the truth of believing in oneself. He and Lee are alike in that respect and it took a little bit of what Naruto gave me to get Lee back to the point he's at now" said Neji. "Why, do you ask? Is there something wrong with me?"

"No, just that you've changed quite a lot over the past months. I kind of like it" said Tenten, blushing slightly. "You've become more respectful, stronger, and even a bit more handsome."

"Huh? What was that last part?" asked Neji.

"Oh…Nothing really" said Tenten, laughing that last comment of and trying to hide her blush. A minute or two later, the two arrived at Tenten's father's shop and they went their separate ways.

Neji arrived back at the Hyuga compound where his uncle was waiting for him. "Neji, we need to talk about something" said Hiashi. He led his nephew to his study.

"What is it you need to talk to me about, uncle?" asked Neji.

"There are a few things I need to discuss. All of them revolving around the upcoming chunin exams" said Hiashi. "As you know, the exams are at Kumogakure no Sato. I hate to bring this up, but you remember the incident nine years ago regarding Kumo and our clan." Neji didn't want to remember, but he did. That was the incident that had taken his father from him as a boy. He had forgiven the main branch as he learned the real reason why his father was offered to Kumo in Hiashi's place, but he still hadn't forgiven Kumo. "While they may have agreed not to take any action towards trying to steal the Byakugan, I still don't quite trust them."

"You think they could target Hinata?" asked Neji.

"I do. Normally, I would not have allowed her to participate in these exams, but she personally requested that I allow her to compete a few weeks ago. She's becoming more confident with herself, ever since…"

"Ever since she and Naruto began spending more time together, last chunin exam" interrupted Neji.

"Yes. And as seen from her last spar with Hanabi, it's still a fragile confidence. I couldn't afford to break it by refusing her request to participate. Not to mention, she needs as many opportunities to prove herself to the elders. If she can make chunin at these exams, it will help sway the elders in her favor" said Hiashi. "At least enough to give her some more breathing room with them."

"They are still coming onto her pretty hard, aren't they?" asked Neji.

"Yes. I'm afraid that no matter how strong she may find she can become, she will always be seen as weak by them for being kind and gentle. The elders favor a strict leader who can keep the traditional values of the clan in line, the type of person I fear they are manipulating Hanabi into" said Hiashi.

"Well, isn't there anything we can do?" asked Neji.

"For you, just keep an eye out for Hinata. The two of you have grown closer and she sees you as an older brother. If there is anyone in the clan she trusts, it's you. Just do what you can to help her. I want her to become the person this clan deserves as a leader. One who is strong, yet kind and fair. Besides, I'm sure you won't be alone with this. I'm certain Naruto would help you if you simply ask. I'm glad that he finally saw my daughter's true feeling for him" said Hiashi.

"Uncle, about that…I have a great deal of respect for Naruto, but there is a lot about him that is still…a mystery. In particular, why you have had no opposition to him dating Hinata-sama" said Neji. "I hate to sound like this, but Naruto's an orphan, whose heritage is unknown except for the fact that he came from some family in the Uzumaki clan. He's been hated by the village for…well umm, how do I put this?"

Hiashi sighed. "So you know, don't you" asked Hiashi. Neji nodded. "How did you find out?"

"It during our fight months ago. When he called upon that weird chakra. I knew I felt it before, even if it was a long time ago. And then, I saw it, with my Byakugan. It was…" Neji was hushed by Hiashi.

"It still is forbidden to speak about that" said Hiashi.

"I am sorry Uncle, I didn't mean to" said Neji.

"No matter, the question now is, how do you feel about Naruto after knowing that?" asked Hiashi.

"I sincerely regret what I said to him back in the exams. It explains a lot about him and I never expected him to have to bear such a burden. I actually find myself respecting him more for it" said Neji. "But why him? Why burden him with that fate?"

"Neji, no matter how powerful a shinobi the Yondaime was, it was the only way to save the village" said Hiashi. "I should know, we were on a team together. I don't wish to speak on this matter anymore, just know that Naruto is doing what must be done to keep the village safe, even if the village hates him because of it. This was never the way things were supposed to work out for Naruto, but there is nothing that can be done to change the past. Regardless of what should have happened, it has helped make him the person he is right now. If you need any help with my daughter, I'm sure he'll be more than willing to assist."

"I agree and I could use all the help I can get. An unsealed Byakugan in the middle of Kumogakaru no Sato is like throwing a single piece of candy into a daycare full of five-year olds" said Neji.

"Two…two unsealed Byakugans" said Hiashi. Neji didn't like where this was going.

"I thought you said he wasn't ready for these exams" said Neji.

"I don't think he is. He doesn't understand anything about what this village and these exams are about, but his father must have pulled some strings and somehow, Shinji ended up filling the final spot on Team Asuma" explained Hiashi. Neji practically cursed in his head. Shinji was most definitely seen as a 'main branch' Hyuga, with the arrogance and pole up his ass to go along with the title. If it wasn't for Chouji and Ino, Neji would most certainly try to ensure Shinji didn't pass. Even so, Shinji was the last person Neji wanted to face in combat. Neji's skills were far above Shinji, but there was one thing that was deferring his actions…the seal.

"Uncle, what is the progress on…you know" asked Neji, secretly.

"Jiraiya-sensei's efforts have opened a few possibilities, but the solution is still far away and both of us doubt that the removal seal will be available before the exams are over" said Hiashi. Neji sighed. He would have to play obedient branch member around Shinji now. Hinata and Hiashi were the only main branch members who ever showed him some respect and kindness. For that, he was grateful, but the way the rest of the main family was treating the branch was still drying his patience. "I am sorry, but I must ask you to look out for both Hinata and Shinji while at the exam."

"I have no problem with Hinata-sama, but Shinji…" Neji stopped himself before some colorful words could manifest themselves in the relatively clean mind of the Hyuga prodigy. "I will do my best, uncle. If anything for you and Hinata-sama."

Neji stood up and exited the room, a myriad of thoughts swirling around in his head now after that discussion.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura were inside Tsunade's office the following morning. They had been right in the fact that they were being given this mission together. However, they were still waiting for one more member of the team.

After a few minutes of waiting, the final member of their team finally showed up in a flash of green that burst through the door. "Konoha's Green Beast, reporting for duty Hokage-sama" said Lee, causing Naruto and Sakura's sweat to drop a bit.

"I guess this means we are going on a mission with Bushy Brows" said Naruto to Sakura.

"Looks like it" she responded.

"Good, now that the three of you are here, I can begin the mission briefing" addressed Tsunade. Naruto, Sakura, and Lee lined up in front of the. "We've received a mission request from a band of merchants, requiring an escort from Richigo Town, in the western regions of the Land of Fire, to the Land of Greens. You three are to rendezvous with the caravan and provide protection for them on their journey to the Land of Greens. You are expected to encounter nothing more than common bandits and a possible low-genin level ninja or two, something I think you all can handle."

"But Baachan, I've gotta train. I still need to get this jutsu down and prepare for the upcoming exams" complained Naruto.

"Naruto, you've had all month to train and you'll have two whole years to train after you leave with Jiraiya, so you've got to contribute to the village somehow while you're here. Besides, I need a team to send Lee on a mission since Hyuga Hiashi has pulled Neji for some clan business and Tenten has been admitted to the hospital with multiple stress fractures in her legs and arms, most likely courtesy of Gai's extreme workouts."

"Huh? No offense Tsunade-sama, but why do I specifically have to go on a mission?" asked Lee.

"Because, ever since your surgery, you've had plenty of rehabilitation and training, but no mission work. I need to be sure that you can resume mission duties before I clear you for these exams" said Tsunade. Lee nodded. "Any other complaints?" Everyone was silent.

"Good. Sakura, I am appointing you the leader of the mission. This will be classified as a C-rank and I expect this mission will take around a week and a half's time. When you return, depending on the success of your mission, I'll give the three of you the rest of the time before the exam to prepare. Dismissed!" ordered Tsunade.

* * *

Author Notes

Alright, there you have it. Mostly a filler chapter. Teuchi gets a new menu, Naruto and Tsuande place a bet, some unfortunate news for Asuma and Team 10, Naruto and Sakura catch up with each other for the first time since their team was 'disbanded', and a new upcoming mission. Oh, and Neji has figured out Naruto's burden. So far, that makes Sakura, Sasuke, Haku, Hinata, and Neji from the Konoha 13 (and Naruto) that know of the Kyuubi.

Next: The mission to the Land of Greens with Naruto, Sakura, and Lee.

Please Review/Comment


	46. Chapter 46

******Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

Published: 1/2/13

* * *

**Chapter 46: Trouble in the Land of Greens**

"Are you sure?"

"I am, Hokage-sama. Reports just confirmed the presence of a small militant group operating in the area surrounding the Land of Greens" said an ANBU scout.

Tsunade reached into her desk and pulled out a map. The ANBU pointed to region in the northeastern part of the Land of Greens. "Our scouts report that to be the rebel controlled area. Do we have any teams operating in that area?"

Tsunade grunted a little. "We have a team of genin escorting a merchant caravan to the capitol of the Land of Greens. If I'm correct, they will past just south of the rebel-controlled area, but that doesn't mean that they won't come into contact with them. Once they make it to the capitol, they should be safe, but…"

"Hokage-sama, how long before the caravan should reach the rebel-controlled region?" asked the ANBU. "Perhaps we could send support."

Tsunade let out a little sigh. "I wish I could do that, but if they are on schedule, they will reach that area by late morning tomorrow. It would be at least a four day journey to reach them and by then they'll be at the capitol, hopefully."

"Hokage-sama, is there anything you can do? The ninja assigned to the caravan are merely genin after all" said the ANBU.

"As much as I would wish to, it's a little too late now. Besides they are only escorting merchants, it's not like they are escorting the damyio of the Land of Greens or anything. Do you have anything to report on the rebel group?" asked Tsunade.

"Hai. Initial reports show the rebel group to be roughly three dozen in size. Most of them have minimal shinobi training" said the ANBU. This reassured Tsunade. Common bandits were something Naruto, Sakura, and Lee could dispatch with ease. What the ANBU said next though didn't help. "However, we believe their leaders to be the three Kurabachi."

"WHAT?!" shouted Tsunade, slamming her fist into the desk and cracking it in two. Shizune, who was also in the office, sighed.

"Tsunade-sama, who are the three Kurabachi?" asked Shizune.

"Kurabachi Tsugi, Richi, and Miki. They are members of the former Kurabachi clan of Iwagakure who fled after a failed attempt to overthrow the Tsuchikage. The scary part is that they came insanely close to accomplishing their goal. All three of them are jonin level ninja who possess a rare and unique bloodline" said Tsunade.

"What?" now it was Shizune's turn to be surprised. "What bloodline exactly do they have?"

"If I'm correct, it's known as the Magnet Release. It's a powerful bloodline that allows them to control anything that is iron. They were a dangerous force that nearly cost us big in Second Shinobi World War if it wasn't for the Yondaime" said Tsunade.

"But Tsunade-sama, if they're that dangerous, then we have to pull Naruto, Sakura, and Lee out immediately" advised Shizune.

"I know. The best we can do is hope that Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke don't even come into contact with them. After all, they are only escorting a merchant caravan" said Tsuande.

"And if they do, by chance come into contact with the Kurabachi?" asked Shizune.

Tsunade sighed again. "Then we hope that they can make it out alive. There's no way support will reach them in time. But just in case, Dragon form a support squad and rendezvous with the team assigned to the Land of Greens immediately."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. We'll leave by the end of the hour" said the ANBU before leaving.

"Tsunade-sama?" said Shizune.

"Damn it!" she said before chucking half of her already broken desk out of the window. _"Be safe, Naruto."_

* * *

That same evening, the caravan that Naruto, Sakura, and Lee were assigned to escort had stopped for the evening. There were some elderly members of the caravan, meaning that they couldn't keep going through the night.

"Hey Naruto, what are you doing?" asked Sakura. Naruto had been on top of the cart, fiddling with something.

"Huh? Oh I'm just working with a seal or two" replied Naruto.

Sakura chuckled a little and Naruto shot her a confused look. "Sorry, I still don't see you as the fuinjutsu, but it looks like you actually know what you're doing. So what are you doing anyways?"

"Well, I've been thinking of sealing my kunai and shuriken in a seal instead of carrying them. But I'm not sure what to seal them in. I could just use a scroll, kind of like Tenten, but that doesn't feel like it would be easy enough to do so" said Naruto.

"Hmm…well, is this the seal?" asked Sakura, taking a look at what Naruto had written on the scroll in front of him.

"Yeah. I've got it to work, but I'm not sure what to do with it exactly" said Naruto. He placed his hand over the seal and instantly four shuriken appeared in his hand. "I can control the number of shuriken with the amount of chakra I channel into the seal, but I still don't quite know where to put it."

"Well, why don't you get a pair of bracers and put the seal over your wrist or something. Or even a pair of gloves. In fact, I think I saw a few pairs of gloves in the carts, maybe they have some you could use" said Sakura.

"Really? Thanks Sakura" said Naruto before running off to check with the merchants.

Naruto found one of the merchants and they did in fact have a few gloves in their cart that they were selling. Naruto found a few pairs of fingerless gloves with steel plates on the back side. They were similar to the gloves that Kakashi wore, except they extended up the arms a few inches, just enough for Naruto to put a seal on the bottom side of the wrist. And best of all, they came in a variety of colors, including orange and pink.

Shortly after he returned to the top of the cart he was working upon and showed Sakura his findings. "Hey Sakura, you want a pair?" said Naruto, holding up a pair of pink gloves, identical to the pair of orange gloves he had gotten hold of.

"Really?" said a slightly surprised Sakura.

"Yeah, the seal's not really that hard to make and I already bought the gloves. All I need are a few of your shuriken that you want sealed" said Naruto.

"Umm, actually could you seal senbon for me?" asked Sakura.

"Senbon? Have you been spending too much time with Haku?" joked Naruto.

"Well, while I was training with Tsunade-shisho, Shizune-senpai and Haku taught me how to poison and use senbon. I felt those would be a better weapon for me" said Sakura, pulling out a pouch that she kept at her side. When she opened it, Naruto paled at the sight of so many needles inside the bag. "The plain ones are just that, plain. The blue ones are a type of sleeping agent…"

"Let me guess, the black ones have the toxic poison that kills, right?" interrupted Naruto.

"Nope, the pink ones are the ones that kill. The black ones are a paralysis toxin" said Sakura. Naruto just looked at her. "What…I don't like people thinking pink is only a girly color. So could you by chance seal my senbon for me?"

Naruto snapped out of his little trance. "Yeah, I could. But I'll need a little bit longer to make a different seal to separate the different senbon" said Naruto.

"I mean, if it's too big of a problem, then you don't have to" said Sakura.

"Don't worry Sakura, it's not a problem. I just need to make a slightly different seal, but it's nothing hard" said Naruto. "Now, why don't you get some sleep. I'll take the first shift and wake Bushy Brows in about three hours."

"Okay then, goodnight Naruto" said Sakura before turning in for the night. _"You've really changed, Naruto. I can only imagine what you'll be like when you come back from your trip with Jiraiya-sama. I wonder how much Sasuke's changed as well?"_

The caravan set off the next morning. Naruto had managed to take a seat on top of one of the carts as he was just putting the finishing touched on the sealed gloves he was making for Sakura and himself. He had offered one for Lee, but sadly Lee informed him that using seals was not within his reach as well, but thanked Naruto for the offer anyways. When the gloves were done, Sakura noticed that they were pretty easy to operate. All she had to do was channel and guide chakra into a certain part of the seal and she could call upon the desired senbon. With a little bit of practice, summoning the proper type of senbon from the gloves would be second nature.

"Sakura, do you notice that something is up with these merchants?" whispered Lee.

"Yeah, I've noticed. They're tense, like they're expecting something big to happen" replied Sakura. She looked up at Naruto and received a nod from him.

"_Hmm, why are these guys tense so tense and anxious. And then there's that Shun. Something seems off about him. Wait…why is it I can all of the sudden feel this?"_ thought Naruto.

"**I can explain that"** said Kurama. Naruto listened for the answer. **"The term jinchuriki refers to a 'living human sacrifice'. In short, you sacrifice your bodies and ambitions at a normal like to contain a biju, like me; however, with all sacrifices, you get something in return. As a result, jinchuriki develop a few abilities that are unique between the containers. The abilities you gain depend on the tailed beast sealed inside you and how much of our chakra you have been exposed to. When that pervert loosened the seal in Uzu, you gained access to the second ability you get for being a jinchuriki."**

"_Wait? I get abilities with being a jinchuriki? And what do you mean by this is my second ability? Are you saying I've already got an ability and can I get more?" _asked Naruto.

"**Slow down, Kit. Every jinchuriki has one thing in common and that's a large chakra reserve, due to having our chakra sealed inside you. At the same time, if the human and demon cooperate, then the jinchuriki becomes practically immune to any attempts on having their chakra system controlled, such as genjutsu. Now, every jinchuriki gains unique abilities based on the biju sealed inside them. For example, the reason your friend Gaara can control the sand is because of that damned raccoon. As for you, your first ability from me has been your increased healing factor."**

"_Okay, we already talked about this. So how exactly powerful is this healing factor of mine?" asked Naruto._

"**Well, you already know you can heal broken bones in less than a day's time. However, if my chakra is focused on the area of injury, the rate of healing rivals even that of the Slug Princess's ****Mitotic Regeneration.**** In that sense, you would even be able to heal injuries like getting stabbed in the heart, so long as something like getting decapitated or your heart completely ripped out doesn't occur."**

"_Wow! Really?!" _exclaimed Naruto.

"**Yes, now just don't do something idiotic and get carried away. Just because I said there is a chance you may survive, doesn't mean that you necessarily will. Anyways, now you're just realizing the second ability and that is what is known as ****Negative Emotions Sensing****. Basically, it allows you to sense when there is some sort of tension between people and it also lets you know when someone's intending to kill someone. While not in the same sense as your little vixen's sensing abilities with her eyes, it is still a powerful sensory ability."**

"_Ah. I see, so that's why I can sense the tension between these merchants. But wait, why couldn't I do something like this until now?"_ asked Naruto.

"**Because this ability required our chakras to be more intertwined, which is what happened when that pervert loosened the seal"** explained Kurama. **"Now, the last thing that I know you have is access to my elemental affinity, fire."**

"_But I thought my affinity was wind" said Naruto._

"_**Jeez you can be dense at times."**_** "YOUR affinity is wind, mine is fire. As such, you have a pretty strong fire nature, although it is not quite as strong as your wind nature, since that was discovered as the dominant nature."**

"_Wow, so you're saying I can learn cool fire jutsus like Sasuke?"_ asked Naruto.

"**Yep. But not now, I sense something coming."**

On top of one of the wagons, Naruto instantly snapped to attention, heading his inhabitant's warnings. Sakura and Lee soon followed and before they knew it, a group of roughly 20 bandits had surrounded the caravan.

"Hand over the princess now, and we'll let you go" demanded one of the bandits.

"Princess? We don't have any princess" replied a confused Lee.

"Stop playing dumb" said the bandit, pointing towards Shun. "Her. Now hand her over before we decide to kill you all." Shun glared angrily at the bandit and one of the other merchants came up to her.

"Haruno-sama, please take cover under the carts and we'll take care of these thugs" said one of the 'merchants'.

The three Leaf genin were still trying to make heads or tails of the entire situation before the bandits expired their offer and attacked. Naruto, Sakura, Lee, and two of the merchants quickly engaged the bandits. It became clear instantly that these weren't common bandits and Sakura quickly figured that they had some form of shinobi experience, although they didn't appear to be much more than low-genin level.

Lee had just dodged a slash of a sword when his leg sent a bandit flying back into a tree, breaking the poor tree and knocking the bandit unconscious. "Konoha Senpou!" (Leaf Hurricane) Lee shouted as he launched too sweeping kicks at a pair of bandits, knocking them out as well. "My Flames of Youth are burning brightly today!"

"Phft. Like a little pink-haired girl's going to be able to do anything" mocked one of the bandits that Sakura was facing. This only served to tick Sakura off as she had enough of being considered useless. The bandits only continued their mocking of her before…

"Shanaroo!" (A/N: I also remembered that I have forgotten Sakura's little battle-cry before slamming her fist into someone's face) Sakura shouted before slamming her fist into one of the bandit's face, knocking him through several trees and leaving a shocked and paled look on the face of everyone who had just witnessed that.

"**What the hell has that Tsuande been doing with her?"** asked Kurama.

"_I don't know…but remind me never to get on her bad side again"_ thought Naruto.

"**Well, it's been nice knowing you, Kit. We both know you're going to piss her off at some point"** responded Kurama.

Sakura looked around at her teammate's expressions. "What? You think Tsunade-shisho has been teaching me only medical jutsu?" asked Sakura, who couldn't help but smile a little. While fine tuning Sakura's chakra control, Tsunade had also taught the pinkette how to use bursts of chakra to greatly increase her strength.

Naruto soon snapped out of his little trance. "Well, I guess now is as good of a time as any to give it a try. Futon: Great Breakthrough!" he shouted, taking a deep breath and mixing his chakra with the air in his lungs. When he unleashed it all, the 6 bandits he was facing were thrown off their feet and back several meters. "Yes! Looks like I'll be getting that B-rank jutsu when we get back!"

"Naruto, Sakura, you're Flames of Youth burn even brighter than the last time I have had the pleasure of fighting with you. Come, let us finish off the remainder of these bandits with one last youthful bout!" exclaimed Lee.

When the battle was over, Naruto, Sakura, and Lee learned a few shocking truths. The first was that Yurinojo and Kikujo were actually Land of Greens ninja who had a few special techniques that they called flower jutsu. However, the most surprising truth was that Shun was actually Princess Haruna of the Land of Greens.

"We never can get just a normal C-rank mission, can we?" Naruto whispered to Sakura.

This caused Sakura to chuckle a little. "Nope. I guess C-ranks that aren't what they seem are our specialty." Sakura then turned to the merchants. "So what exactly is going on here?"

"When Haruna-hime was a child, there was an attempted coup on our country. Fearing for Haruna's safety, he offered her to foreign countries to secure the welfare of our nation. Her father passed away a few weeks ago and we need to get Haruna-hime to the capitol to restore rule in the nation and to prevent another inevitable coup. From the looks of it, we need to hurry as they have already begun to move" said Yurinojo.

"Who are they?" asked Sakura.

"They are known as the Kurabachi. They are three siblings who have been targeting our country for some time. All three are powerful ninja who we were hoping to avoid by disguising ourselves as a merchant caravan" said Yurinojo.

Sakura sighed. Her first mission after being ambushed by the Sound Four of course had to involve them going up against three jonin level ninja and that they were really escorting a princess instead of a simple merchant caravan. "You do realize that this is something we should have been told from the very beginning. If you would have mentioned that, you would have been assigned jonin as protection instead of us three genin."

"We understand, but we need to maintain our cover and jonin guards we fear would draw too much attention" said Kikujo.

"Kikujo, Yurinojo, we need to move" said Haruna, talking for the first time since her identity had been revealed.

"But, Haruna-sama, what about the rest of the caravan?" asked Yurinojo.

"Just leave them. They'll just serve to slow us down. In fact, if one was to impersonate me, perhaps they could be used as a decoy while we make our way towards the capitol" said Haruna.

"What?! But Haruna-sama, if we do that, we leave them unprotected from an attack if the Kurabachi decide to attack" said Yurinojo.

"The so be it. If it means I can get back to the capitol safely, then that sacrifice is worth it" said Haruna before receiving an orange-gloved fist to the cheek.

"What the hell is your problem lady!" shouted Naruto.

"Naruto! Stop it" ordered Sakura.

"But Sakura, you heard what she said" said Naruto.

"I know. I hate to say that I agree that the rest of the peddlers would only slow us down and we need to move quickly now" said Sakura.

"But that doesn't mean that we should just sacrifice them and leave them defenseless" argued Naruto.

"I know that as well" Sakura said, while thinking for a moment. "Yurinojo, Kikujo, can you watch after the peddlers and make sure they reach the capitol safely? That way, my team and I can take Haruno-sama onward to the capitol at a quicker pace."

"But, what if they attack you? Surely you three can't take on a trio of jonin-level ninja all by yourselves" said Yurinojo.

"I think we can, but we can't protect an entire caravan full of innocents if they do attack. They are most likely to attack the princess, not the caravan" said Sakura.

"Sakura's right. It would be most unyouthful of them to target the merchants and distract us. Besides I have faith that the three of us will be more than enough for the three of them" said Lee, giving the 'nice-guy' pose.

* * *

"Don't worry, we'll get Haruna to the capitol" said Naruto, glaring at Haruna. "And we'll do it without leaving the merchants unprotected." Naruto made a few shadow clones and left them with the merchants. If anything happened to the caravan, he would know, and the shadow clones could provide a little protection if they were attacked by any low-level bandits.

The group that consisted of Sakura, Naruto, Lee, and Haruna had been making excellent time. To make things even better, Naruto had yet to receive any feedback from his clones, which meant that nothing had happened to the caravan.

As it was, given another two hours of traveling and they would arrive at their destination, and Naruto would be rid of this cold-hearted princess who had suggested 'sacrificing' the rest of the caravan to ensure that she got home safely. It was then that Naruto began to pick up on the presence of 'negative emotions' quickly closing in on them. There were only three targets and he could tell that they already seemed to be rather powerful. There was no doubt about it, the Kurabachi ninja were upon them.

"Move!" shouted Naruto as a hail of kunai and shuriken came sailing out of the trees towards them. Naruto and Sakura ducked to the side as Lee grabbed Haruna and jumped up into a tree.

"Well, it looks like couple of genin were able to dodge your attack after all, Richi." Three ninja landed on a tree branch opposite from Lee. All three of them looked similar, dressed in dark purple sleeveless shirts and pants. The all had similar long brown hair and a look of arrogance on their faces. The only real differences were that one of them was obviously female while the other two were males. "Now, Hand over the princess, or do you want to turn out like the rest of your precious caravan."

Sakura and Lee gasped while Naruto remained calm. He had gotten no feedback from his clones, so he was certain that they had not encountered any danger. Haruna on the other hand, remained unphased and this managed to piss Naruto off a little.

"Don't you care what happened to your protectors? Your friends?" asked Naruto to Haruna.

"They were simply there to slow them down. I would have imagined that they would have held off these attackers longer, but it seems like I was mistaken" said Haruna.

"Bah! Cut the crap already. They were willing to do anything to protect you and all you do is look at them like they're worthless" said a frustrated Naruto.

"It doesn't matter as long as I make it back to the capitol and can resume rule over this nation" said Haruna.

"The hell it does. Who are you going to look out for as a ruler if all you do is sacrifice them to protect yourself. A leader's supposed to put themselves before others and set an example" argued Naruto. "You know what, forget it. The caravan is still alive."

"Heh, I'm impressed you were able to see through my bluff without even so much as flinching" commented the other male Kurobachi, who was most likely Tsugi. Sakura and Lee let out a sigh of relief.

"I left clones back with the caravan. I would have known had they been attacked" explained Naruto.

"Hmm, the only type of clones I know that are able to do that are shadow clones. An interesting jutsu for a genin to have" said Tsugi. "But it does not matter, you still don't stand a chance against us."

"Wanna bet? Here's a little taste of my own shuriken storm. Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"  Naruto unleashed a barrage of over 100 shuriken upon the three enemy ninja. To Naruto's surprise, the shuriken were stopped before they could reach their target. They weren't deflected; they were simply hovering in midair as Tsugi had his arm extended.

"Hmm…an interesting technique, but still no match against us" said Tsugi. "Jiton: Repulsion!"

Naruto and the team barely had time to move as a hail of shuriken descended upon them. Naruto created a few clones to act as a shield between the shuriken and Sakura and himself.

"Naruto, Sakura!" shouted Lee. While Naruto's clone shield had taken care of most of the shuriken, a few had gotten through to the two members of Team 7. Thankfully though, the injuries weren't too severe, with the worst being a minor puncture wound that Sakura got to the side.

"Don't say we didn't warn you. You had your chance to hand over the princess and live, but I guess we'll just have to kill you now and then kill the princess" laughed Miki, the lone female member of the group.

Lee jumped down from tree he was in, telling Haruna to take cover behind one of the trees, only for him to be stopped mid-air. "Well what do we have here?" asked Richi, taking particular interest in Lee. "Feels like you've got something metallic in your legs."

"_Damn. So it looks like he can use the Jiton as well. To make things worse, the pieces of my staff that I have strapped to my legs are giving him control"_ thought Lee.

"Lee!" shouted Sakura as she rushed to help her teammate.

"Now where do you think you're going, Pinky?" asked Miki, jumping down in front of Sakura. As a response, Sakura unsealed some of the senbon from the seals on her new gloves and sent them towards Miki. Like what had happened with Naruto's shuriken, Sakura's senbon were stopped midair. "Haha, you really think metal weapons like that are going to work on us?"

With a flick of her wrist, Miki sent the senbon back towards Sakura, using the same repulsion jutsu that her brother had used against Naruto. Sakura panicked and managed to dodge all the senbon except one. Thankfully, she had not used the pink-tipped ones, but these were still the black-tipped ones. Even though one senbon worth of poison wouldn't completely paralyze her, she didn't have long before the poison would begin hindering her own movements.

Naruto growled at Tsugi, who just grinned. He grabbed a scroll from his side pocket and unsealed a couple dozen kunai form it, all of which were floating over his head and they were aimed at Naruto. "Jiton: Metallic Rain!" Tsugi declared as he sent the kunai hurling towards Naruto.

"Futon: Great Breakthrough!" Naruto called out. He was hoping that the wind would be able to know the kunai away, but sadly Tsugi's control of the kunai was too great for a little gust of wind to overpower. Naruto barely dove out of the way of the oncoming hail of kunai, only to be hit with one or two knives in the legs, resulting in two rather large gashes. As he recovered, Naruto noticed the cloud of kunai circling around a tree and returning for another go at him. Naruto was soon on the run, dodging the continuous barrage of kunai with no time to form his own jutsu.

After being flung around like a ball tethered to a post on a children's playground, Lee finally managed to unhook the fragments of a bostaff that he had strapped to his legs. To Richi's surprise, each foot long section of the staff had to weigh 60-70lbs each. It was a wonder the green-clad ninja could even move with them on his legs. As he was not comfortable with using a bostaff, he sent the fragments of Lee's staff flying away in six directions, nearly taking out Sakura with one of the fragments. He then proceeded to unseal his own weapons, a set of 6 long katanas. Like his brother, Richi could control these with his Jiton. "Jiton: Dance of Blades!"

Lee found himself surrounded by 6 blades, dodging attack after attack as he was unable to escape the circle of swords that he found himself in.

For Sakura, things weren't looking so good for her. She could already feel the effects of the poison on her system as her legs were beginning to slow down.

Unlike her brothers, Miki's weapon was not sealed as she pulled out a rather long chain with razor sharp barbs on it. "Jiton: Steel Serpent!" Miki called out as her chain seemed to come to life. It lashed out at Sakura, her impaired movement slowing her down to the point where the chain clipped her in the side as she stumbled back against a tree.

"_Damn, it's just like last time"_ thought Sakura, back to the Sound Four encounter. Like last time, she had been beaten into a corner and nearly killed, and now things weren't looking much different.

Watching from behind a tree, Haruna was seriously beginning to worry. The three genin that were assigned to protect her were not fairing so well against their superior opponents. Once they were dead, nothing would stand in the way of the Kurobachi siblings from getting to her. She had to get away, now while the attackers were still distracted. She hopped down from the tree and began running away from the scene of the battle. This however, did not go unnoticed to Naruto's opponent, Tsugi.

The cloud of kunai that Tsugi had sailing towards Naruto was redirected towards Haruna, in an attempt to take her down before she could get away. By the time Naruto realized this, it was too late and the rain of kunai was quickly descending upon Haruna.

"Haruna-sama!"

Blood was splattered across the road as the rain of kunai dug into flesh.

* * *

Lee was finding it unyouthful to be dancing in and out of the blades that he was busy dealing with. If only he could find an opening, then perhaps he could get to his opponent. However, the swords were moving too fast for him to even be able to think about attacking.

"_I need more speed. Even without my weights, I'm still too slow. I need to use the Gates. Four should do it. Please forgive me Gai-sensei" _thought Lee. He stopped his movements as Richi readied his swords for a swift and finishing blow. "Gate of Opening, open! Gate of Healing, open! Gate of Life, open! Gate of Pain open!"

Richi felt the burst of chakra come from Lee and knew he had to act quick or else he was in for trouble. He had all six swords attack Lee at once, but Lee disappeared before the swords could taste blood. Before Richi could react, he felt a swift kick hit him from beneath as he was sent flying into the air. Lee used the Shadow of the Dancing Leaf to appear behind Richi as he wrapped the Jiton-user in bandages, before beginning the high-speed decent back to earth. Richi slammed into the ground, head first. His neck snapped and he died from the impact. Lee powered down just in time to watch sakura finish off her opponent.

Sakura was cursing herself for being put in this situation again. She was backed against a tree and her opponent was taking advantage of her injury as Miki readied for the final blow. The steel chain lashed out at Sakura. _"No! I will not let this happen again!" _shouted Inner Sakura as Sakura regained some fire in her eyes. She grabbed the chain with one arm as it dug into her flesh. Ignoring the pain and the effects of the poison in her system, Sakura wrestled for control with Miki. When she gathered her chakra in her arms, she yanked on the chain with all her strength, uprooting Miki and sending the enemy kunoichi sailing towards Sakura.

"This is it!" screamed Sakura as she cocked back her free fist. "Shanaroo!" Sakura's fist made contact with Miki's face, unleashing an incredible amount of force. You could hear the bones shattering in Miki's skull as she was sent flying back, dead from the impact of Sakura's fist.

As she collapsed to her knees from the effects of the paralytic poison and the exhaustion of using her chakra, Lee rushed to her side, catching before she could fall to the ground.

"I've got you Sakura" assured Lee.

"Haruna-sama!"

Both Lee and Sakura turned their head towards the screaming as blood splattered across the ground. Expecting the worse, Haruna opened her eyes to see Kikujo standing over to her, pain in his eyes and blood coming out of his mouth. Tsugi's attack had been blocked by Kikujo, who now had dozens of kunai lodged in his back. He collapsed to the ground as Haruna looked on in shock.

Tsugi growled at his failed attack and Naruto growled at Tsugi. However, this gave Naruto his opening to take down Tsugi. He turned around and dashed towards the last remaining Kurobachi, forming an orb of blue chakra in his hands.

Tsugi saw Naruto's attack coming to late as Naruto slammed the orb into Tsugi's chest. "Rasengan!" Naruto shouted as the Rasengan sheared away at his chest, sending him crashing into the forest.

Naruto rushed over to where Lee and Sakura were running, the fallen Kikujo. By this time, the rest of the caravan had caught up and were in shock as well at Kikujo's sacrifice.

"Haruna…sama" Kikujo coughed out.

"Kikujo" said Haruna as she began to tear up.

"I'm sorry, my Hime. But I did what I needed to ensure the rightful person reclaims the throne" said a weakening Kikujo.

"No…please don't go" begged Haruna. "You've been with me for so long. I can't let you go." Haruna's heart was beginning to melt. Ever since she had left her home as a small child, Kikujo had always been there for her. Even when she was brooding about sacrifices being necessary for her survival, Kikujo had been one of the few, if not the only person who she actually trusted.

"No, my Hime. I did what I had to and I sacrificed myself to ensure that you can lead our country onward" said Kikujo as his last few breaths slipped through his mouth. "Please, just make sure our country is safe…for me…" With that, Kikujo left the world of the living.

Haruna continued to cry as the team of Konoha ninja mourned the loss of one of their newer comrades. Unbeknownst to them, they didn't notice the movement of many of the kunai. Then they heard a maniacal laugh behind them.

"Hahaha!" laughed what looked like a possessed Tsugi. He was coughing up blood and he would be dead in a few moments, however he wasn't going down alone. If he was going to die, he was taking someone else, hopefully Haruna, with him. "Now you've done it. Now you're going to die!" Tsugi gathered as many kunai as he could in front of him as Naruto growled at the enemy.

"I've had enough of you and your damn knife rain!" shouted Naruto as he pulled one of his dad's knives from his kunai pouch. He channeled wind chakra into it and threw it towards Tsugi.

"Hah, your knife is useless against me…huh?" said Tsugi. Unfortunately for him, he found that he couldn't control the wind-knife that Naruto had just thrown at him and before he could do anything else, the knife shot clear through the middle of Tsugi's chest, finally killing him.

Naruto turned around to see the caravan gathering around Kikujo's body. "I'm sorry…" cried out Haruna, catching everyone's attention. "I'm sorry I've treated everyone like they mean nothing that they are below me. I'm sorry. From now on, I'll put my people before me."

Naruto just smiled at the change of heart the princess was having. The caravan continued underway, carrying Kikujo's body to its final place of resting and Haruna towards the throne that she would soon claim.

* * *

"I thank you all for everything" said Haruna to the three Konoha ninja at the gate of the Land of Green's capitol. "And I apologize if I may have come off as a bit of a heartless snob when we first met."

"Nah, don't worry. You seem like you've changed so everything is alright. I am sorry about Kikujo though" said Naruto.

"Thank you for that. He has received a hero's burial and I won't be dishonoring his wish for me to lead this country to greatness" assured Haruna.

"We'll be going now, thank you for everything Haruna-sama and you'll do great I know it" said Sakura.

"But if you need anything, you know who to ask" said Naruto.

The three Leaf genin departed for home after spending a few days to rest up and attending Haruna's coronation. It was a three day journey at a ninja's pace for them to arrive back in Konoha.

* * *

"I'm relieved that the three of you are alright, and I'm impressed that the three of you took down the Kurobachi ninja" said Tsunade. "So were there any other developments on the mission?"

Sakura told the details about the mission. "Given everything that has happened. The Land of Greens has agreed to upgrade this mission to a B-rank and I do congratulate you for everything that was accomplished. Lee, even after disobeying my order and using the Gates, I feel you are fit to compete in the chunin exams" said Tsunade.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Thank you" said Lee.

"Now, this is the first time the three of you have had to deal with this, but as there was a bounty on the heads of the Kurobachi trio, you will be awarded your shares of the bounty. However, village policy is that the village takes 30% of the bounty. The rest of it will be divided amongst the three of you" explained Tsunade. "Do you understand?" the three genin nodded.

"Hmm…what did you guys get into this time?"

"Huh? Kakashi-sensei!" exclaimed Naruto. Kakashi and Sasuke had walked into the Hokage's office.

"Kakashi, you're late. I ordered you back a week ago" glared Tsunade. Kakashi just chuckled and came up with another ridiculous excuse.

"Right, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Lee. You three are dismissed. I've got to take care of Kakashi's late ass" said Tsunade as Kakashi gulped.

"Before you leave, meet where we first met tomorrow at noon" said Kakashi.

* * *

Jutsu/Techniques

Negative Emotions Sensing: An ability bestowed to Naruto for being able to use the Kyuubi's chakra to a high extent. This ability allows Naruto to detect the negative emotions in a person's hear (such as anger, fear, killing intent, rage, ect). This ability can also be used to detect when an enemy intends to strike.

Rank: Unknown

Users: Uzumaki Naruto

Jiton: Repulsion: An ability that belongs to those with the Magnet release (Jiton). What this does is it generates a magnetic pulse that repels all magnetic metals (iron-based).

Rank: B-rank

Users: Kurobachi Tsugi, Kurobachi Miki

Jiton: Metallic Rain: Kurobachi Tsugi uses his control over metallic kunai to guide and manipulate their path in the air. This is not only limited to a downward rain of kunai, but can also be used to snake a number of kunai towards a target.

Rank: A-rank

Users: Kurobachi Tsugi

Jiton: Dance of Blades: Kurobachi Richi controls up to 6 swords. These six swords act in unison as if each had a swordsman controlling them. He can then use the swords to attack his opponent in various fashions.

Rank: A-rank

Users: Kurobachi Richi

Jiton: Steel Serpent: Kurobachi Miki used her ability to manipulate magnetic forces to manipulate a long, barbed chain. The chain can strike head on, or twist itself around any obstacle like a snake to take out its target

Rank: A

Users: Kurobachi Miki

* * *

Author Notes

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, even if it was basically an adaptation from one of the anime arcs.

I did this chapter because Haruna and the Land of Greens will play a role in the future and I needed to establish some sort of basis for a relationship between her and Naruto/Konoha. Hopefully the battle was good and hopefully Haruna's change of heart was even somewhat believable. I also hope that Naruto's gaining of another jinchuriki ability was reasonably (it's the Negative Emotion Sensing that he got near the beginning of the Fourth Shinobi War in cannon). The reason why the magnet release didn't work on Naruto's Hiraishin kunai will be explained in a later chapter.

Up next, the reconvening of Team 7, a little bit of NaruHina, and maybe something a little more before the departure for Kumogakure no Sato.

Also, one last thing. The next chapters will be getting a bit longer as I start with the chunin exams shortly.

Please review/comment.


	47. Chapter 47

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

Posted: 1/4/13

* * *

**Chapter 47: Together Again**

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Lee had just exited Tsunade's office, only to hear a screaming come from the office. "Hey, guys I'll see you tomorrow. I kind of want to go get the B-rank jutsu Ero-Sennin and Baachan promised me before the jutsu archives close. That and I was kind of hoping to catch up with Hinata for the first time in what feels like two months" said Naruto before taking off.

"I'm going to take off to. I must strengthen my Flames of Youth before we leave for the chunin exams" exclaimed Lee as he ran off towards the training grounds.

All that left was Sakura and Sasuke in a kind of awkward silence. "Well, I'm sure you want to go off and train, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow Sasuke" said Sakura. She was about to walk off until Sasuke spoke up.

"Its getting late and I've been out in the wilderness training for the past month straight. I wouldn't mind getting some decent food and catching up, and seeing what you've been up to this past month" said Sasuke.

Sakura just froze at the turn of events. It almost sounded like Sasuke was asking her out. Inner Sakura practically screamed out in joy. But, Sakura realized that it probably wasn't a date, just two teammates catching up. She may have given up on her fan girl tendencies, but this she wasn't going to pass up. "Sure."

* * *

Naruto had just reached the jutsu archives. The shinobi librarian in charge of the archives wasn't quite sure what to say. It wasn't that this was Naruto looking for access into the B-rank jutsu archives. If the librarian was a civilian, then Naruto probably would have been kicked out on spot, but because the librarian was a shinobi, he saw Naruto as just that…a fellow shinobi. However, the rules were not to allow genin access to anything above C-rank and that was only for genin who had at least a year and a half of experience. Yet Naruto had a note signed by the Hokage allowing him to access one B-rank jutsu. The librarian in the end, just shrugged and let Naruto in. After a few minutes of searching, Naruto found something that interested him. Futon: Air Dragon Bullet. He remembered seeing something like this when Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza were fighting back in the Land of Waves. It was one of the first actual cool jutsu that he remembered seeing from Kakashi-sensei and he felt the wind version of it would be great.

Now that he had his jutsu that Baachan and Ero-Sennin had promised him, it was time to go find Hinata. He knew that she was somewhere in the village as it was now a week before every genin entered in the chunin exam left for Kumogakure. Tsunade had declared that every genin participating be given the week off to rest and train.

"_Found her"_ thought Naruto. He had spent about 20 minutes searching for his blue haired girlfriend. Naruto got that mischievous look on his face as he tried to sneak up on her.

Hinata felt someone was behind her and she turned around to see who it was.

"Hinata? Is everything alright?" Hinata had been walking with Tenten, the two of which had been growing closer over the time.

"Yeah, I just thought…nothing" replied Hinata. "I just thought someone was following me."

"And why would someone do that?" asked Tenten.

"Well, the elders have been a little more…well…"

"Hostile? Mean? Stalker-ish?" said Tenten, completing Hinata's thoughts.

"Well, yeah. They've been harder on me for the past months, trying to get me to back out of the exams. They're afraid I'll do something to embarrass the clan or something" said Hinata.

"Don't worry about those pieces of garbage. You just need something to get your mind off of it. And I know what'll help" said Tenten. "Lee's back, which means Naruto's back. A nice little date night should…"

"Hi-na-ta!"

Naruto had dropped down from the tree, hanging upside-down on the underside of the branch by his feet. His face was about level with hers and he had a big grin plastered on his face.

Hinata went red and then unconscious. "Well, she's getting better, but I can still make her faint if I surprise her" said Naruto. Tenten had her hand on her forehead and was just shaking her head.

Shortly after, Tenten and Naruto were on their way with Hinata unconscious on Naruto's back.

"So what have you been up to, Naruto?" asked Tenten.

"Ah you know, traveling with Ero-sennin, saving princesses, learning fuinjutsu…"

"Fuinjutsu…" Tenten was having trouble comprehending that one. She was familiar with fuinjutsu herself and Naruto just didn't seem like the fuinjutsu. "Are you sure you didn't his your head on the branch back there before dropping down to scare Hinata?"

"Why does everyone think that? I can so do fuinjutsu, see my gloves? I made those seals myself" said Naruto.

"Okay, okay. Just calm down. That's just one thing I didn't quite expect out of you. I know a little myself and it's not easy" said Tenten. "Speaking of which, what do those seals on your glove do?"

Naruto placed a hand over his glove and a few shuriken poofed into existence. Tenten just stared amazed. Naruto was actually telling the truth about fuinjutsu. "It makes it easier to store and carry shuriken" said Naruto.

"Na-ru-to?" said a just waking up Hinata.

"Hey, you're awake!" exclaimed Naruto. Seeing that she was on Naruto's back, Hinata readjusted her grip and even tightened a little, not wanting to let go. "Huh? Oh we're here."

To Naruto's surprise and Hinata's disappointment, they found themselves at Hinata's home. "Umm, Naruto…I was hoping well…since this was our first time back together in over a month…if you wanted to well…" Hinata began twiddling her fingers a little.

"So you wanted to go out tonight?" asked Naruto. Hinata looked up at the blonde, smiled and nodded. "Okay. Well, I kind of brought you back here so you could at least clean up and change. You look like you've been training pretty hard today. Tell you what, I'll come back in an hour and we can go, sound good?"

"Sure. Do you want to get some ramen then?" asked Hinata.

"Hey! That sounds great!" said Naruto. "I'll see you in an hour I guess."

"Hey Naruto, before you leave. Do you think you could show me how to make those seals on your gloves?" asked Tenten.

"Huh? Oh, yeah sure. How about sometime this week. Can't be tomorrow because I've got to meet with Kakashi-sensei, but I'll show you before we leave."

Naruto ran off, back to his apartment to change out of his Shinobi gear as Hinata went to do the same. Both looking forward to the first time they would see each other since Naruto went to Uzu with Jiriaya.

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke were walking through town, having come from the local tea shop where they went to catch up on recent events. They had mostly talked about what they had been up to, Sasuke telling about his time with Kakashi and some of the jutsu he had learned. Sakura on the other hand talked about the most recent C-rank, turned B-rank mission and even Sasuke joked that they couldn't manage to get an ordinary C-rank mission…wait, Sasuke, joke?

However, the one thing that caught Sakura's attention was that Sasuke sounded slightly impressed that Sakura had managed to take down her opponent, who was of chunin/low-jonin level. Now, Sakura had never known Sasuke to be impressed about anything her or Naruto had done, and she was a little freaked out at first. But she was sure that she heard a faint hint of impressed and satisfied with what she had been doing in Sasuke's tone.

She was, for the very first time, having a casual, two-sided conversation with Sasuke outside training or any ninja-related activity. That is, until they encountered something more terrifying than Orochimaru himself.

"Oh, hey guys" said Kakashi, sending a wave their direction. He, along with Ebisu and some unknown ninja were sitting around a miniature fire with a few tents pitched. Now, this would be alright, if it wasn't for the fact that the tents were pitched in front of a bookstore that had a huge sign, advertising the release of Icha Icha Violence, scheduled to be released the following morning. All three of them had an Icha Icha book of some volume in their hand and they were laughing with a perverted giggle.

"_That's just sad…"_ was all Sakura could think of.

"Sakura, I'm sorry to say, but I think I've changed my mind. I'll be going to find Orochimaru now" said Sasuke, trying to clear his head of the picture in front of him.

"No, I completely understand. It's going to take me years to get this image out of my head" replied Sakura.

The two parted ways as they went to try and cleanse their minds. _"Just my luck. I was actually getting Sasuke to talk to me a little bit more and it had to be ruined by a trio of perverted men, camping out for the release of some perverted book"_ thought a depressed Sakura.

"_**I'm going to strangle that perverted sensei when I see him tomorrow!" **_shouted Inner Sakura.

* * *

"Hey, welcome to Ichiraku. I'll be with you in one moment" said Teuchi, his back turned to the customers as he was busy cooking ramen.

"Hey Old Man" said Naruto.

Teuchi turned around to see his best customer, and a guest. "Well well, I was wondering when you'd finally bring your date here" said Teuchi, causing Hinata to blush.

Suddenly, there was a flash. "Aww, their so cute together, aren't they daddy?" asked Ayame.

Teuchi chuckled a little. "So Naruto, I've got the ingredients for one of the recipies, do you want me to give it a shot?" asked Teuchi.

"Really?! Hell yeah!" shouted Naruto.

"Umm recipes?" asked Hinata.

"Huh? Oh that's right. I haven't told you anything about what I found on my trip, have I?" realized Naruto. With that, Teuchi set down a rather large bowl of miso ramen for the two to share while he began to work on what the Uzumakis had called the their 'Swirling Tides Ramen'. While that was happening, Naruto began telling Hinata everything that happened on his trip. He told her what he found out about his mother. He told her about Jiriaya teaching him fuinjutsu. He told her about his discovery of his Uzumaki heritage and all the valuable scrolls and the sword he found. He then told her about how he kicked the Sound's ass out of Uzushiogakure. The only thing he didn't talk about was how he helped Jiraiya write his next Icha Icha book.

"I'm so happy you found out who your mother was and that she turned out to be who she was, a respected and strong kunoichi" said Hinata. "Did you find anything on who your father might be?"

Naruto nearly choked on his ramen when Hinata asked THAT question. _"Damn Ero-Sennin. I can keep that a secret from Sasuke. I can keep it a secret from Sakura. I can keep it a secret from just about anyone. But not her. I can't lie to Hinata. Gagh, what do I do?" _Naruto was practically beating him up on the inside as Teuchi sent him a worried look, wondering how Naruto would handle this. _"Damn it. I'll have to talk to Baachan and see if it's alright."_

"Naruto?" Hinata was tugging at Naruto's sleve when Naruto snapped out of his little trance.

"Oh, sorry Hinata. It's not something I can really talk about right now" apologized Naruto.

"Is everything alright?" she asked. She could tell there was some battle going on in Naruto's head. "I mean if you don't want to talk about it, I understand."

"No, I really do want to tell you, but I can't. At least not right here" said Naruto. "So what have you been up to these past months?" Naruto was trying to change the subject.

"Well umm, there was this one mission where we had to check up on a former student of Kurenai-sensei's. Her name was Kurama Yakumo and she was having some issues" said Hinata.

"Hmm…Kurama? I've heard that name before, but where?"

"**You've got five seconds before I beat you up and eat you…"** threatened the Kyuubi.

"_Oh come on. Take a joke. It's not my fault they named their clan after you"_ replied Naruto.

"Naruto?" Hinata was worried because Naruto paled.

"It's nothing. Stupid Furball just can't take a joke, that's all" replied Naruto. "So what happened?"

"Well, she apparently has a huge ability for genjutsu, but the only problem was that her mind manifested a demon of its own and her abilities had to be sealed. We were trying to remove it and thankfully we did" said Hinata. "So now Yakumo's going to be joining the shinobi forces as a genin once she receives a few remedial classes. Oh and I also completed that wind chakra exercise with the kunai."

"Wow! That's great" exclaimed Naruto. "Now you can learn this cool new jutsu I just got with me."

"That'll be nice. Oh and what was Tenten asking you about that seal she wanted you to show her?" asked Hinata.

"Oh, nothing much. It's just an advanced storage seal I made that makes carrying shuriken and kunai much easier" said Naruto. "I can make you one too or show you how to do it if you want."

"One bowl of Swirling Tide Ramen, straight from my new menu" said Teuchi, setting the bowl of Uzumaki ramen in front of Naruto. The fully thing was that it even looked like there was a spiral or a vortex in the ramen bowl formed by all the ingredients. Naruto took a bite and his eyes snapped open. The flavors were dancing around in his mouth, ever changing as if there was a ramen whirlpool in his mouth.

"Oh…my…" was all he could get out.

"So, how is it?" asked Teuchi. Hinata decided to see what the hype was about and took a chopstick full of ramen from the bowl. Her reaction was very similar as she was trying to comprehend the flavors that kept coming and going. There was something going on in this ramen, something almost magical.

"It's honestly the best ramen I've ever had" said Naruto before diving into the rest of the bowl. Teuchi laughed at his success.

"You know Pop, I've never seen him share ramen with anyone before" Ayame mentioned to her dad.

Teuchi chuckled a little at this. "Yes, it's surprising what adding a girl to your life will do."

"I still think they're the cutest. I'm going to go get the camera again" said Ayame, squealing a little.

Naruto and Hinata were sharing the large bowl of ramen Teuchi had placed in front of them. It wasn't long before they learned that the secret of this ramen was to just enjoy it and let it do its thing, not try and comprehend it. There was no comprehending this ramen, it was just too unpredictable and that's what made it amazing.

"Hey Hinata" Naruto said, catching the young girl's attention. "Have you done something with your hair? It looks a little different."

"Well umm, I've been thinking about growing it out. Do you…do you like it?" asked Hinata, hoping Naruto would say yes. At this point in time, her hair was about neck length. (**A/N**: Imagine her hair in shippuden and then just shorten it to neck-length. Besides, it takes a few years to grow it to the length she had It in shippuden)

"I think you'd look better with longer hair. I don't know why, but I like it better when girls have longer hair" said Naruto. "Besides, why do you think I started that rumor that Sasuke liked girls with long hair back in the academy?"

"That was you?" said a surprised Hinata.

"Yep. I did it so all the girls in the class would grow their hair out. Besides, no one would grow their hair out if I had said it was 'Naruto who liked girls with long hair'" said Naruto.

"Umm…I would have. The only reason I didn't was because I didn't want to look like a fan girls. I was hoping you would notice me if I didn't do what everyone else did" said Hinata. Now Naruto felt bad. The whole 'I didn't notice Hinata back in the academy' was still a sore subject for him. "I'm sorry Naruto."

"No, it's okay. Things just never went my way back then, but that doesn't matter. We're here now, aren't we?" Naruto grinned and Hinata smiled with him.

"_Damn it. I have to tell her. I can't keep the secret from her and she of all people deserves to know."_

* * *

"This paperwork's going to kill me!" shouted Tsunade. "That's it, Shizune we're going drinking tonight!"

Shizune sighed, but there was a knock on the door.

"What now?" groaned Tsunade, practically on the verge of tears.

"Hey Baachan. Sorry, but I need to ask a huge favor" said Naruto, coming into Tsunade's office.

"_Great, the brat's just what I need now"_ thought Tsunade sarcastically. "Fine…what is it?"

"I need to tell Hinata about my dad" Naruto blurted out. Tsuande just stared wide-eyed at the blonde.

"And why should I let you do that. You know how dangerous a secret that is" said Tsunade.

"Yeah. I can keep that secret from anyone, but I just don't think I can keep it from her. You've gotta understand, she's been there for me and to me, she deserves to know. Come on Baachan, I can trust her" begged Naruto.

"I figured this would come" said Jiraiya, appearing in the window.

"Damn it Jiraiya, don't you ever use the door" shouted Tsunade.

"Jiriaya, you can't possibly be thinking of letting Hinata in. I know she may be trustworthy, but this secret is huge" argued Tsunade.

"I've been thinking about it. Her father knows after all and he can help her keep it" said Jiraiya.

"But still…" Tsunade was interrupted.

"I'll stop calling you 'Baachan' for a few months" said Naruto. This immediately got Tsunade's attention.

"What?!" she said, leaning her ears towards Naruto. "Did I hear correctly?"

"I said, I'll stop with the 'Baachan' stuff for a few months. Tsuande-sama" said Naruto, adding the Tsunade-sama part to make it more convincing.

"_I think Naruto wins this one"_ thought Jiraiya.

"Fine. But if I hear you mention the word 'Baachan', I'll bust your ass back to the preschool class in the academy!" said Tsunade. "So when do you want to tell her?"

"Now" said Naruto, turning to the door. "Hinata, you can come in!"

Hinata stepped through the door, still confused as to why Naruto would have to see the Hokage to talk about his father.

"Hinata" Tsuande addressed.

"Hai, Hokage-sama" responded Hinata.

"The Gaki here requested that you be told about the identity of his father. This is an S-class secret, do you understand?" said Tsunade.

"I mean, if it's too much trouble I don't need to…" said Hinata.

"No Hinata, this is one secret that I won't keep from you. I don't think I could anyways and that's why we came here" said Naruto.

"Okay, I understand" said Hinata. _"Please let Naruto's father be someone great and noble."_

"Fine. Seeing as you know about the Kyuubi sealed inside him, I'll start from the beginning. The night the Kyuubi attacked and the Yondaime was forced to sacrifice himself in order to seal it, he had to use a newborn infant to seal the Kyuubi in. However, the Yondaime was the type of person who could never ask another family to give up their child for the sealing ritual, so…he used his own son" said Tsunade.

"WHAT?!" That night, was probably the loudest anyone had ever heard Hinata shout. "You-you mean Naruto is…"

"Yes Hinata, my dad is the Yondaime Hokage" said Naruto.

Hinata spent the next twenty minutes just trying to take everything in. She was angry that Naruto's own father had sealed the Kyuubi inside him and condemned him to the life he currently lived. However, she quickly realized that the Yondaime had done what he had to in order to protect the village and that he never wished for this life for his son. It wasn't his fault that the villagers couldn't see Naruto as anything but the Kyuubi. She was sad that Naruto was denied the life he should have had. Being the son of the Hokage, he should have been treated as practically royalty, but he was treated as nothing more than a piece of trash on the street. She was happy that Naruto now knew who his parents were and that they were who they turned out to be. She was afraid that they would be some sort of disgrace to the village, but they weren't. They were two of Konoha's greatest heroes. Lastly, she was hopeful. Hopeful that when the day came that Naruto's heritage would truly be revealed, that her clan would openly accept their relationship, not just her father, Neji, and a small handful of branch members.

"Hinata, are you okay?" Naruto finally asked.

"Yeah, it's just a lot to take in" replied Hinata. "I still can't believe that you're the son of Konoha's greatest hero."

"I know, great isn't it" Naruto said, a huge grin plastered across his face.

"Now Hinata, you do understand that is to remain a closely guarded secret until Naruto turns 16, correct?" Hinata nodded to Tsunde. "The only people who know right now are myself because I'm Hokage and I need to know these things, Jiriaya because he's Naruto's godfather, your father because he was a close friend of Minato's, and Teuchi because he's the only one in the village with half a brain to connect the dots."

Naruto and Hinata left the office so Tsunade could finally go and relieve some stress by drowning herself in sake. They found a nice spot on top of the Yondaime's head. Now Hinata understood why this was always where Naruto went. For the next hour or so, they talked and kissed a bit, until the curfew that Hiashi had placed on their dates came and the two were forced to say goodnight.

* * *

The next morning, Naruto was making his way to the academy, the place where Team 7 had first met Kakashi. However, he was stopped when he saw all the children outside showing off their newly earned forehead protectors to their parents. They had just had the graduation exams that morning.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted as she joined her teammate. Sasuke joined them as he jumped down from the tree.

"Hey guys, has it really been a year already?" asked Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura quickly realized what Naruto was talking about as they saw all the new genin with their forehead protectors.

"Wow, I guess it has" said Sakura. "Heh, we had one hell of a first year for genin."

The three reminisced for a few minutes before continuing to the top of the academy where they were supposed to meet. As normal, Kakashi wasn't there on time and they suspected he would be an hour or two late.

"Naruto, about those gloves you made yourself Sakura…" Sasuke said, not wanting to complete the sentence.

"Huh? Did I hear that right? Sasuke wants me to make him a pair of those gloves?" asked Naruto, nagging on Sasuke a little.

"Hn" was all Sasuke did to respond.

"Jeez, if you want a pair, then all you have to do is ask" said Naruto.

Sasuke swallowed his pride. "Well, can you?"

"Can I what?" said Naruto.

"Don't push it Dobe" said Sasuke. "Can you make me a pair of those gloves?"

"See, that wasn't too hard" said Naruto. "And it just so happens that I've got an extra pair too." Naruto pulled out a pair of black gloves that he had also picked up from the cart. "Anything specific? I mean Sakura asked to be able to put different types of senbon in."

"Wait, what?" asked Sasuke. Sakura showed him the seal on her gloves and it was a more advanced storage seal than he was used to seeing. _"The Dobe can make a seal like that?"_

"Is it possible to do wired shuriken?" asked Sasuke. Naruto nodded and began drawing out a larger version of the seal on a scroll. It looked different than Sakura's but it had what Sasuke was looking for. A primary kanji for the shuriken storage and a second kanji for the storage of ninja wire. Naruto paused for a moment and added a third storage kanji that would be used for fuma shuriken, since he remembered from the wave that Sasuke liked those as well. He then quickly scribes the seal matrix, intertwining them all as Sakura and Sasuke looked on in amazement as Naruto finished the first seal. He placed the first glove on top of the seal and made a few quick hand seals.

"Fuinjutsu: Seal Imprint" Naruto called out as the seal that he had on the paper began to migrate onto the underside of the wrist of the glove. When all was said and done, the seal was no longer on the paper and it was now on the glove. The three kanji that he had drawn were there and a condensed version of the matrix was visible. Naruto did the second glove, Sasuke and Sakura watching closely to make sure the first wasn't a fluke. "You got any shuriken, ninja wire, and even a fuma shuriken or two?"

"Fuma shuriken?" asked Sasuke.

"Yeah, I remembered you liking those so I added a third storage kanji for those" said Naruto.

Sasuke quietly handed Naruto the stuff, not sure what to say. Naruto sealed the items and handed the gloves to Sasuke. "Now, it may take a little to get used to how to channel the chakra though those seals, but it shouldn't take long. Sakura figured it out after about an hour."

Sasuke nodded and faced one of the trees that were on top of the academy and summoned a few shuriken. The amount was more than he had hoped, but he was surprised that Naruto's seal even worked. On the next attempt summoning shuriken, he reduced his chakra by a lot and only got one shuriken to appear. Naruto was right, it would take a little getting used to, but he was already getting the hang of the amount of chakra to put in to summon a certain number of shuriken. He tried the wired shuriken and those worked well too, the wire not cutting until he decided to stop the flow in the wire compartment. What surprised him even more was how Naruto had added the fuma-shuriken compartment and how the seal could actually wire the shuriken for him.

"So, how are they?" asked Naruto.

"Are you sure you're Naruto? The dobe I knew could never put something like this together" taunted Sasuke.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean? What do you think I've been doing for the past months?" asked Naruto.

Sasuke smirked, receiving the same from Naruto. "Our first day back together and you two are already going at each other's necks…"

"Huh?" all three of them turned around to see Kakashi standing on top of the stairwell.

"You're Late!" shouted Naruto and Sakura.

"Yeah yeah, sorry guys but you see…"

"You just wanted to read that book you got, didn't you?" asked Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura shivered at the mention of that book.

"Yeah yeah, so why don't we begin with some introductions?" said Kakashi.

"What? But we already know each other. This isn't like the first time we met, sensei" said Sakura. She had the strange feeling that this was turning out to be just like the very first time they all met.

"I know, but I'm sure the three of you have changed quite a lot in the past month and I just want to get a feel for where everyone's at now" said Kakashi.

"How about you go first, Kakashi-sensei. And don't give us any of that no desire to tell us about stuff" said Naruto.

"Okay. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I like books, masks, and dogs. I dislike people who abandon their comrades. I guess you could say my hobby is reading" said Kakashi. "How about, you Sakura."

"_At least that was better than last time. This is still ridiculous though"_ thought Sakura. "I'm Sakura, although you already know that. I like medicine and medical ninjutsu. I dislike being a burden and anyone who thinks I'm a weak just because I'm a girl. I guess my hobbies would be studying medicine and my goal is to become the strongest kunoichi like my master."

"_Looks like she's taking her duties as a ninja more seriously now. It's funny how she used to be a silly little fan girl, yet she's grown a lot" _thought Kakashi. "Alright, Naruto you're next."

"Right! I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, Hinata, and fuinjutsu. I dislike people who unfairly judge others and those who insult the Hokages. My hobbies are eating different kinds of ramen, training, and studying fuinjutsu. My dream is still the same. I'm going to become the strongest Hokage! –ttebayo!"

"_Well, he's still a ramen addict, but the fuinjutsu part is interesting. I look forward to seeing if he can surpass Minato-sensei"_ thought Kakashi. "Alright Sasuke, you're last."

"Hn. Uchiha Sasuke. I like training and getting stronger. I hate people who hurt and kill those I care about and worthless fangirls who could be doing something better than annoying me. My hobby is training. As for my dream, there are a few people I'm going to kill so they never take away my friends again."

"_Interesting. He's still bent on revenge, but he's changing, even if its slow. His reasons for wanting to kill them are becoming more reasonable and he's finally starting to open up"_ thought Kakashi. "Good. All of you have changed and I'm interested to see where you all will go in the future. Now follow me."

Team 7 followed Kakashi back to the site where they were first inducted as ninja, training ground 7. "Brings back memories, doesn't it?" asked Sakura.

"You mean like me getting tied to a post?" replied Naruto.

"Or me getting buried up to my neck in the ground?" replied Sasuke.

Sakura let out a small laugh and the three members heard the jingling of bells behind them. They turned around to see Kakashi carrying the same two bells that he had back when they were first formed as a team. "Are those?"

"I think you all know what to do. You've got two hours to get the bells from me. The ones who don't have a bell by the end of the time limit buy dinner" said Kakashi. "I suggest…"

"Come at you with the intent to kill, right?" finished Sasuke, activating his Sharingan. Kakashi nodded and lifted his own headband.

"I've got a feeling I'm going to need this now" said Kakashi. The three genin braced themselves. "Okay, ready…set…go."

With that, Team 7 darted off into the woods and Kakashi looked around to try and find them. Unlike the last time, it was much harder for him to detect them. He was relying on his Sharingan to find them, while last time he had been able to see them with simple observation skills.

"Come on and fight me!" shouted Naruto, standing in the middle of the field in-front of Kakashi.

"_Once an idiot, always an idiot I guess"_ thought Kakashi. Sasuke and Sakura, who were watching were thinking the same thing. That is until they heard rustling coming from behind them. The turned to see that Naruto, or at least Naruto clones, had found them.

"Shh…that's a clone of mine. Just wait for my move and strike" said the clone. Both Sakura and Sasuke nodded at the clones as they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Naruto, you're still a bit off. I thought you would have learned by now" said Kakashi.

"Yeah yeah. I'm going to show that I can kick your ass right here, right now!" declared the Naruto clone. He charged at Kakashi, swinging his fist at Kakashi's face. Kakashi blocked with ease and threw the clone. Naruto managed to land on his feet so to not dispel himself. Naruto swung a few more times at Kakashi, basically a repeat of last time. As Naruto swung another punch at Kakashi, the silver haired jonin disappeared and reappeared behind Naruto, having his hands in a very familiar tiger seal.

"I thought you would have learned by now. What did I tell you about letting your enemies get behind you?" asked Kakashi. Before Naruto could move, it was too late. "Hidden Leaf Ancient Supreme Taijutsu Technique: 1000 years of pain!" Kakashi shouted as he rammed his fingers right up Naruto's ass, sending the unfortunate blonde flying and clutching his violated ass. The blonde crashed in the ground in front as Kakashi chuckled. It was at this time that Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "What?" Kakashi actually sounded surprised. In the trees, Sakura and Sasuke readied themselves.

By the time Kakashi realized he had been fighting a clone this entire time, the real Naruto was already running towards him, hands in the same seal that Kakashi had just used. "Hey Kakashi-sensei, what was that about not letting your enemies get behind you? Hidden Leaf Ancient Supreme Taijutsu Technique: 1000 years of pain!" Naruto lunged forward, intending to pay Kakashi back for the first time they fought. Kakashi's eyes widened as Naruto's fingers came closer to their target. Just as Naruto was about to land the attack, Kakashi jumped.

"Damn it. I missed!" swore Naruto.

Sasuke saw this as his opportunity and unleashed a few shuriken at the airborne Kakashi. The shuriken wrapped around Kakashi, ensnaring him in wire. "Katon: Dragon Fire Jutsu!" flames shot down the wires and engulfed Kakashi as Sasuke and Sakura jumped into the clearing with Naruto.

"Do you think you over did it, Sasuke?" asked Sakura.

"Nope" replied Sasuke. When the flames died, Kakashi was replaced by a charred log. The three of them instantly snapped to attention when they realized they lost tabs on their opponent.

"Where?" asked Sasuke. His Sharingan couldn't pick up on any movements from Kakashi. "Left? Right? Behind? Above?"

A pair of hands shot up out of the ground and grabbed Sasuke by the ankles, dragging him into the ground. Naruto and Sakura stepped back a little as Kakashi reappeared in front of them and standing over a buried Sasuke. "Nice try, but the three of you can't get a _head_ of me that easily" joked Kakashi.

"Hn" was all Sasuke said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"What? Shadow clone? But when did Sasuke learn that jutsu?" asked Naruto.

"Remember that day when he copied it off of you with the Sharingan?" asked Kakashi.

"Oh, right. I've still gotta kick his ass for that" replied Naruto.

"Futon: Great Breakthrough!" was heard from the bushes. Kakashi braced himself as a powerful gust of wind came from the bushes. At the same time, Naruto and Sakura disappeared in a puff of smoke, revealing them to be shadow clones as well.

Kakashi felt a spike of pain in his thigh as he held his ground against Naruto's attack. When the wind subsided, he looked down to see a black-tipped senbon embedded in his left leg.

"Got him" said Sakura in success.

"Yeah, but you only hit him with one of the senbon" replied Sasuke.

"Still, that one has paralytic venom in it. It won't be enough to completely stop him, but it will slow him down" replied Sakura.

"I guess it's better than letting him run around uninhibited" said Sasuke.

Kakashi drew his kunai as Naruto came charging him with his own kunai at the ready. Naruto slashed his knife at Kakashi, who blocked with his, until Naruto's kunai sliced through Kakashi's knife and left a small knick on his mask, drawing some blood.

"I see. Wind chakra channeled into your special kunai, not bad Naruto. You're getting better at deception with your clones as well, but that won't be enough to stop me" said Kakashi as he jumped back onto the water and began flipping through hand seals. "Suiton: Water Dragon Bullet!" Naruto tried to run as a giant water dragon came roaring down on top of him. This Naruto wasn't a clone and he couldn't do anything to avoid being washed away by the water.

Naruto felt a wire wrap around him as he was pulled from the water by Sasuke. "Damn it" swore Naruto. The three genin of Team 7 regrouped on the branches of some nearby trees.

"We need another plan" said Sasuke.

"I think I might have one, listen in" said Sakura.

Kakashi had taken cover behind a tree, waiting for the next attack. His students were running out of time and he knew they would need to attack soon if they wanted to get the bells. Kakashi noticed the three of them crouching down in a bush ahead of him.

"Are you sure that will work?" asked Sakura to Naruto.

"Yeah. All we need to do is get that book of his" said Naruto.

"What are you three thinking of doing with my precious book?" asked Kakashi, standing above them. The three genin snapped to attention. Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he threw two kunai into Naruto and Sasuke, dispelling the shadow clones.

"Eep" was all Sakura could say before Kakashi threw a kunai into her as well, dispelling her. However, Sakura was not a shadow clone and she disappeared in a flurry of sakura blossoms.

"Genjutsu!" said Kakashi. "Kai!" He released the genjutsu just in time to see another wired shuriken wrap around him. The shuriken then transformed into Naruto, as Kakashi realized that Naruto and Sasuke had done something similar to him that they did against Zabuza, using a transformed Naruto, disguised as a shuriken. Kakashi instantly threw Naruto away, breaking free of the wire that restrained him.

"Not bad. You three are definitely faring better than the last time we fought, I'll give you that" said Kakashi. In the distance, they heard a ring of the alarm as it went off, indicating that they had reached the time limit. "Better, but not good…huh?" Kakashi felt for the bells but realized that they weren't there.

"Looking for these, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto, holding up the pair of bells.

Sakura let out a little laugh and Sasuke just smiled.

Kakashi let out a sigh. "Looks like you guys win this one" admitted Kakashi. "The three of you really have come a long way."

A growl was heard from Naruto's stomach. "So where are you treating us to dinner, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto.

* * *

Team 7 arrived at the Barbe-Q restaurant that Kakashi was planning on treating them to. When they stepped they stepped inside, Team 8, Team 10, and Team Gai were also there.

"Kakashi, you're late" said Kurenai.

"Sasuke! So you didn't get up and disappear. Get over here you bad boy" squealed Ino. Sakura's and Tenten's sweat dropped. Tenten had always disliked fan girls and now that Sakura had given up on being a fan girl to become a better kunoichi, Ino was now considered a bit of a disappointment in their eyes. When Sasuke took his seat, he intended to have Sakura on his left and Naruto on the right, acting as any sort of barrier for the ravage fan girl of the group. This would also place Naruto next to Hinata, but before Naruto could sit, Ino snatched the seat from under him.

"Was I really that bad?" muttered Sakura.

"No, the two of you always competing with one another made it worse" replied Naruto. Naruto felt a sudden spike of killing intent from Sakura and realized he better find his seat soon. Fortunately, Kurenai offered to take the seat next to Asuma, where Ino had been sitting, while Naruto could sit on the other side of Hinata.

A little into the dinner, Naruto finally asked one question that was on everyone's mind. "Hey Kakashi-sensei, so do you know what the Kumo exams are like?"

Everyone stopped their conversations and listened in. "Well let me see" Kakashi thought for a moment. "I know for sure that it will be the same structure as our exam was. All the chunin exams use the same format now, ever since the last Kage Summit was held after the First Shinobi World War and the chunin exams were formed to take place of war in peace times. I know for certain that there will be some sort of information gathering exam as the first exam, a type of survival exercise as the second exam, and a series of single combat matches as the third exam."

"So what is each exam going to be like?" asked Kiba.

"Well, the first exam I'm not really sure. I've seen different tests given at different locations. For us, its usually a form of written examination where you are encouraged to cheat to test your information gathering skills. I know that Suna does the same as we do, but I believe Kiri, Iwa, and Kumo do a different type of test. I know one of them does an interrogation as their test, it might be Kumo in fact I think it is, but I'm not positive" said Kakashi.

"Hmm, okay. Sounds easy enough" said Kiba, putting on a mask of confidence.

"How about the second exam, sensei?" Sakura asked this time and it was Asuma that answered.

"The survival exam is very similar across the board. Basically, you will be assigned as teams to compete against one another over various items. It will be very much like the second exam you all took, just they may be asking you obtain different items and the terrain will obviously be different" said Asuma.

"And the third exam, you said will be 1-on-1 matches. So I'm guessing there will be a tournament like our exams?" asked Shikamaru. He decided to join along even though he wasn't participating in the exams. Shikamaru had been given permission to travel along with the rest of the Konoha ninja as an official.

"Now that's where Kumo is different" said Gai.

"What do you mean, Gai-sensei?" asked Lee.

"Kumo likes to see as many of their chunin-hopefuls pass as possible, so they have adopted a system that favors many participants in the final exams. They don't do a tournament like we do, where more competitors means more matches. More matches means that competitors get exhausted and by the time the final matches are held, the candidates are too tired to put on their best performance. Also, given the number of chunin hopefuls they like to have in their third round, their system is a bit more time effective than a tournament, which I honestly don't understand" explained Gai.

"Why's that, Bushy-Brows-sensei?" asked Naruto.

"Their third round consists of two sets of matches, held three days apart from each other. You fight the first round of matches and then you're given three days to recuperate for the second round. As long as you can fight, you will have a second match" said Gai.

"So everyone has two matches to impress the judges?" asked Tenten.

"Yes. Kumo does this to ensure they promote the most chunin possible. It is very rare to see a ninja be promoted after a single match, especially if they lose" explained Gai.

"I see. So this way, even if you lose your first match due to a bad match-up or something, you still have another chance" said Shikamaru. "I see how Kumo would use this system to ensure that their candidates have a chance to show off more if they truly do like to stack the ranks with their own shinobi."

"Yes, you'll all be at a disadvantage being at a foreign exam, but I have faith that your Flames of Youth will burn bright! All of you!" shouted Gai. Lee got fired up with his sensei, Kiba shivered at the thought, and everyone else's sweat dropped.

"Now hold on. Ino, if you and Chouji are competing, don't you need a third?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah. Tsunade-sama helped us there and found us a third. We met him the other day and he seems pretty polite" said Ino.

"So, who is he?" asked Sakura.

"He's actually from Neji and Hinata's clan, Shinji's his name" said Ino. Instantly, Hinata stiffented, Neji nearly choked on his food and Naruto growled. Ino caught this. "What?"

"I-ino, he's not what you think…" said Hinata.

"He's most likely acting polite so he can get the approval by Tsunade-sama to be in the team. But in reality, he's a…well" Neji's politeness was stopping him from finding the correct words.

"He's a complete ass!" replied Naruto. "Every time I run into him at Hinata's house, he's always insulting her and putting her down. I swear if I run into him in the exams I'm going to shove a Rasengan up his ass to keep that gigantic stick company!"

"Naruto!" responded Hinata.

"Sorry, you know how worked up he gets me though" responded Naruto.

"Naruto's right. He is…to put it nicely, a main branch Hyuga" said Neji.

"But, isn't Hinata in the main branch?" asked Chouji. "They can't be that bad, can they?"

"Yes. You have to realize that Hinata is not liked amongst the main branch because she's gentle and kind, something they see as weak" said Neji.

"He's just an arrogant, selfish prick" said Naruto. "Besides, Hinata could kick his ass any day. I'll just say this, he's worse than Neji used to be, way worse."

"And what's that supposed to mean, Naruto?" Neji glared at the blonde.

"You know what I meant. The main difference is that you were mad at everyone for what happened in your past, he's just an ass to anyone he sees as inferior to him" said Naruto.

Suddenly, Ino and Chouji were cursing their fortune in finding a third.

"Ino, Chouji. The best piece of advice I can give you is just to put up with him. You only need to do so for the first two exams, afterwards you're pretty much done with him. He won't care about the two of you besides what is needed for him to pass. I suggest you handle him the same" advised Neji.

When the meal and conversations finally ended, everyone went their separate way. Naruto was fortunate enough to catch Kakashi before he left though. "Kakashi-sensei, there's something I want to talk to you about?"

"I know. You want to know about him, don't you?" asked Kakashi, pulling out his own Hiraishin kunai that Minato had given him for his becoming a jonin present.

"Please" asked Naruto.

"Well, it's getting late so how about we talk tomorrow evening, sound good?" Naruto nodded to Kakashi.

"Good, now go and get some rest so you can put some good effort into the training this next week" said Kakshi. "Besides, I hear you've got a cool new jutsu you need to work on."

* * *

Jutsu

Futon: Air Dragon Bullet: The user blows out a mass of compressed air that is shaped like a dragon's head. The air dragon then basically clamps it's jaws down on its target as the target is hit with a blast of compressed and sharpened air.

Rank: B

Users: Uumaki Naruto (to be), Hyuga Hinata (to be)

Fuinjutsu: Seal Imprint: A basic fuinjutsu technique that allows the user to transfer a seal from a scroll/paper onto a desired object. This also will shrink the seal down to a more appropriate size.

Rank: C

Users: Uzumaki Naruto, Jiraiya, Hatake Kakashi, and just about anyone with a little more than a basic understanding of seals.

Suiton: Water Dragon Bullet: This technique gathers a large mass of water and shapes it into a giant, powerful dragon. This attack hits the opponent with a formidable amount of force, dealing physical damage.

Rank: B

Users: Hatake Kakashi, Momoichi Zabuza

* * *

Author Notes

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

So we had Naruto and Hinata discussing their past month or so over some ramen. And yes, Hinata does know about Naruto's parents now (both of them).

I decided to have all three of them go through another bell test and yes they were all holding back. I will reveal more of their skills in the chunin exams.

Also, I have mentioned Yakumo. With that, imagine the anime arc with Yakumo, only with just Team 8 and no Naruto. Yakumo will be joining the Konoha ninja and she will be seen more in the shippuden era.

Lastly, I have given some insight into Hyuga Shinji's personality. Yes, he's basically an ass.

Next chapter will be wrapping up a few things in Konoha and the trip to Kumo.

Please Review/Comment.


	48. Chapter 48

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Naruto.**

Posted: 1/10/13

* * *

**Chapter 48: Onwards…to Kumo**

"Rasengan!"

"Kaiten!"

Naruto and Neji were at it again. Neji had found some way to strengthen his own Kaiten and now he was asking Naruto to, once again, test its strength with his Rasengan. Like the previous times, an explosion followed, enveloping Naruto and Neji in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, both genin were facing each other, not having given ground to the other.

"Heh, so you can withstand the Rasengan now. What'd you change this time?" asked Naruto.

"As you and Hinata-sama have been working on chakra nature manipulation, so have I. However, I possess the nature of my clan, earth. By adding earth chakra to my Kaiten, I have been able to increase the power of my defense. Judging by that last attack, I would say my Kaiten is now on par with your Rasengan" said Neji. Naruto just smirked. "Now Sasuke. If you would, I would like to test my defense against your Chidori as well."

Sasuke stepped forward from the tree he was leaning against and nodded at Neji. "Ready?" Sasuke asked, forming the seals for Chidori. Neji nodded and Sasuke ran at Neji, his jutsu active.

"Chidori!"

"Kaiten!"

The two attacks collided, but Sasuke's Chidori sliced through Neji's defence like butter. If it wasn't for the reflexes that he had gained over the past month from trainng with Kakashi, he wouldn't have been able to cancel the jutsu in time as he himself collided with Neji and the two were sent tumbling across the ground.

"Niisan!" Hinata ran to her cousin's side, hoping nothing serious had been done.

"That was a little too close" said Sasuke, trying to peel Ino off of him, who had come running with Hinata.

"Yes. It appears my assumption was correct" stated Neji.

"Assumption?" asked Sasuke.

"The chakra I was using for the Kaiten was earth-based. I wanted to test it against a lightning-based attack to see how well it withstood. I was afraid that being at an elemental disadvantage, my Kaiten would prove ineffective, and I was correct" said Neji. "Your Chidori, a jutsu of equal power as Naruto's Rasengan, bested my improved Kaiten due to the elemental advantage. I believe my defense would work against lower lightning jutsu, but something like the Chidori…well, I think we all know."

"It appears as if you still have some work to do" said Naruto.

"So it does, if I truly wish to make the Kaiten an 'ultimate defense'" said Neji. "Although I thank you and Sasuke for your help."

"Hey Hinata, you want to go work on that new wind jutsu now?" Hinata nodded to Naruto's question and the two of them went off to their own separate corner of the training ground that the entire Konoha 12 were at.

"Damn it, where is that lazy sensei?" asked Sakura. She was waiting for Kakashi for a good hour now after the time that he said he would show. In reality, she shouldn't have been surprised.

"This is Kakashi we're talking about. If you're waiting for him, expect to be waiting another hour or two, especially now that he's got…" Sasuke and Sakura just shivered at the thought, still unable to get the image of that night out of their heads.

"Yeah, I shouldn't be surprised, but there is just something I've been dying to ask him" said Sakura. Sasuke looked on with a little interest. "You remember that day after Naruto told us that he had wind chakra and Kakashi tested my chakra for the fire nature."

"You want to learn a fire jutsu, don't you" responded Sasuke as he walked over towards…well Sakura really wasn't sure.

"Yeah. I've been studying medical jutsu for about two months now and while I'm progressing fast, I don't have any combat applications for it yet. I was hopping Kakashi-sensei might be able to teach me some sort of fire jutsu that might be enough to get me through these exams" said Sakura. To her bewilderment, Sasuke tossed Sakura a stick. "What's this for?"

"Fire jutsu training. Mold chakra into your hands and superheat it. Once you can ignite the stick on fire, you'll be ready to learn a fire jutsu or two" explained Sasuke.

"Umm…really?" asked Sakura in disbelief.

"Yep" replied Sasuke. "In fact, once you get that stick ignited, I might even show you one of mine."

Ino observed the whole event, completely dumbfounded. "Sasuke, do you think you could show me something?" asked Ino, hoping to get in on Sasuke's 'I'll help you' train.

"Nope" replied Sasuke before walking away.

Ino got a bit mad before turning to Saukra. "Okay, spill it! What did you do Billboard-Brow" shouted an angry Ino. Surprisingly, Sakura wasn't phased. In fact, she laughed a little.

"Ino…I'm not the silly little fan girl who always fought with you back in the academy. I've realized that being like that has hindered my training as a ninja and I decided to give up on being a silly little fan-girl. I'm now taking my training seriously and its not to impress Sasuke or anyone, it's to prove to myself that I really can become strong" lectured Sakura.

"I don't get it. You're playing at something. I'm not going to let you win Sasuke with whatever tricks you're playing!" declared Ino before storming off to find Sasuke. Sakura sighed; this was going to be harder than she hoped.

"Let her go for now. She'll come around to see eventually" said Tenten, placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder. At the same time, she flicked a kunai away, knocking an apple off the top of Neji's head. "And I know this is a little late, but it's good to see that you've decided to take your training seriously now instead of be a silly little fan-girl."

"Yeah, I know. I just wish I could get through to Ino. She was my best friend until I let this whole little 'Sasuke competition' get in our way and I just want her back as my friend. But until she learns that the whole 'fan-girl' demeanor won't get her anything, then I'm afraid that won't happen" said Sakura.

"Futon: Great Breakthrough!"

Everyone there felt a big gust tear through the training ground, nearly tearing some of the lighter ones from their feet. "Wow! That was great, Hinata!" shouted Naruto. Everyone send the poor girl a look and she resorted to hiding herself behind a grinning Naruto.

"Such a shame" said a voice coming onto the scene. "A Hyuga who has to resort to ninjutsu to overcome her many shortcomings…pathetic."

Everyone's attention was turned to see that Hyuga Shinji had arrived. Both Neji and Naruto shot the newcomer a glare. "And why is an oh-so great Hyuga gracing us with his presence?" responded Naruto.

"I've come to train with my team, isn't that why you're here as well?" asked Shinji. He walked over towards Ino, who was busy stalking Sasuke at the time. _"A fan-girl and a fatass, it's a miracle as to how they even made it past the first round of the last exam." _As he passed Sasuke, he shot Sasuke a disgusted look. "Uchiha…"

"Hyuga…" responded Sasuke. Since the beginning of the village, there was always a rivalry between the Hyugas and the Uchihas over who had the stronger dojutsu. However, after the Uchiha Massacre, that rivalry pretty much died with the clan and even Sasuke didn't seem too into the 'Great Dojutsu Rivalry' as it was called in the early days of the village. Then again, he hadn't had his Sharingan for that long and his mind was focused on other things. Also, the only two Hyuga he came into regular contact with were Hinata and Neji, who he both found, at the very least, tolerable. Unfortunately, Shinji was looking to revive the dojutsu rivalry as there was now an Uchiha in Konoha who wielded the Sharingan.

* * *

"Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Sakura shouted before unleashing the fire chakra she had gathered in her lungs. A small flame erupted from her mouth followed by smoke as she started coughing.

"Not bad for a first try" responded Sasuke. It had taken four days for Sakura to get that stupid stick to light on fire. In her defense, it wasn't the only thing she was working on. "It's pretty much what I did for my first attempt at it."

"Yeah, but you were seven, had maybe a quarter of the chakra I have now and control worse than Naruto" retorted Sakura.

"Well then, give it another try. It took me a week before I got it after my first try. If what you're saying is correct, you should be able to do it by the end of the day" said Sasuke, trying to give her a bit of encouragement.

Sakura spent the rest of the day trying to get that one jutsu down until…"Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!" She did it. Sakura began jumping for joy until she finally collapsed from chakra exhaustion, forcing Sasuke to carry her back to her house. On the way there, Ino managed to spot the two.

"What?! How dare you Billboard Brow! That should be me on Sasuke's back!" shouted Ino. Sakura was pretty sure she heard the shouts and couldn't help it as her sweat dropped and she sighed. However, on the inside, Inner Sakura was celebrating her victory.

* * *

As the departure date for Kumo grew ever near, the group of genin were assembled on the day before departure in one of the larger auditoriums of the academy. In total, there were 23 teams, or 69 genin, that would be representing Konoha in the exams.

"Looks like everyone's here. Let's get this started" announced Tsunade. "Tomorrow you'll all be departing for the chunin exams in Kumo. It'll be a four day journey and you'll arrive early on the fourth day, giving you the rest of the day to recover from the traveling. The exams will begin the day after you arrive and the format will be very similar to how we do ours, although I cannot tell you exactly what each test entails. The most I can say for sure is that the first exam will have something to do with information gathering, the second exam will be a survival exam, and the third exam will consist of 1-on-1 matches."

Most of the genin nodded at Tsunade's announcement.

"Now, Kumogakure's chunin exam is considered the largest of the chunin exams and as such, you will face a strong presence of competitors from various villages, but especially Kumo. I advise you to help one another instead of hindering those from your own village. As a last word, I am confident that there will be a strong Konoha presence in the third exam finals." With that, Tsunade concluded her briefing for the chunin exams and the genin were dismissed.

Later that evening, Naruto was walking through Konoha, hoping to grab one last ramen dinner before departing. Unfortunately, tonight's dinner would have to be spent alone as his friends were eating with their respective families. In reality, this really didn't bother him as he, Teuchi, and Ayame always managed some interesting conversations. It was during this walk that he spotted a few familiar faces walking through Konoha, one of them wearing a large gourd on his back.

"Hello Naruto" Gaara greeted his first true friend. He was accompanied by his siblings, who both looked more comfortable being with their brother since the last time.

"Hey, umm…what are you doing here? If you're coming to the chunin exams, they're in Kumo, not here" asked Naruto.

"We're in the exams too, and Konoha happens to be on the way to Kumo so we figured we would find a place to crash here for tonight" explained Temari. "So where were you heading just now?"

"Well I was kind of going to get some ramen" said Naruto.

"Ramen? What's that?" asked Gaara.

Naruto nearly had a heart attack on spot as Gaara uttered what practically amounted to a sin in Naruto's books, that is until he bought into Gaara's little joke. "Ah, you're funny Gaara. 'What's ramen?'…haha" laughed Naruto. Unfortunately, Gaara wasn't laughing.

"I don't get it. What's so funny?" asked a confused Gaara.

"Wait…you were…serious?" asked a completely stupefied Naruto.

Gaara just nodded as Naruto began to freak out. "Oh my! We've gotta get some ramen in you stat!"

Before Gaara could even respond, Naruto had grabbed him by the shirt and began running off in the directions of Ichiraku, leaving only a sand silloute of Gaara behind which quickly followed. Kankuro and Temari were left behind in the, jaws pretty much brushing the street.

* * *

"Hmm?"

"What is it Pops?"

"My ramen senses are tingling."

"What? You don't have ramen senses."

"I do, see?"

Teuchi and Ayame watched as an orange blob, dragging a red blob behind him crashed into their little ramen stand. "Old Man, it's an emergency!" shouted Naruto. Teuchi and Ayame were busy brushing the sand off of them that had come crashing into them shortly after Naruto and Gaara.

"Naruto…what did I tell you?" growled Teuchi.

"I know, I know. But this really is an emergency. This guy's never had ramen before!"

Teuchi and Ayame's minds went blank as they tried to process the phrase they never thought they would ever hear. "What?! This can't be! Ayame, get on the noodle right away!" ordered Teuchi as the ramen chef began freaking out.

"Already on it Pops" shouted Ayame.

"Hurry, we've gotta get ramen in this poor fellow before he suffers progresses into the later stages of RND!" shouted Teuchi.

"R-N-D?" asked Naruto.

"Ramen Negligence Disease!" explained Teuchi. "It's a horrible disease characterized by head and abdominal pain, questioning of your very existence, and the hearing of voices inside your head. If allowed to progress too far, then the person suffering transforms into a giant rage monster bent on destroying everything around!"

"Wow…umm, just wow" said Naruto in complete and utter disbelief.

"**Why do I feel the sudden urge to smack that guy upside the head repeatedly?"** retorted Kurama.

"_Well, at least we know why Gaara would always go berserk and wipe out half of Suna"_ joked Naruto.

"**Shut it before I decide to smack you as well."**

"_Oh come on…lighten up. You know, perhaps you need some ramen. Maybe it will help you relax as well?"_ said Naruto.

"**I've had waaay too much of that stuff as a result of being sealed inside THREE Uzumakis for over 100 years! 100 years of ramen! Even your seal smells like ramen and I'm almost positive the water inside that sewer was ramen!"**

"_What?! 100 years of ramen?!"_ replied Naruto.

"**What have you got to say now? Huh?"** responded Kurama.

"_Two words…Lucky Bastard"_ responded Naruto as he left the Fox laughing a bit.

After three minutes of panic, Teuchi finally set a bowl of ramen down in front of Gaara. Everyone there stared at Gaara as the Suna jinchuriki picked up the chopsticks and took his very first bite of ramen.

As the ramen hit the taste buds in Gaara's mouth, his eyes shot open. "Well?" asked Naruto, Teuchi, and Ayame in unison.

"This is…amazing!" said Gaara before delving into the rest of the bowl. Naruto, Teuchi, and Ayame let out a long held breath…disaster averted.

* * *

"Come on, what are we waiting for?" asked an ever impatient Naruto. All the genin teams from Konoha were waiting at the village gates.

Sakura, Sasuke, and a few others sighed. "Just calm down, we're waiting for the escort team to arrive" explained Sakura.

"I don't get why we need an escort team, I mean there are over 80 trained ninja here" argued Naruto. Suddenly, he felt something slice across his cheek and a kunai embedded itself in the ground in front of him.

"Well if it ain't my favorite little Gaki" said Anko as she peaked over Naruto's shoulder and licked some of the blood from the cut her kunai created. Naruto couldn't help it as his entire body stiffened and he jumped away.

"What do you want, you crazy snake lady?" asked Naruto.

"Aww come on, Gaki. I thought we were good friends. I was even there the first time you took that girl of your out on a date. Hey, speaking of which how are things going with her?" asked Anko.

"Uhh…fine, I guess" responded Naruto to Anko's question, not wanting to give too much away to the crazy snake lady.

"Oh and look, there she is" said Anko as she dragged Naruto off towards where Hinata and her team were. Within seconds, both genin were wrapped up in Anko's arms.

"So how are things going between my favorite couple? It feels like only yesterday that the three of us were eating dango together" said a smiling Anko. "Hey, speaking of which, it's been a few months already, how far have you gotten? Should I be expecting to chase little blonde-haired Hyugas all over the village?"

Hinata turned a deep red. _"K-kid? W-w-w-with N-n-naruto?"_ The thoughts of having children with Naruto were too much for the poor girl and she fainted, but not before letting out a slight 'eep'.

Anko got that grin of satisfaction on her face before being called away by Genma. Shortly after, all 23 groups of Konoha genin, the dozen groups of Suna genin, their jonin senseis, and the escort group that consisted of Anko, Genma, Shikamaru, and Yugao, were on their way to Kumo.

* * *

When the massive group of Konoha and Suna genin stopped for the night, everyone kind of broke off into their separate groups. The most notable groups happened to be the Konoha 12 who were also joined by Kankuro and Temari.

They were all having a good time, and even Sasuke managed a laugh or two, when he wasn't busy trying to fend off Ino's advances. Naruto was currently in the process of boiling water for a few cups of instant ramen that he had sealed away with him for the journey when he looked up into a tree to see Gaara sitting by himself.

"You know, you'll never make friends if you just sit there by yourself" said Naruto, joining Gaara on the same tree branch.

"I know, I am just…afraid" said Gaara. "What if they hate me as well? Or what if I can't control myself?"

"Well first, if they managed to get used to me, then getting use to you will be easy for them. And second, why are you afraid of losing control?" asked Naruto.

"For the past 5 months, ever since we last fought, I have been trying to hold off the Ichibi's desires to kill. I would be lying if it has been since then that was the last time I killed while under the Ichibi's sway" Naruto didn't like where this was going.

"**Fucking Tanuki. All he ever thinks about is kill, kill, kill…"** complained Kurama.

"_Yeah yeah, we know"_ replied Naruto.

"Naruto, ever since I left Suna for these exams, he's been getting more persistent. I don't think I'm going to be able to make it through these exams without killing at least someone" warned Gaara.

That didn't sound good to Naruto. Gaara also explained that the past three weeks he hadn't killed was the longest he had gone and his most recent kill was an enemy on one of their missions. All in all, Gaara was making progress, but the Shukaku was still a big problem to Gaara's development. "Think you can keep yourself from killing any of the Konoha shinobi?" asked Naruto, trying to gage where Gaara was at.

"I think I can do that" said Gaara.

"Good. As long as you can do that, then I won't kick your ass again. There is another of my friends in Kumo that I would ask you not to kill, although I think she can take care of herself" said Naruto.

"Was it that blonde kunoichi who came to your aid in the Forest six months ago?" asked Gaara.

"Yeah. I've been wondering if Yugito will show in these exams as I heard that Shikamaru and Haku were the ONLY ones earning promotions. Anyways, I'll warn you now that if you run into her, you'll be in for one hell of a fight" said Naruto.

"She's one of us, isn't she?" asked Gaara. Naruto nodded and held up two fingers.

"It sounds like there's going to be a lot of people in this exam, I've heard even as much as twice as many as Konoha's exam. And you know what? I'm really looking forward to it. There's bound to be some strong opponents" said Naruto.

"I agree. Is there anyone in particular you would wish to fight?" asked Gaara.

Naruto pointed down to the rest of the group, towards a particular Uchiha who was trying to pry himself free from Ino's suffocating grasp. "Sasuke and I have been training like hell since the last exams. If there is anyone I want to fight, it's him. How about you?"

"For you, I wouldn't kill him, but I would like to face that green friend of yours, Lee. He was the first person to have ever hit me and the first one to push me…"

"I accept you're challenge, Gaara of the desert! And I look forward to our most youthful contest!" declared Lee. Apparently someone had been eavesdropping. Everyone's sweat dropped as they looked up into the trees towards the two jinchuriki.

"Naruto, your water's boiling over!" shouted Sakura.

"Yay, ramen!" shouted Naruto. He turned to Gaara. "Come down, join the group. A little conversation will do you some good."

Gaara joined in for the rest of the night and while he kind of just sat there, he couldn't help but feel like he was making some more friends.

* * *

The following day, the group arrived at their intended campsite early, giving Sasuke some time to go off and train before it got too dark outside. He had managed to sneak away from his last shinobi fan-girl as the others had either failed the genin exam and were going at it again this year or had given up being ninja all together, and then there was Sakura who had given up on bugging him and had started to become a serious shinobi.

He heard a snap of a branch behind him and instantly jumped into the trees, afraid his stalker had found him. Thankfully, it was only Naruto. "You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were afraid of Ino, scaredy cat" said Naruto.

"Dobe. It's not that, it's just she's become so much more suffocating ever since Sakura stopped pestering me" said Sasuke. "They used to busy fighting with each other and that would give me enough time to get away from them, but now…"

"There's nothing to keep Ino at bay, is there?" asked Naruto.

Sasuke shook his head as he let some shuriken fly towards a target on the tree. All ten shuriken hit their mark. "And back then, there was always you…"

"What'd I do this time? I thought you hated me like everyone else?" asked Naruto.

"I did, but you made the perfect fan-girl shield" smirked Sasuke.

"Hmph" pouted Naruto, crossing his arms. He then got an idea as he pulled out one of his dad's kunai and tossed it at the shuriken Sasuke had lodged in a tree. The kunai sailed clean through the shuriken and the tree.

"Meh…seen that before" said Sasuke as he took two shuriken and threw them at the tree. They sailed past the tree but wires wrapped around tree. "Raiton: Dragon Lighting Jutsu!" Electricity traveled through the wires Sasuke had attached to the shuriken and into the tree as it splintered into many fragments, causing the tree to collapse to the ground.

"I see you've learned a new trick" said Naruto.

"About three dozen, so to speak" replied Sasuke.

"What? Kakashi taught you that many jutsu in a month?" asked Naruto in slight disbelief. Sasuke nodded. "That lazy bum! He's been holding out on us!"

"In my defense, most genin only know maybe six jutsu, outside the basic academy ones, by the end of their first year" said Kakashi from the top branch of a tree. This caught Sasuke and Naruto's attention. As was expected, he was reading his new book.

"Phft, yeah right. You just wanted to read your books instead of teach us" scoffed Naruto.

Kakashi just chuckled a little. "Yeah yeah, whatever. Still, genin normally don't learn many jutsu until at least their second or third year and even those are basic. Most of them are C-rank, and the rare ones know a B-rank, yet bot of you have an arsenal of B- and even A-rank jutsu at your disposal. No matter what you say, the facts still show that I did a better job with you three than most of the other genin. Come to think of it, you shouldn't even be here. You're what? 12? 13? Most genin these days don't take the chunin exams until they're 15 or 16."

"So, it's not our fault they lowered the standards on genin these days" said Sasuke. "I mean, they even let Naruto pass."

"Hey!" retorted Naruto. "Anyways, why does it take so long for genin to take the exams? And why did you say they only know 6 or so jutsu outside the academy three at the end of the first year?"

"Because, that first year is spent on teamwork training and finding where everyone specializes. If you want information on that, go ask Gai about some of the stories he has about trying to find that Tenten was a natural weapons user. Although, it really wasn't that hard to realize that she would be good with weapons considering her dad owns the best weapon shop in the village" said Kakashi. "The three of you have unique specialties that mimic that of the Sanin. Sakura, a medical expert like Tsunade, Naruto, a seal specialist like Jiraiya, and Sasuke, a jutsu expert like Orochimaru." There were a few snickers coming from Naruto.

"So Sasuke's going to turn out to be a pedophilic snake-lover like that freak that likes to give little kids hickeys?" laughed Naruto. Sasuke shot Naruto what pretty much amounted to a death glare.

"I seriously hope not. But still, that doesn't excuse the fact that Sasuke has what it takes to surpass Orochimaru in terms of jutsu expertise, just like you and Sakura have the potential to surpass your respective masters. For you, Sasuke, you have something that Orochimaru will never have when it comes to learning jutsu" said Kakashi.

"The Sharingan" replied Sasuke. Kakashi nodded.

"It was because of his Sharingan that we were able to hammer three dozen jutsu into him in the period of a month. Not only that, but Sasuke has already displayed that he knows how to use them effectively" said Kakashi.

"Still. While Sasuke's waiting for you to show up every day, Sakura and I are going to be trained by the Sanin, although that pervert leaves a few things to be desired" said Naruto.

"_The Dobe does have a point"_ thought Sasuke.

"Well, if you must know, I haven't been late once to one of our private training sessions" defended Kakashi. He then let out a sigh. "I hate to admit it, but Naruto does have a point there. Orochimaru most likely would have been a good teacher for you, Sasuke…"

"But as you said, that snake failed to defeat Itachi." Sasuke growled at Itachi's name.

"And Itachi got his skills from the village. And Orochimaru can't teach you to use the Sharingan, whereas I can. Not to mention, I've got a few favors I can pull around the ANBU that will more than compensate for anything Orochimaru could give you" said Kakashi with a smile.

"Oh Sasuke! Come out, come out! You bad boy!"

"And that's my cue to get the hell out of here" said Sasuke as he took to the trees, wanting to get away before Ino showed up. Before leaving, he told Naruto one last thing. "I overheard your conversation with Gaara last night, Naruto. You're the one I want to fight the most as well."

As Sasuke had just left, Ino appeared out of the bushes, asking where Sasuke went. Both Kakashi and Naruto decided to cut Sasuke some slack and pointed in the opposite direction Sasuke had gone. Before leaving himself, Kakashi turned to Naruto, who was still trying to take in the fact that Sasuke had learned so much in the past month and that pace of improving didn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

"Naruto, don't worry about any of that. Out of all three of you, you've grown the most and you're the one I really look forward to seeing how far you can get. If there's anyone who can surpass your dad, it's you" said Kakashi before disappearing as well.

* * *

The final two days of travel were nothing noteworthy, except for the headache Anko managed to give the Kumo shinobi when they entered the Land of Lightning. As soon as they entered the village of Kumogakure, Naruto's attention was quickly drawn elsewhere as his hand was clutching a particular blue book. Yes, Kumogakure no Sato was home to one of the ramen stands in his passport and he was determined to get a nice warm bowl of whatever they served as their 'special dish'.

The moment he had the passport that he needed to hold onto for the exams and the location of the hotel they would be staying in, Naruto was off, leaving the rest of the Konoha 12 in the dust with their sweat dropping.

"Is ramen the only thing that Gaki ever thinks of?" asked Anko. Everyone who knew Naruto nodded.

Naruto arrived at the ramen bar that he was looking for to encounter a rather large crowd. He managed to wiggle into a seat.

"Well whada you know? It's my ramen buddy from Takanabi Town" said a voice. Naruto looked over the bar to see the same Kusa ninja from back during the Land of Rivers mission that he met at the. "Guess you're here for the specialty as well?"

"Yep. Hey, any idea what it is?" asked Naruto.

"Nope. Hey I don't think I ever got your name back in Takanabi" said the Kusa ninja.

"Uzumaki Naruto. What's yours?" asked a grinning Naruto.

"Naruto, huh? No wonder you're a ramen lover, even your name has something to do with it. Anyways, I'm Kenichi" said the Kusa ninja.

"Looks like you boys are here for the special" said the old chef.

"You bet" both Kenichi and Naruto exclaimed as the handed the man the passport.

"Hey, me to!" Naruto and Kenichi looked over to see about three others from Ame, Kiri, and Iwa all having ramen passports. The chef just laughed.

"When you've got this many people in one place, there's bound to be atleast a few of you guys. Right! Give me a few minutes and I'll have them ready" said the chef.

"Hey Guno, I'll have what they're having as well" said a familiar voice as Naruto noticed a sixth passport being handed to the chef over his shoulder. The chef just smiled and nodded and Naruto looked back to see Yugito behind him. "I must say I am surprised to see you here, Naruto."

"Hey, Yugito. Wait, you have a passport as well?" asked Naruto.

"Of course! Ramen's the best" Yugito smiled.

"Heh, it must be a jinchuriki thing. I introduced Gaara to ramen the other day and he was in heaven" said Naruto.

"That certainly explains why he was always so bloodthirsty. He must have been suffering from RND" said Yugito.

"Wait, is that a real disease?" asked Naruto.

"Yep, although you, me, that Gaara kid, and a few others are the only ones who could really turn into a giant rage monster, bent on wiping out an entire village" replied Yugito. "I don't know, the Nibi's certainly got a liking for the stuff, especially any sort of fish-flavored ramen."

"Hold on, I thought you were keeping your status as a jinchuriki a secret and here you are talking about it at a ramen stand that has dozens of people from outside the village" said Naruto.

"Actually, that was you. And don't worry, a particular loud-mouth jinchuriki here in the village spilled that secret to the world three months ago" said Yugito.

"Huh? Another one?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, Bee-sama's the jinchuriki of the Hachibi and the brother of the Raikage" said Yugito.

"**Great, another one…just my luck"** complained Kurama.

"_Oh quit complaining"_ responded Naruto. Naruto then turned back to Yugito. "So do you think I can meet this Bee?"

"I don't really know. Although knowing him, he'll interrupt the exams at some point in time" said Yugito.

"Huh? What's that mean?" asked Naruto. Yugito just laughed at this.

"Oh you'll see. He can be a rather interesting guy" said Yugito.

"Hey, so does this mean you'll be in the exams too?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, unfortunately the Raikage didn't give out promotions due to the little attack your village suffered a few months ago. But still, I guess this means that I get to have a bit of fun this time around. And since I don't have to worry about keeping the Nibi a secret anymore, which means I don't have to lose the match like last time. If I could have used the Nibi, I would have beaten that ice guy for sure" said Yugito.

"Here you go!" said the chef, setting the ramen down in front of everyone who had ordered a bowl.

"So do you know what's special about these bowls?" Naruto asked Yugito.

"Yep, but I'm not going to tell you. That would ruin the surprise" Yugito laughed.

All five other ramen enthusiasts just shrugged and simultaneously took a sip of the ramen. The flavor was a shock to their systems, literally. The moment they took a bite of the ramen, they received a slight shock from the ramen. Yugito and the chef all laughed at the five other's reactions.

"There's a rare root that grows high in the mountains that we use to make the ramen" explained Guno. "It comes from the Kaminari Tree. Those trees are famous for being struck by lightning and when that happens, a small charge is stored in the root of the tree. That root helps make a good broth for ramen and also adds a little surprise for the unsuspecting."

The Kaminari Ramen, as the dish was named, was still an incredibly delicious dish. It didn't quite surpass the Uzumaki ramen that Teuchi had begun making, but it still ranked within the top 5 ramen dishes he had ever had.

As it was getting late, Naruto left to return to the hotel after having a second bowl of the Kaminari Ramen. As he left, Yugito followed and two Iwa ninja, who had overheard Naruto's conversation turned to each other.

"An Uzumaki…ehh?"

"Apparently, I thought we wiped them all out back in the Second War?"

"I guess our forces missed all of them during the invasion. Still, that means we can be the ones to correct the mistakes of our fathers."

"And you know what else makes it interesting?"

"What?"

"Look who the kid resembles. What do you think our sensei would say if we bring him the head of someone who resembles the infamous Yellow Flash?"

"Heh. You're right. And the best thing is that he's just a brat. This should be pretty easy."

* * *

Author Notes

There you have it, the next chapter.

One quick note I want to make is that I mentioned that Sakura had an earth-nature as her chakra nature. I have decided to change it to fire for the purposes of this chapter. She will have earth as a strong secondary nature, but that won't be evident until the Shippuden era.

Also, Ino is probably the last of the Konoha 12 who needs to undergo some sort of major change. As of right now, she's still a ravenous fan-girl who now has no one to get in her way when it comes to stalking, and possible molesting, Sasuke. That will be changing soon, so stay tuned for that.

Anyways, lots of ramen in this chapter, but then again this is Naruto we are talking about.

Hope you enjoyed. The chunin exams start the next chapter.


	49. Chapter 49

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

Posted: 1/13/13

**Chapter 49: Here We Go Again…The Chunin Exams, Round 1**

The morning of the chunin exams, Naruto was exploding with anxiety and energy. This only brought one question to Sakura's mind…What would happen if, and Kami forbid, Naruto ever got his hands on a pot of coffee. However, Naruto had a reason to be excited as this time through the exams, they would all certainly make it. Naruto wished that every member of the four Konoha teams, minus Hyuga Shinji as he could really care less, that he considered close to him would make chunin this time around, but in reality, he knew that would not happen. If at the very least, he wanted his team and perhaps Hinata to make chunin.

"Naruto, do you have everything?" asked Sasuke.

"Yep. Food, water, weapons, and survival gear is all here in these scrolls" said Naruto. Team 7 had spent the previous night making sure that they would be prepared for the second exam to happen directly after the first exam and as such, they had Naruto seal away the basics they would need in whatever venue the second exam would be held in.

Also, in exchange for ramen when they got back to Konoha, Naruto had agreed to prepare a few scrolls for Teams 8 and 10. Team 10 was already taken care of due to Tenten. While Sasuke and Sakura didn't like the idea of assisting other teams, the other three teams from Konoha were different. They were comrades and if Team 7 wanted anyone else to make it through the exams, it was them.

With the final preparations made, Team 7 departed for the venue of the first exam. As they made their way there, it was obvious just by the number of teams that were heading to the exams that this one was truly going to be big. As they were walking through the streets, one ninja in particular caught Naruto's attention was a team of Kiri ninja, all who were wearing some sort of respirator. If any of them truly caught Naruto's attention, it was the one in the middle, dressed in all black. Naruto could sense the malicious intent rolling off the genin. There was definitely bloodlust in the genin's eyes. Naruto knew he felt this before. It was like the time when they met Gaara in the Forest of Death, only more intense.

"So you've noticed that guy to" said Kiba, joining Team 7.

"Something's not right about that guy" responded Sasuke.

"I know. I can smell it. The smell of rot and decay. The smell of blood. The smell…of death" said Kiba in a fearful manner. Everyone looked to the top of Kiba's head to the whimpering Akamaru. Even the poor dog was scared. "I tell ya, I've never seen Akamaru like this since that Gaara kid back in the Forest of Death, although I will admit he's gotten a lot better. I'll warn you now. I would suggest staying away from him."

"**Roku"**

"_You can't be serious, that guy's a jinchuriki?"_ asked Naruto as he stopped in the middle of the street.

"**I'm nearly certain of it. His chakra matches that overgrown slug's and that would also explain the mask and why everyone who gets within a 6 foot radius of him and isn't wearing a mask, couldn't stop coughing"** replied Kurama. **"I remember that slug would always be surrounded by a sort of acidic cloud. Anything that got too close would just melt away. It looks like his own body even emits a little bit of acid as a result from being the Rokubi's jinchuriki. In fact, you're the only one who can even get close to him without a mask."**

"_Why me?"_

"**Only the Sanbi and myself were ever able to engage that slug in close combat. The Sanbi because of that thick shell of his and me because of my regeneration. Anything else will just die if they get too close for too long."**

The rest of Teams 7 and 8 looked back to see a slightly horrified expression on Naruto's face. "Naruto?" asked Hinata as she went back for her blonde. "Is everything okay?"

Naruto nodded, but whispered into Hinata's ear. "Stay away from him. He's a jinchuriki like me. Under no circumstances should you go near him at all" warned Naruto as Hinata's eyes shot open. She took a moment to take everything in before nodding. Naruto rejoined the group.

"What's up, Dobe?" asked Sasuke.

"I'll explain in a bit. But for now, just know that he's Roku" said Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura instantly got the hint and were a bit shocked by the realization of another jinchuriki, and a bloodthirsty one at best, in their presence. Kiba was trying to decipher what Naruto was talking about while Shino just remained silent.

As they got closer to the building, Sasuke asked Naruto something that was on his mind. "So what are you going to do if it's a written exam like last time. You don't have my Sharingan, Sakura's brains, or even Haku's mirrors to help you this time. And you can't just wait and see if there is a similar tenth question" said Sasuke. Naruto thought for a bit. It was a good question and one he hadn't really thought of. Kakashi had mentioned a possible interrogation instead of a written test, but I guess you never could be sure in these situations, right?

Everyone looked at Naruto as he struggled to come up with something. It was at that time that one of Shino's bugs came buzzing by him as it returned to Shino. "I've got it! Bugs!" declared Naruto. Shino raised an eyebrow to this, as did everyone else.

"What are you talking about you Baka? You can't use bugs" said Kiba.

"I know, but I can use shadow clones and they can transform into bugs. I'll make some clones before going in and transform them into bugs. Then they'll go around and pick up the answers and dispel. The answers will then come to me" said Naruto.

"Umm…wow. That actually sounded intelligent for once" said a surprised Sakura. "Okay, who are you and where is that blonde idiot?"

"Sakura!" shouted Hinata in protest as she grabbed Naruto's arm.

"I'm just kidding. I just never expected Naruto to come up with something like that" replied Sakura.

"It is indeed an impressive strategy" said Shino. "And if it not a written test?"

"Well, then I'll just have to wing it" grinned Naruto as everyone's sweat dropped.

"So in other words, if it's not a written test, then we're doomed" said Sakura.

"Pretty much" responded Sasuke. "And if it is a written test, Naruto will still find a way to screw up."

Naruto pouted as everyone laughed.

Finally, after a few minutes, they arrived at the building where the first exam was taking place. Like there was in Konoha, there was a little genjutsu trap for the ones who didn't get it. Unlike last time, everyone just walked right past instead of pointing out the genjutsu. Inside the main room of the exam, the sheer amount of ninja present gave everyone a shock. While at the Konoha exam, there was around 250-300 participants, there were easily 500 ninja in here, if not a few hundred more. The numbers advantage definitely went to Kumo, having what appeared to be 300-400 participants. One thing was sure, thing were getting interesting.

Looking around, Naruto saw some familiar faces from the last exam. The Sand Siblings were over by themselves. Naruto also noticed the blonde haired Kumo jinchuriki conversing amongst some of the other Kumo ninja. He saw a large circle of space forming around the three Kiri genin from the street earlier, most likely from the acidic gas that emitted from the Rokubi's jinchuriki. Four jinchuriki in this exam….wait, make that five. Naruto wasn't sure how he initially missed that hair, it was more uncommon then Sakura's pink hair. Fu and her team from Takigakure no Sato were also there and Naruto could instantly tell just by looking at her that she seemed a bit more confident. Did this mean she had gotten over her fears of bugs? Finally, Naruto's attention was turned towards Team Gai, who was coming over.

"Definitely something else, huh?" said Tenten.

"YOSH! So much youthfulness in this room! I can't wait for the battles to start so that I may test my Flames of Youth!" shouted Lee before Tenten could clamp a hand over his mouth.

"Quiet or you'll make enemies of everyone in the room like Naruto did in the first exam" said Tenten.

"Tenten's right. The strong ones will show themselves eventually. For now, let's just focus on getting through this exam" said Neji.

"I see you managed to make your way here. That's good. After all, you can't be a Hyuga if you fall to a measly genjutsu" said a smug Shinji as a few of the Konoha 11 (remember that Shikamaru isn't here) swore to themselves. "However, you should probably just quit now if you know what's good for you, especially you Hinata. We can't have the _heiress_ of the Hyuga clan embarrassing us here. Or worse yet, dying and losing the Byakugan to some other village. That would just be a shame." Shinji's tone was harsh, even more so than Neji's was in the first exams. With that said, Sakura was busy trying to hold Naruto back from slugging Shinji across the face.

"Calm down Naruto! There will be chances for you to kick his ass later" said Sasuke.

"Hmph. Kick my ass? As if some loser like you could beat me. You know, it makes me question Hinata's worth even more how she could see anything in you, you worthless piece of dirt" scoffed Shinji. Now he had to worry about a few others gearing up for battle, most notably Hinata. While she didn't care if anyone insulted her, she wasn't going to let a member of her clan insult Naruto while she was around.

"Quiet down!" shouted the proctor as the exam was about to get underway. "I'm Darui, your proctor for the first exam!"

Everyone's attention turned towards the front of the room to see a blonde-haired Kumo ninja. _"Why did Boss have to make me proctor the exam?" _thought Darui. "You're all here for the opportunity to become chunin and as such you need to know how to gather accurate information. One such way to get information is from a captured enemy. For this exam, you will be interrogating a prisoner. They possess the location that you are to report to if you hope to move on to the second exam. You are allowed to use whatever means necessary to obtain this information so long as you don't kill or physically maim them. Now, if you'll report to your designated assistant proctor, they will show you to your interrogation room." Everyone looked around the room to see a score of Kumo ninja lined up against the wall, holding signs with each team's name on it. Despite the number of people in the room, it wasn't long before all the ninja in there were on their way to separate rooms to interrogate their 'prisoners'.

* * *

With Team 7,

"An interrogation test? Looks like I won't be needing these" said Naruto as he dispelled the shadow clone bugs on him.

"Yes, but now we need another plan" said Sasuke.

"I think I've got an idea" said Sakura. "Naruto, think you can act like you're about to lose it to that Furball in your head?"

"Huh? Why?" asked Naruto. Sasuke got what Sakura was talking about.

"Just do it, act like it's about to take you over at any second and rip us all to shreds" said Sasuke.

"I still don't get it. Why would I need Furball for this?" asked Naruto.

"**You really can be dense sometimes"** said Kurama.

"_Hey! Watch your mouth!"_ replied Naruto.

"**I would, if you would understand at what your teammates are talking about"** said the Kyuubi. Naruto looked at the Fox in his mindscape with a confused look. **"Look, humans act differently in the presence of pure terror. They want you to use me to scare your victim into giving up the information before I 'break free and eat you all'."**

"_What?! You're going to eat us?! I thought we were friends"_ shouted Naruto. Kurama nearly face planted. While Naruto had been making progress over the past months, he was still Naruto and as such he still did have his moments of idiocy.

"**I won't eat you, you Baka! But the prisoner will think I am and as such will give you the information out of desperation"** said Kurama. Naruto finally got it.

"I got it now!" shouted Naruto.

"About time, Dobe" responded Sasuke. "Just leave this to me and Sakura and we'll let you know if we need you to 'snap'."

"Here we are" said the proctor as they arrived at their room. "You have two hours to get the location of the second exam. Once you have it, tell me and I will lead you there. If you kill your prisoner, you will be disqualified. Once you open the door, your test will be over and you will be required to give the answer, whether it be right or wrong." All three genin nodded as they stepped inside the interrogation room. Their prisoner was a larger man, probably in his late thirties.

Sasuke and Sakura approached the man as Naruto went to find a corner to huddle in and make it look like the Kyuubi was starting to take him over.

"What's up with the shrimp?" asked the prisoner.

"Oh, nothing you need to be worried about…yet. However, I strongly suggest you tell us the location of the second exam or else things with our friend could get real ugly, real quick" said Sasuke. The prisoner instantly gave them a location, something Sasuke instantly discovered to be a lie. The Sharingan for him acted as a personal lie detector and it would help a great deal during the interrogation.

"N-no…n-not yet…m-mother" mumbled Naruto. "H-his blood i-is dirty, surely you don't want his blood."

"**What the hell are you doing, I' not that insane Tanuki!" **protested Kurama.

"_Heh, sorry. Imitating Gaara's the best I've got when it comes to this stuff though"_ said Naruto.

"Oh no, he's already begun talking to…it. Please, just tell us. You don't want to see him when he kills" begged Sakura.

"Phft. He can drop the act already. That kid couldn't even kill a fly" said the prisoner. "But I applaud your attempt. I almost believed it for a second. As such, I'll tell you what. I'l let you ask one question about me personally, and I'll answer truthfully. However, you can't ask me about the test."

Sasuke took a gamble. He saw the way the man initially looked at Naruto before he figured the blonde was just 'bluffing'. "Why were you arrested? What did you do?" asked Sasuke.

"Sasuke, wait! Shouldn't we think this through?" objected Sakura.

"Too late pinky. Fine, I'll tell you" said the man. "This village is inhabited by demons! I was just trying to do my duty as a civilian and save the village from one of these demons until the Raikage, that blasted demon lover, threw me in here for my so-called crime!"

"_This just made things soo much easier"_ thought Sasuke. His theory was right. This man was afraid of jinchuriki and they happened to have one huddled in the corner right now. He gave Sakura a quick look and she caught on. It was time to get this test over with.

"P-please j-just stop. He can't take it anymore…he's gonna kill!" shouted Naruto from his corner.

"Yeah right, like that kid could ever be one of those demon freaks" said the man.

"I suggest you tell us now before things really get out of hand" said Sasuke.

Suddenly, there was a scream from the corner as Sakura went over to 'check' on Naruto.

"Okay kid, quit playing around. We all know you'd never hurt a fly" mocked the man.

"Please, just tell us" begged Sakura. "If we don't get out of here soon, he's going to snap!"

"You're going to have to do better than that pinky if you want to get the information out of me. And that little act of your friend's is just pathetic" said the prisoner.

"Haha…**Haha"** Naruto began to laugh as his voice grew slightly more demonic. A large burst of chakra was felt throughout the room and the man began to realize just how wrong he was. In the blink of an eye, Naruto was no longer in his corner, but now in the prisoner's face. The man could see the pure terror in Naruto's red-slitted eyes. **"So you don't like demons like me…well, then let's have some fun!" **

The prisoner was suddenly hit with a focused wave of killing intent and in some other interrogation room, Kiba was thankful he was not in that room as the man lost control of his bowels. "W-what i-is this?" he stuttered out. The man was now absolutely terrified.

"**That was just a vision of your death. Now for it to become a reality!" **Naruto jabbed his claw out, ready to strike the man's heart.

"THE LOCATION IS THUNDER PEAK! THE PLACE WHERE THE HEAVENS MEET THE EARTH!" the man shouted out. "NOW PLEASE STOP HIM!" Just as Naruto was about to rip into the man's chest, the demonic aura surrounding him retreated and he backed off.

"Heh! Thank you for that" said Naruto, doing a complete 180 in front of the man. That had been the truth and Naruto was sure of it, thanks to the Negative Emotions Sensing ability that also functioned as a lie detector. The man was confused now, his head spinning insanely fast, until he passed out from all the stress.

"Not bad" said Sasuke. "We've got what we need. Now let's go. It'll be nice to have some time to prepare before the next part."

The rest of Team 7 nodded and opened the door, their task complete. "Your answer?" the proctor asked.

"Thunder Peak, the place where the heaven meets the earth" said Sasuke. He proctor just nodded and motioned for them to follow.

* * *

With Team Gai,

Neji, Tenten, and Lee were taking a different approach, seeing as they didn't have a jinchuriki to scare the shit out of their prisoner; however, they did have something equally as good…the Flames of Youth.

"Please, make him stop!" begged Team Gai's prisoner. Lee had unshackled the prisoner and was currently making sure that the prisoner was doing the 500 pushups that he was doing as well. Tenten had brought along the same scroll that was used on Kiba a few months ago and the prisoner was now dressed in a green spandex suit, had bushy eyebrows, and a bowl-cut hairstyle.

"I'm afraid we've been trying to stop him for two years now and it's only provoked him further. Don't worry though, you've only got 1hr 45min left to endure your fate" said Neji in his 'fate-mode'.

"Yosh! Now for 1000 thumb-stand push-ups!" shouted Lee. "Come my new friend! Let us bask in the glories of youth together!" The Prisoner's sweat dropped as he began to wimper. Before he knew it, Tenten and Neji were helping him into position into a handstand, only using his thumbs.

"101…102…103…" said Lee as the prisoner looked in disbelief at the pace Lee was going at.

"I still son't see why we went with this approach. I'm sure you could have just told me where to place a few needles to hit nerve clusters and we could have used pain to get him to submit" said Tenten.

"Yes, but you remember our first days on Team Gai. I'll give it maybe 20 more minutes before he's begging for us to end it" said Neji.

20 minutes later…

"Yosh! Now for 2000 squat thrusts!" shouted Lee. The prisoner looked about ready to die after Neji and Tenten had helped him get through those thumb-stand push-ups. Needless to say, he was nowhere near Lee's 1000.

"Please, make it stop! No more. I'll talk, just keep me away from that…that…yagh!" screamed the prisoner. Neji just let out a smirk as they had succeeded.

"Your answer?" asked the proctor.

"Thunder Peak" responded Tenten. The proctor nodded and motioned for them to follow, unfortunately, they were missing someone.

"Lee, are you coming?" asked Tenten in a frustrated tone.

"I must…102…finish…103…this…104…set…105" said Lee as Tenten and Neji sighed. Nji activated his Byakugan and struck a chakra point on the back of Lee's neck, knocking him unconscious.

"Is he always like that?" asked the proctor.

"You have no idea. Are you familiar with Maito Gai?" asked Neji.

The proctor paled. Even in Kumo's Gai's extreme workouts were well known and the proctor began pitying them.

* * *

With Team 10

"Interrogation, this will be a breeze!" declared Ino.

"Hmph, what makes you think you'll be able to do this?" scoffed Shinji.

"Simple, I'm a Yamanaka. Stuff like this is my family's specialty" bragged Ino. _"And once I pass this exam with ease, the Sasuke will see just how awesome I am!"_

"But Ino, I thought you didn't know any sort of interrogation techniques?" said Chouji.

"Well, after I mentioned to my dad that we were going to Kumo and there was most likely going to be an interrogation test, he taught me a jutsu for reading minds" said Ino.

As they entered the room, the prisoner they were to be interrogating gave them a grin, especially Ino. "Well it seems like my lucky day. You're pretty good looking, now why don't your friends leave so we can have a little fun" said man with a perverted grin on his face. Ino gulped. She already had a feeling that she knew what the man was in here for.

"Partial Multi-Sized Jutsu!" shouted Chouji, mad at the tone the prisoner was giving Ino. He clamped his arms around the prisoner and squeezed.

"Stop it you fatass or you're going to crush him to death" said Shinji, using Chouji's taboo word. Ino instantly realized this and jumped between Chouji and Shinji as Chouji wouldn't go through Ino to get to his target.

"Chouji, just stop it. He's not worth it" said Ino. "Just make sure you keep the prisoner locked down for me, okay?"

Chouji nodded and Shinji proceeded with a jyuken strike to the back of the man's neck which knocked him unconscious.

Ino placed her hand on the prisoner's head and began to focus. "Ninpou: Mind Read Jutsu" she said.

When Ino opened her eyes, she was no longer in the room where she once was. She was floating in a blank space with what looked like a brain floating in front of her. Ino floated over towards the gigantic brain. It was a weird sensation, being inside someone's head. She had only used this jutsu once before and that was when her dad was teaching her about it. Thankfully for her, there were no memory blocks in place for this guy that she would have to navigate through.

When she reached the brain, Ino did as her father instructed and placed her hand on the brain, pulling what looked to be a large scroll out. Ino took a deep breath and began to sort through the memories, in hopes of finding the information they needed for the test. Unfortunately, the very first memory was the memory she was afraid of running into. Even before they began, she already had a hunch as to what this man was imprisoned for, and this first memory proved it. He was imprisoned for rape and that was the unfortunate memory that Ino had come across first. Ino did her best to block out the rest of it as she proceeded through the man's memories.

After about 30 minutes of searching, she finally found something.

"Did you find anything?" asked Chouji as Ino awakened in the real world.

"Yeah, I've got it" Ino said as the man began to regain consciousness. "But just hold on, there's one more jutsu I want to test out."

"Umm…and that would be?" asked Chouji. In all reality, he and Shinji should have just covered their ears and turned away.

"Secret Woman Taijutsu Technique: Kick in the Balls no Jutsu!" shouted Ino as she drove her foot right up between the man's legs and into his groin.

Both Chouji and Shinji winced at that and instinctively, their hands moved into a position to protect their manhood. Team 10 then exited the room and gave the proctor their answer…Thunder Peaks. Like the rest of the Konoha proctors, the proctor just nodded and led them to the location they gave.

* * *

With Team 8,

Team 8 was having a little bit more of a difficult time getting their prisoner to talk as they didn't have a jinchuriki to scare the shit out of him, a mind-reader, or Lee. The most they had going for them at the moment was Hinata's Byakugan, which she could use to detect lies.

"Damnit, this is getting us nowhere…" said Kiba.

Hinata was getting a little depressed at this. She didn't want a mere interrogation test to get in her way of continuing on in the exams. Surely Naruto and Neji had already found ways to get past their prisoners and she figured that Ino, being a Yamanaka who specialized in stuff like this, had probably gotten her team, and Shinji, through the test as well. About an hour had passed and they were getting nowhere.

"They are ready" said Shino. Both Hinata and Kiba looked over at their bug-using teammate. Shino walked over to the prisoner and placed his finger on the prisoner's neck.

"Ow! What the hell was that?!" screamed the prisoner as he felt a sharp stinging pain in his neck.

"They are a special variation of insects that I brought with me for such an occurrence. They have just released their venom into your system and you should begin to feel intense pain in a matter of minutes. The pain will only continue to increase unless I give you the antidote" said Shino.

"Well what do you want for me to get this antidote?" asked the prisoner.

"The answer, truthfully" said Shino.

"Heh, I'm sure I can deal with a little pain. I've only got to put up with it until this exam is over" said the man with a smirk on his face.

"S-shino, how strong i-is the pain?" asked Hinata.

"Once it kicks in…unbearable" responded Shino, emotionless as always as Hinata flinched.

A few minutes passed with the prisoner just laughing at Team 8's feeble attempts to get him to talk. That is until he keeled over in pain, clutching his abdomen. "It has begun" said Shino. "The pain will only continue to spread and worsen."

Another minute or two passed before the prisoner began to cry out and the screams continued for another ten minutes with Hinata finding the screams unbearable as well. She didn't like seeing anyone in this sort of pain.

Shino caught Hinata's flinches. He truly was sorry for having to resort to this, but it felt like the best option. He was just hoping for Hinata's sake that it wouldn't be too much longer before the prisoner cracked.

Finally, after ten agonizing minutes of screaming, the prisoner cracked. "Thunder…AHHH…Peaks! Now please! Make it stop!" shouted the prisoner in obvious pain. Hinata confirmed the truth with her dojutsu and Shino administered the insect that had the anti-venom. Like the other proctors, theirs just simply nodded and led them off towards the said location.

* * *

"Alright! We made it! And we're some of the first!" shouted Naruto as he and Team 7 walked into a large waiting room, where a few other ninja were as well.

Sasuke turned to the proctor that escorted them. "So does this mean we passed?"

"I cannot say. You will learn your fate in this test at the end of the time limit" said the proctor. Sasuke sighed. Things looked good, despite not knowing for sure, as there was already a large portion of Kumo ninja within the room, including a blonde-haired kunoichi who was walking towards them.

"Don't worry, ether you guys passed or we all just failed" said Yugito. "This test was rigged in favor of jinchuriki. All you had to do was flare some demonic chakra and most of the prisoners they used would practically crap themselves as they spilled the information."

"Really? Wow. Well then good thing I thought of that" said Naruto, receiving some glares from Sakura and Sasuke.

"Anyways, just sit tight. We have over an hour to kill before they move on. So just try and keep yourself entertained until then said Yugito.

"An hour? That's it? Heh, waiting will be easy then" replied Naruto. Yugito just sent him an odd look.

"You obviously haven't met our sensei" explained Sakura. "He's normally two hours late to just about everything."

About 30 minutes passed and the next of the Konoha teams entered. It was Team Gai, and while there was a different Hyuga Naruto would have rather seen walk through those doors, Neji was better than the third Hyuga in Kumo.

"Hey guys!" shouted Naruto, waving to Team Gai. The three of them walked over to where Naruto was busy scribbling something on a scroll. Tenten immediately recognized that he was working on sealing. "So how'd it go?"

"Good…I think. I mean I don't know if we passed yet, so we aren't entirely sure" said Tenten.

"Well, I'm sure we passed and since you're here as well, that means you passed! –ttebayo!" said Naruto. "So how'd you guys take care of your prisoner?"

"We used the power of youth" said Tenten, pointing over at Lee who was finishing his set of squat-thrusts that Neji interrupted. All three members of Team 7 shivered at the thought. "So how about you guys?"

"Err…" said Naruto, not sure where to go.

"We used some sort of Sharingan genjutsu that Sasuke had" said Sakura, covering for Naruto using Kyuubi chakra.

About ten minutes passed before the next Konoha team arrived. Unfortunately, this team didn't contain the Hyuga Naruto was hoping to see. Team 10 and Shinji had arrived.

Time passed and Naruto was becoming increasingly anxious. It was over an hour since the exam started and one-by-one, teams began to file into the rooms. It was already becoming clear that this test was not the one meant to weed out participants like the first exam in Konoha as around half the initial field was already there by the end of the first hour. Needless to say, the amount of genin entering the room began to slow down during the second hour and Naruto was getting increasingly anxious. He wanted so bad for Hinata to pass. Not only would it mean that she would have a chance to be promoted, but any opportunity he saw to stick it to the Hyuga clan elders was one he didn't want to pass up, and Hinata being promoted would do just that.

"Damnit, where are they" swore Naruto.

"Calm down, they'll be here. You trust her, right?" said Sakura trying to get her blonde haired teammate to calm down. Sasuke would have tried to calm him down, but with Ino being there…well, let's just say he found a use for Gaara's sand shield that helped him out.

"I do, but still…" said Naturo before he was cut off.

"Then just give it a little longer. Team 8 will be here. We all agreed beforehand that we were going to get through the second exam like last time" reassured Sakura. "Just go back to working on your seals or something."

Naruto pouted, but Sakura was right. There was nothing he could do but trust Hinata and Team 8 to pull through; after all, they had about 40 minutes to still arrive.

Another twenty minutes passed and they finally arrived. "Hinata!" called out Naruto.

Hinata smiled, seeing that Naruto was in the same place that she was. At least she figured that everyone here would be either failing or passing the first exam together. With the Konoha 11 (plus Shinji) all together, Naruto was putting the finishing touches on whatever it was he was working on.

"Okay Naruto, spill it. What are you working on?" asked Tenten as she saw a dozen copies of a seal that she did not recognize on the scroll in front of him.

"One sec…almost…there, done!" he said. "Now, I need all of you to place your hand on top of one of these seals."

"Why do we have to do this?" asked Neji.

"Just do it. Trust me on this. They'll help us all in the survival exam" said Naruto.

"Very well. Trust is essential in our ability to succeed in these exams" said Shino as he placed his hand on top of one of the seals. Hinata was second, followed by Sakura and Sasuke. The remaining members followed, with a hesitant Shinji being last.

Naruto made the dog, serpent, and ram seal, in that order, and placed his own hand down upon the twelfth seal. "Fuinjutsu: Seal Imprint!" All 12 of them watched as a Konoha leaf symbol inscribed itself on the back of their hands, before fading.

"What did you do?!" barked Shinji, activating his Byakugan towards Naruto.

"Just hold on. Let Naruto explain" said Sasuke, defending his teammate, rival, and best friend.

Naruto held up his palm and channeled a small amount of chakra into the place where the seal was. The leaf that had faded illuminated in a blue glow. "It's a simple identification seal. The last time we were in these exams, my team got ambushed two times because enemies impersonated me. We had to come up with some sort of long code that, to be honest, I couldn't remember at all. This makes it easier to identify who you can and can't trust. Baa…I mean Tsunade-sama was right. There are a lot of ninja here and our best bet is to support one another, not hinder each other.

"I see. Impressive" replied Shino.

"What's Naruto talking about?" asked Kiba.

"Simple, only trust someone if they can show you this seal" said Sakura, illuminating the leaf on her hand.

"I agree. We should agree to a truce amongst each other and assist one another if we can while we are in there" said Neji. Everyone nodded, even a hesitant Shinji. Looking around the room, they weren't the only ones grouping together. It was blatantly obvious that truces and pacts were being formed between groups from the same village.

The two hour limit quickly came to an end. "180 shinobi, 60 teams" said Sasuke as he counted the teams remaining in the room with his eyes.

"Woah, that's a lot. At least twice as many that were in the second round of the Konoha exam" said Sakura, recalling the exam.

"I know. What'd you think, Naruto?" said Sasuke.

"A lot of people here. To say the least, interesting" replied Naruto, receiving a smirk from Sasuke. Taking one last look around the room, Naruto realized one thing, that horrified him in a sense.

"What's the matter Dobe, you can't be chickening out now?" asked Sasuke, catching Naruto's reaction.

Naruto sent a glare back towards Sasuke. "It's not that, Teme. This is something I can handle, but I'm afraid for the others" said Naruto.

"Well then what is that has you on edge?" asked Sasuke.

"Follow my finger closely" said Naruto. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and followed where Naruto was pointing. "Ichi…Ni…Roku…Nana…Kyu." Sasuke's eyes shot wide as he realized what Naruto was referring to.

"Five of them? Four others like you?" asked Sasuke. Naruto nodded. Sasuke just got that look on his face. "Now things really are going to get fun."

While Sasuke was fanaticizing fighting any one of the five jinchuriki that Naruto had pointed out, he made his way to the other teams, specifically the Hyugas. "Guys, I need to warn you about something right now. Take a good look at my chakra and tell me what you see" said Naruto, deciding he would rather risk the Kyuubi secret over one of the teams actually coming face-to-face with a jinchuriki. All three Hyugas activated their eyes and Naruto channeled some of the Kyuubi's chakra into his system.

"_Naruto…" _thought Hinata.

"_It's that chakra from our match before" _thought Neji. _"It's the Kyuubi's chakra."_

"_What's up with that red chakra?" _thought Shinji.

"Did you get a good look?" asked Naruto.

"It was red. Why was it red?" asked Shinji. Out of the three, Shinji was the only one unaware of the Kyuubi inside Naruto. Hinata had known for years and had accepted him without hesitation and Neji had learned about it during their match. The burden and 'cursed-seal' that Naruto bore only made Neji respect the blonde more.

"I don't want to explain why right now, but just know that my chakra is special. However, there are others here with that similar chakra. Just please trust me on this. If you see red, run. Under no means should you fight them" warned Naruto.

"Why shouldn't we?" objected Shinji. "No chakra is any match for a Hyuga."

"_Baka"_ thought Neji, having personal experience against that kind of chakra.

"Just trust me on this. You don't want to fight those guys. If you do, there's a very high likely hood that you'll lose or even die" said Naruto.

"Hmph, whatever" said Shinji as he walked away from Naruto, leaving the blonde with Neji and Hinata.

"Naruto, I suppose I should tell you now that I know about the mark you carry and I am truly sorry for what I said to you back there" said Neji. "Your burden is much greater than my own and I deeply respect you for that."

Naruto realized what Neji was saying. Naruto knew that somehow Neji had figured out that he had the Kyuubi inside of him. However, he was glad to have another friend on his side that knew. "Thank you, Neji. Now just make sure to keep your team safe from the others."

"I will. If I may ask though, how many?" asked Neji.

"Including myself, 5" Neji's eyes shot open at Naruto's answer. "I cannot tell you how stable they are, but trust that you have nothing to fear from me."

"Very well. You have my word that I'll keep them safe" said Neji. With that, he lights in the room dimmed as the proctor, Darui, made his way into the room.

"N-naruto?" Naruto turned his attention towards Hinata, who lunged herself at him, wrapping him in her own arms and kissing him.

"H-hinata…" said Naruto.

"I'll keep my team safe. Don't worry. I'll see you in the third round" said the Hyuga heiress as she rejoined her team.

"Stay safe, my Hime" said Naruto. Hinata caught this from Naruto and blushed a little at Naruto's new calling for her.

"Quite down!" shouted Darui from the front. _"Where is he? He should be here by now"_

"Congratulations on passing the first exam. That first exam was rather easy, don't you think?" said Darui, receiving a few chuckles from the crowd. "I'm sorry to say that our proctor for the second exam is running a little late, so just sit tight and he should be here to explain the next exam shortly."

Suddenly, the lights went out as a faint beat was heard room somewhere in the room.

From a balcony in the back of the room they were in, a single light shown down upon a certain blonde-haired Kumo shinobi with 7 swords sheathed on his back. He was bouncing to the beat that could be heard throughout the hall and Darui's sweat dropped.

"Y'all say ho!" shouted the Kumo ninja.

"Ho!" all the Kumo shinobi in the room shouted back. It was evident that this was at least somewhat normal to them. And then the man began rapping.

"Know my name, know my fame, don't be lame! Eight Tails, that's me, da rappin Killer Bee. Battle after battle is what you'll face, if you don't wanna end a big disgrace. So hold onto your tails or else you'll fail…"

"Drop Kick!"

A massive crash came through the roof of the building as the Raikage entered, ending Bee's rap with a big slam into Bee's back. "Just get on with the second exams" said the Raikage as everyone's sweat dropped.

* * *

Jutsu

Ninpou: Mind Read Jutsu: A Yamanaka clan technique where the user enters the mind of a captured person. This allows them to obtain any and all information from the subject, regardless of the quality of their memory.

Users: Yamanaka Ino, Yamanaka Inoichi

Secret Woman Taijutsu Technique: Kick in the Balls no Jutsu: Exactly as it sounds

Users: Yamanaka Ino

* * *

Author Notes

Hope you enjoyed.

One small change I'm making is the Six-tails jinchuriki. I know the cannon jinchuriki was a man by the name Utaka. In here he's a different Kiri shinobi and he's just as bloodthirsty as Gaara was in the Konoha exams, if not more.

So, regarding the name change I was thinking of, the name I am thinking of changing the story, and the series of stories to is 'Uzumaki Tales: Rise of an Uzumaki'. Let me know what you think and I'll probably implement the name change with the next chapter.

Please Review and Comment


	50. Chapter 50

Wow, Chapter 50 already. To commemorate the 50th chapter, this is the longest one yet, and quite frankly, this was one of those chapters that I just couldn't stop writing. Just note that there is quite a bit of jumping between teams in here so bear with me. I will do my best to indicate which team I'm focusing on. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** Sorry, my offer to purchase Naruto failed. I still don't own it.

Posted: 1/15/13

* * *

**Chapter 50: The Night of Blood**

As the Raikage got up from on top of his brother, one thing was obvious…that kick had knocked Bee unconscious. Darui's sweat dropped at their antics and none of the Kumo ninja were surprised one bit.

"Darui, just get on with the second exam" ordered the Raikage.

"H-hai, Boss" bowed Darui. The Raikage picked his brother's unconscious body from the crater in the flooring and carried him out the door. The only thing was…it wasn't the door he walked out of, but rather a hole smashed in the wall next to the door. "I apologize for those two."

Yugito nudged Naruto in the side. "That was the Raikage Ay, and his brother Bee, the jinchuriki of the Hachibi."

"_**I hate to say it, but I almost feel sorry for that ox" **_thought Kurama.

"I did say they were a rather odd pair, didn't I?" said Yugito.

"Yeah. But I kind of like them" said Naruto. Yugito just laughed at this as Darui took over as proctor for the second exam.

Darui then began to explain the second exam. "We will now begin the second exam. This will be a six day long survival exercise, located…" the wall behind Darui exploded and collapsed, revealing a single, solitary peak that stretched far into the clouds. There was a rather lush forest that surrounded the base before it began to climb the mountain side, thinning as it grew higher into the clouds until it was just a mountain that disappeared. "At what is known as Thunder Peak. It is an area, roughly 20km in radius that surrounds the mountain. At the top of the mountain, is the base where you are to report to if you and your team manages to complete their objective."

"What exactly is our objective?" asked one ninja from the crowd.

"Sorry, I was just getting to that" said Darui. He held up three different types of scrolls. "You and your team are to gather one of each of these scrolls, the lightning scroll, the cloud scroll, and the wind scroll. You and your team will each be given one and you are to battle over the remaining scrolls. You have until 2:00pm, seven days from now to report to the base on the top of the mountain with all three scrolls."

"_Hmm, so unlike our exams, where you only need two scrolls, for this test you need three. That means there is definitely going to be more fighting over scrolls" _thought Sasuke. _"Good."_

"Now the rules. There are only a few. First, you are not allowed to open any of the three scrolls under any circumstances. Second, all three members of your team must be alive by the time you arrive at the base. Third, killing is allowed. Those are the only rules, if there are any of you who wish to back out now, please do so now. You will not be allowed to leave once the test begins."

Surprisingly, no one backed out. 60 teams meant that 20, at most, would be passing, and it was highly unlikely that more than half of that would pass due to the nature of these exams. Like in Konoha, every team was given a scroll, required to sign a waiver, and taken to a gate.

With every team stationed at their gate, "Haijime!" the second exam began.

* * *

Team 7,

"Summoning Jutsu!" shouted Sasuke, slamming his hand on the ground.

"_That's right, Naruto and Sasuke both have summoning contracts and I don't" _sighed a depressed Sakura. The smoke cleared and a medium-sized cat appeared.

"Sasuke, how wonderful to see you again" the cat said. Sasuke reached into his back pouch and threw the cat summon a few treats.

"Hey Sasuke, what's the cat for?" asked Naruto.

"Tracking. Cats are just as good trackers as ninja-hounds" said Sasuke.

"Ahem" said the cat. "We're better than those mangy dogs."

"Anyways, we have need of your tracking abilities. Can you help us Riku?" asked Sasuke.

"I can" replied the cat.

"So what's the plan?" asked Sakura. Sasuke pulled out a map that was given to them at the very start. He pointed to the gate where they were at. How the layout was, the gates were scattered in an arc around the front third of the arena. The mountain with the base on top of it started ascending at roughly the midpoint of the arena with the majority of the back half of the arena being mountainous terrain. Running through the middle of the arena was a rather large river with a few streams or tributaries branching off for it.

"I say we make for the river. There is a good chance we will run into other that are in search of water there, not to mention it is on the way to the mountain. We can use that as kind of a base and work from there" said Sasuke.

"Okay, but I'll be honest in saying that I want to group up with another of our groups. If we are sitting and waiting, six could be better than three" said Naruto. In reality, he just wanted to join up with Hinata's group to make sure she didn't run into any of the other jinchuriki in here. Unfortunately, while going to gates, Teams 7 and 8 wend completely opposite directions from one another, making the odds of them meeting up unlikely. Thankfully for him, the Kiri jinchuriki went the same way as Naruto and even past the gate where they were stationed by. He was the one Naruto was really scared of her running into. Yugito and Fu seemed nice enough, but one could never be entirely sure, and Gaara…well Naruto wasn't entirely sure either. Gaara had agreed not to kill a Konoha shinobi, but there was still the threat of the Ichibi to deal with. Still the only jinchuriki that Naruto had seen go off towards Hinata's direction was the green-haired Fu and if he remembered correctly from the previous exam, Shino's bug could act as Fu-repellant as he remembered her being afraid of bugs. Regardless, that didn't put his thoughts at ease. The only thing that truly would was if he saw her inside the base on top of the mountain.

"Well help them out if we run into them, but I'm not about to go on a blind search through an enemy infested forest unless I know for certain where they are" said Sasuke.

"Fine, let's get going then" said Naruto.

"Right, Riku you take point. Let us know what's ahead of us" said Sasuke.

"Naruto, can you send a shadow clone to tail us? Have it dispel if it sees anything?" asked Sakura.

"Way ahead of you" said Naruto, creating a clone.

Team 7 then headed out, their destination the river that ran at the base of the mountain.

* * *

Team 8,

"What do you think, Akamaru? Shino? Hinata?" asked Kiba.

"Arf" barked Akamaru.

"Our specialties lie in tracking, so I believe we should stick to what we do best" said Shino.

"I agree with Shino" said Hinata. _"Naruto, I hope you're doing okay."_

"A hunt? What'd you say boy?" said Kiba to the white dog on top of his head. Akamaru barked in agreement, so Team 8 was off.

About thirty minutes later, Akamaru had picked up on the scent of another team. "Hinata, 2-o'clock. Half a kilometer ahead, can you check it out?" said Kiba.

Hinata nodded. "Byakugan!" she said as she activated her dojutsu. Her vision extended half a kilometer to the team's 2-o'clock position and she caught a glimpse of an Ame team. "Three ninja, Amegakure, ahead."

Right, let's get 'emm" said Kiba as the trio sped on ahead.

Ahead with the Amegakure ninja, one of them was busy swatting bugs away from himself. "Yaku, will you stop that?" said the female member of their team.

"Sorry, this place just has too many damned bugs" said Yaku. All three Ame ninja were wearing long brown coats with a few umbrellas strapped to their back. Suddenly, the other Ame ninja's eyes snapped open.

"Bugs?! This place doesn't seem like a bug paradise. Stay on your guard, I think we're under attack!" ordered the third Ame ninja.

Back with Team 8, "It appears as if they are onto us" said Hinata. Shino just nodded as their targets have now stopped running as he unleashed more of his hive to enclose them within a confined area.

"Ready boy?" Kiba said, tossing Akamaru a soldier pill. Akamaru jumped off Kiba as Kiba made a hand seal. "Man-Beast Clone!" Akamaru transformed into a more feral version of Kiba and Kiba transformed to match his canine companion.

"Where are they?" asked one of the Ame ninja. The three of them were back to back with some of their umbrellas unfurled, acting like a shield.

"Gatsuga!"

"Jump!" shouted one of the Ame ninja as the three of them scattered. However, Kiba and Akamaru's attack proved somewhat effective as one of them, the other male member of the three, was clipped in the side by Kiba's attack.

When the other male Ame ninja, Yaku, landed, there was a swarm of Shino's bugs waiting for him. Yaku began to scream as he was enveloped in a massive swarm of chakra-draining insects.

The female member of the Ame ninja noticed movement on her left and threw one of her umbrellas in that direction. The umbrella separated into dozens of kunai and many pelted their target…Hinata.

"Hmm. Little girls like you shouldn't be out here. You might get hurt" said the Ame kunoichi. At that point, Hinata disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "What? A clone?!"

"You are in my field of divination" called out Hinata from behind the Ame kunoichi. She barely had time to turn around before Hinata began her attack. "Jyuken: 8 trigrams, 64 Palms!" Hinata struck out with 64 chakra-infused strikes that crippled the Ame ninja to the ground.

Team 8's little hunt had succeeded and they claimed the Ame team's Lightning scroll, which went along nicely with their own Wind scroll.

* * *

Team Gai,

While Team 8 was busy hunting, Team Gai was busy being hunted. They were not a tracker team and the closest they had to being able to track was Neji. While Neji's Byakugan was considered stronger than Hinata's in most aspects, Hinata's Byakugan still won when it came to being able to see over long distances. Hinata, at the moment, could extend her field of vision up to 10km in a single direction, whereas Neji could only do so for up to 2km at most. The tradeoff was that Neji could still see the chakra network much more clearly than Hinata and his 360o vision extended to 100m around him, while Hinata's was limited to 50m.

Still, Team Gai was by no means a tracking team. Instead, they were designed to be a front-line strike team that focused primarily on close combat with weapons assistance from Tenten.

Neji signaled over to Lee and received a nod from him. The three members of Team Gai then took a sharp turn to the right, leading their pursuers from Kirigakure with them.

One of the Kiri ninja stopped and began going through a series of hand-seals. "Suiton: Water Bullet!" Out of the Kiri ninja's mouth shot a condensed ball of water, hitting Tenten in the back, only it didn't hit Tenten. The water bullet sailed clean through the girl as 'Tenten' faded away.

"What? A clone?" shouted one of the Kiri ninja as the other two stopped. "Stay on your guard. There could be a trap somewhere."

"It's already to late" said Neji, flicking a kunai to cut a wire. Before the two Kiri ninja could react, they found themselves bound in a mass of ninja wire.

"Damn you, Suiton: Water Bullet!" shouted the third, uncaptured Kiri ninja.

"Kaiten!" Neji spun, releasing chakra from his tenketsu as the Kaiten easily beat the Kiri ninja's attack.

"Huh? Where'd that green one go with the weird eyebrows?" said the Kiri ninja to himself as Neji stopped spinning.

"Konoha Senpu!" shouted Lee as he lashed out a high sweeping kick at the Kiri ninja. The enemy ducked underneath the kick, only to be nailed by a second sweeping kick, characteristic of the Konoha Senpu, to the back, sending him crashing to the ground below.

Neji was quick with a few Jyuken strikes to incapacitate the Kiri ninja.

"Great job, Tenten!" shouted Lee to the trees as Tenten jumped down.

"Hey! Let us out!" shouted one of the two tied up Kiri ninja.

"It's your fault. A ninja shouldn't fall into a trap so easily" said Neji as he knocked them unconscious as well.

"Yosh! Our youthful endeavor has paid off!" shouted Lee as he pulled out a Wind scroll from one of the Kiri ninja's bag. All they were missing now was a Cloud scroll.

Tenten began complaining and Neji asked why. "Even though they aren't some of the Seven Swordsmen, Kiri ninja are usually known to have rather unique swords on them. These guys have squat" complained Tenten. Sometime in the past few months, Tenten had talked with Zabuza, curious about the sword he carried, the Kubikiribocho. He had even promised her to train her if she managed to get her hands on one of the legendary Seven Swords. While the odds were extremely low that she would find one in these exams, she was still hoping to find some unique Kiri weapons.

* * *

Some random location where 15 Iwa ninja had gathered,

"So you're absolutely sure" asked one of the Iwa ninja.

"Positive. I questioned my sensei on it and even he thinks so" said the Iwa ninja who had discovered Naruto at the ramen stand.

"You're absolutely positive that kid's a Namikaze?" asked another Iwa ninja.

"From what my dad told me, blonde hair is rare in Konoha. The only ones who have blonde hair there are the Yamanaka clan, Senju Tsunade, and the Namikaze. And that kid bears a strong resemblance to the worst of them all, the Yellow Flash."

"I talked to my sensei before the exam today and he said regardless of who that kid is, the fact that he even looks like the Yellow Flash is enough for him. Hell, my sensei's even promising me three high-ranked jutsu for his head."

"Really? Lucky bastard. Mine's only giving me two." Soon a conversation erupted amongst the Iwa ninja. Apparently every Iwa sensei had placed some sort of bounty on the head of the 'mini-Yellow Flash' as they called it.

"Enough! Tell you what. We're going to go in there, get the Namikaze brat, kill him, and hand over his head to our senseis. I'm sure that if we are all there together, that they'll be happy with us. Besides, after what the Yellow Flash did to us in the last war, we'd be considered heroes for bringing back that brat's head. Hell, regardless of how we do in this exam, the Tsuchikage will be handing out our promotions left and right."

"I agree. Let's just get him and worry about this conversation of his bounty afterwards" said another Iwa ninja. "So how are we going to find him?"

"Well, the brat was at the ramen stand last night and he got the special bowl, you know the one that you can only get with one of these" said an Iwa nin, holding up a ramen passport. "Kucha, if we have your wolves track for the scent of ramen, I'm sure we can find them."

"How can you be sure that he even bears the scent of ramen?" asked another Iwa ninja.

"Because Sako, I've been on Tomaru's team long enough to know that scent and to know that scent doesn't come out easily, especially if the kid's as addicted to the stuff as Tomaru says he is. My wolves will find him. You can count on that. Summoning Jutsu!" Kucha, the pack master of the Iwa ninja summoned a trio of ninja wolves. "You got it?"

"Yeah, I've got it. There are a few though" said one of the wolves. That sadly was expected as there was more than one person at the ramen stand the other night. "The closest one is about 7km north of here."

"Right. Looks like we'll just have to keep going one-by-one until we find him" said the Iwa ninja as they took off towards the nearest scent of ramen.

* * *

Team 7,

At this time, the end of the first day was quickly coming to an end. They had set up camp on the north bank of the major river that cut through the arena and they had found a trio of three rather large boulders that would give them some form of protection while they rested. For the next few days, until they got their scrolls, this would be their base camp as they branched out to go and search for other teams that were carrying scrolls.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" shouted Naruto as about three dozen Naruto spoofed into existence.

"We're under attack already?" asked Sakura, assuming a ready position with a kunai in hand.

"No, just I don't know anything about barrier seals yet, but this will make for a suitable barrier" said Naruto. Suddenly, all his clones performed a transformation and Team 7 was facing about 24 woodland animals and a dozen rocks. "Now, the clones will stand in a radius surrounding camp and if anything comes too close, they'll dispel and I'll know where they're coming from."

"Wow…wait. Are you sure you're Naruto?" asked Sakura. Naruto held up his hand showing Sakura the leaf symbol, illuminated with chakra. Sakura sent Naruto a suspicious glare. "Alright, but I still don't believe you. I've got my eye on you."

"Wait, if the animal clones are going to handle the forest, then who's going to watch the river?" asked Sasuke.

"The 'rock' clones. Now if you can just give me a hand in moving them into position…" Naruto felt a thunk on his head from Sakura's fist.

"Baka! You couldn't have had them move before they transformed?" complained Sakura as Naruto rubbed his head.

"Well, at least we know for sure it's Naruto now" said Sasuke. Still, he had to admit that Naruto was thinking a lot smarter this time through.

The night got later and Naruto had finished boiling water for a bowl of instant ramen that he had sealed inside the scroll. Sakura and Sasuke were afraid at first that all Naruto had packed inside their scrolls was ramen, but they were relieved to find that he had a few bento boxes in there as well.

* * *

The morning of the second day came. Many teams had seen some action in the first day and some even had their hands on a second scroll. However, no one could yet claim the title of 'Kings of the Mountain' as the Kumo ninja were calling it. The Kings of the Mountain would be the team that manages to secure three scrolls and reach the base on the mountain top first. Strangely, the most surprising part about the first day was that there were no deaths, that would be bound to change in the coming days.

* * *

Team 7,

"Alright Naruto, you know what to do."

"Right! Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" shouted Naruto as fifty Naruto's popped into existence. "The first one to find a scroll gets ramen tonight!"

"Yeah!" shouted all the Narutos as they took off in a spread formation, heading back towards the south side of the battle field with Team 7 trailing behind. The clones would pinpoint the location of possible enemies and try and gauge their strengths before sending the information back to the original. If Team 7 felt it was worth it, they would head of towards the location of said team.

* * *

Naruto Clone 23,

The Naruto clone was currently proceeding in a straight line towards the southeast direction of the battle arena. His attention was drawn as he noticed movement off to his right and the clone turned to check on what it was.

"Hold on, I think we're being followed."

"Yosh! Another challenger has presented himself. Come, let us test his Flames of Youth!"

"Lee, will you be quite already?"

"Oh, it's just you three" said the Naruto clone, stepping out from the bushes, confronting Team Gai.

"Oh, it's only Naruto" said Lee.

"What'd ya mean 'it's only Naruto?'" said the clone.

Tenten pretty much face palmed herself. "Never mind, so how are you guys doing? And…wait, where's the rest of your team? Show us that you're Naruto" said Tenten, her tone growing ever more suspicious as she drew a knife.

The clone held up his palm, showing the seal that apparently transferred to the clones as well and Tenten lowered her guard. "So where's the rest of your team, Naruto?" asked Neji.

"They're back somewhere. I'm just a clone, scouting for groups with a scroll. So how are you guys doing?" asked Naruto.

"Our youthful flames burn bright from yesterday!" the clone's sweat dropped.

"We got a second scroll of a team of Kiri ninja yesterday" translated Neji.

"Wow? Really! That's great" said Naruto, congratulating his friends.

"Yep. Now why don't you go back and tell the original that we've got this area covered. Besides, we don't need another loudmouth attracting unwanted attention" said Tenten, flicking a kunai into the Naruto clone, dispelling it.

* * *

Team 7,

Naruto winced a little as the memories of a clone came back to him.

"Did you find anything?" asked Sasuke, catching Naruto's reaction.

"Yeah, remind me to talk to Tenten about throwing kunai at comrades" said Naruto.

"So you found Lee, Neji, and Tenten?" asked Sakura. Naruto nodded. "How are they doing?"

"They said they got a scroll of a group of Kiri ninja yesterday" said Naruto.

"Hn. Anything else?" asked Sasuke.

* * *

Team 8,

"Arf!"

"I know, I smell it too" said Kiba. It's heading straight towards us. Everyone be ready!" said Kiba as he pulled a knife.

As Hinata came to a stop to activate her Byakugan, a certain blonde-haired ninja dropped down in front of her.

"Hi-na-…" Naruto never got to complete that sentence as Kiba sent a kunai into side of Naruto's head.

"Shit!" he swore as he looked over at the petrified Hinata. Hinata had froze, absolutely horrified at the sight of Naruto being pegged in the side of the head by a kunai, and from Kiba none the less.

"Wait. It's not what it seems" said Shino, pointing at the lifeless Naruto on the ground as it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Hinata let out a long held breath there, it was only a Naruto clone. Kiba looked over at his teammate and saw a dark aura appear around the genuinely sweet Hinata. "Umm…Hinata…I'm s-sorry. He just jumped out of nowhere and…"

Hinata reached into her coat and pulled out an all too familiar scroll as the canine ninja gulped. Hinata threw the scroll at Kiba as it unfurled and wrapped around him. "Activate!" she called out, making a hand seal.

A puff of smoke engulfed Kiba and when it cleared, he was back in his 'youthanized' outfit. "Noo! Not again!" Kiba cried to the heavens.

"_I must be cautious not to upset Hinata. While she is extremely difficult to anger, she can be most vicious if pushed to that point" _thought Shino.

* * *

Team Gai,

"Yosh! I can sense that someone else has tapped into the powers of Youth!" shouted Lee.

Tenten face palmed herself and Neji merely sighed.

* * *

Team 7,

Naruto winced again. "I'm gonna kick Kiba's ass next time I see him. Poor Hinata must be frightened" said Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura merely looked at Naruto. "Seriously, first Tenten and then Kiba. It seems as if everyone is out to kill me today." At least on the bright side, he knew Hinata was alright.

"Wouldn't be the first time, Dobe" responded Sasuke.

"Oh you to Teme?" said Naruto.

"Both of you stop it! You're acting like a couple of two-year olds" said Sakura, scolding both of her teammates, much to Naruto's surprise.

"_Was that not aimed just at me and at Sasuke as well? I'd never thought I'd see the day. I guess it's nice to have a not so fan-girlish Sakura" _thought Naruto. "Oh come on Sakura, even you know two-year olds can't kill."

"Watch your mouth, Naruto" growled Sakura.

"Huh?" Naruto said as he got some more information. "Hey guys, I think I got something. This way, there's a Kusa team."

"You checked first to make sure there are no snakes there, right?" said Sasuke, reminding Naruto of the last time they encountered a team from Kusagakure in these exams. That was back in the Konoha exam and that particular ninja turned out to be Orochimaru.

"So is that a no for the Kusa ninja?" asked Naruto.

"Meh, let's go" said Sasuke. Sakura sighed, not wanting to risk it being Orochimaru again, although the odds of that happening twice were very slim.

* * *

Iwa Lynch Mob,

The Iwa Lynch MobTM had caught up to the first group that their wolves had tracked. Sadly, it wasn't the Namikaze they were looking for and rather a group of Kiri ninja.

"So Bunjo, what do you say?" asked one of the Iwa ninja to what appeared to be the leader and the one who had suggested the hunting of the Namikaze brat in the first place.

"I say we take them. We have the numbers advantage and the element of surprise. We can easily take them and get their scroll" said Kucha.

"I agree, let's get em. Even if the Namikaze is our target, I'm not about to pass up an opportunity at a free scroll and this should only take a few seconds" said Bunjo.

The next minute was not a pretty sight and pretty much marked the first blood spilled in the exam.

"Kucha, I can smell the next group. They are only 5km east of us" said one of the wolves.

"Lead the way" responded Kucha as the Iwa Lynch MobTM was on their way to their second target.

* * *

Team 7,

It was late when Team 7 returned to camp. They had succeeded in taking the Kusa team, and thankfully for them, there was no Orochimaru waiting for them this time through. Unfortunately, the Kusa team contained the same exact scroll that they did, the Wind scroll. They were already afraid this was going to be a repeat of last time.

As Naruto was enjoying his dinner of instant ramen, he took a look up at the sky. The sky was still, a sense of calmness filled the air, and a full moon dominated the nighttime sky.

* * *

Sand Siblings,

"**I want blood. Mother wants blood."**

"_N-no. I-I won't let you…control me…"_ replied Gaara to his inhabitant.

"Gaara!" shouted Temari, rushing to her brother's side. Gaara was hunched over, grasping his head, eyes widened and sweating profusely.

"**I want out. Let me out. Let me feast upon blood!"**

"Kankuro!" shouted Temari. Before Kankuro could assist her brother, sand began to swarm around Gaara.

"Shit! It's no use! We've gotta get out of here before he completely looses it!" shouted Kankuro, pulling Temari away from Gaara.

"Gah!" Gaara screamed as the sand continued to envelop him.

"We can't do anything for him right now. Especially not tonight. Not with the full moon. You know how the Ichibi gets on nights like tonight" said Kankuro, dragging Temari away from Gaara and to some form of safety. From behind a rock, Temari and Kankuro watched as Gaara got to his feet and walked away, transformed into the first state, resembling the miniature Shukaku.

"What are we supposed to do then?" asked Temari.

"Wait. Keep out of his way and hope that he doesn't kill anyone that we consider a friend" said Kankuro.

Iwa Lynch Mob,

"Another dead end" said Bunjo.

"Yeah, but with each dead end, that means we get close to the right one" said Kucha.

"Do we wait till morning to resume or do we hunt through the night?" asked another Iwa ninja.

"There's a fairly strong scent, only 2km southwest from here" said one of the wolves.

"I guess that settles that" said Kucho.

"So it does. Let's go. I've got a good feeling about this one" said Bunjo.

* * *

Naruto and Team 7,

Naruto was sitting on top of one of the rocks that was surrounding their campsite. He had taken the first guard duty while Sakura and Sasuke got some rest. "It's quite out. Kind of relaxing. It almost makes you feel like you're not in the exams, like you're just out here to relax and stare up at the night sky" said Naruto to no one in particular, not that there was anyone around to talk to…or was there.

"**The calm before the storm"** said Kurama.

"Huh?"

"**It's exactly what I said, the calm before the storm. I've got a feeling, stuff's going to happen tonight. It's always like this, just before something big happens"** replied Kurama. **"Peaceful, relaxing. It draws your guard away, and then when you're fully vulnerable, it strikes."**

"What does?"

"**The storm. Hits you hard and fast, when you least expect it to. Don't let your guard down Kit, I've got this feeling"** warned Kurama.

Not two minutes after Kurama said that, an alarm went off in Naruto's head as a clone that he had stationed 250m from the camp dispelled with information regarding a large squad of ninja heading their way. Naruto jumped down off of his perch and woke his teammates.

"What'd you want, Naruto? I'm trying to sleep?" asked a weary Sakura as she tried to go back to sleep. Sasuke on the other hand figured something was up. Resorting to drastic measured, Naruto grabbed a pot of water that they had near them and dumped it on Sakura, instantly waking her up. Before she could pummel Naruto, Sasuke was able to restrain her.

"Quiet down Sakura" said Sasuke. "What's up?"

"Trouble. Large squad of ninja heading our way. They should be here any minute…" Naruto never got to finish his sentence.

"You three can come out now. We know you're there" called out a voice. The three Leaf genin quickly grabbed their surprise and stepped out from their dwelling. Standing in front of them, about 20m away from their camp was Bunjo, Kucha, and Kucha's two wolves.

"How many?" asked Sasuke to Naruto. Naruto had told his team about the sensing ability he picked up from the Kyuubi a few days ago on their journey to the exams. Naruto focused for a moment, trying to pick up and source of negative emotions around them.

"15. And they're surrounding us" replied Naruto, much to Sakura and Sasuke's displeasure.

"I get it. Bring so many of you that you can easily overpower any group and divvy out the scroll later" said Sasuke.

"Not really. You see, the scrolls are just a bonus, but we are after a different target" said Bunjo. For some reason, Naruto got a bad feeling in his gut as the two Iwa ninja's gaze was drawn towards him. "I'll tell you what. I don't want to mess up such a pretty girl you have there, so I'll make you a deal. Hand over the Namikaze brat and your scrolls and we'll let you live."

"_Shit!" _ swore Naruto. This even earned a growl from the Kyuubi and Naruto sent what amounted to a death glare back towards Bunjo, mixing in some of the Kyuubi's killing intent.

"Namikaze? What are you talking about?" asked Sakura, utterly confused.

"I'm sorry to say that none of us are Namikaze, that bloodline died out over twelve years ago. Even so, what makes you think we would give up one of our own?" asked Sasuke, activating his eyes.

"Heh. Think you're tough, don't you?" said Bunjo, noticing Sasuke's eyes. "Hmm…the Sharingan. You must be an Uchiha. I thought that bloodline died out years ago as well. Perhaps you could take that up with your Namikaze friend there." Bunjo pointed directly at Naruto. He could see the rage in Naruto's eyes. The anger of having hit some sort of chord. He was right, Naruto was a Namikaze

"What? Naruto's not a Nami…Oh My God!" Sakura's eyes shot wide open as her mind began connecting the dots. Everything that she was told about the Yondaime, Namikaze Minato, back in the academy, about how honorable man he was and how he sacrificed himself to save the village by sealing the Kyuubi no Kitsune inside Naruto. It explained why Naruto was the person chosen to have the Kyuubi sealed within him. It explained the summoning contract Naruto. The Yondaime had been able to summon toads. It explained why Jiraiya-sama, one of the Sanin, had chosen to train Naruto of all people. It explained the knives Naruto wielded, the Hiraishin kunai, given to him by Jiraiya-sama. They weren't just given to him as a simple birthday present. It explained the jutsu that he used, the Rasengan, the Yondaime's personal creation. It explained Naruto's aptitude towards seals as the Yondaime was the greatest seal master alive during his time. It explained just about everything regarding Naruto. "Naruto? Are you…"

Naruto clenched his eyes for a moment. The one secret that he had been trying to keep a secret, discovered by a bunch of Iwa ninja. It didn't take a genius to figure out why they were after him. The Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato, his father, had dealt a devastating blow to the Iwagakure army back in the Second Shinobi War, one that crippled it's army. They were here for one simple reason…revenge. And if they couldn't take it out on the Yellow Flash himself, they would take it out on his son.

Sakura saw it in his eyes. Naruto wasn't trying to hide the fact or deny it. No, he was angry…angry that someone had figured him out. Angry that someone was threatening his friends with death over their affiliation to him. It was true, Naruto was in fact a Namikaze, and if she was correct, he was the son of the most powerful of them all, Namikaze Minato.

"This is your last chance, hand over blondie or you'll all die" said Bunjo.

"We…" Sasuke tried to talk.

"Fine. But let my friends go first" said Naruto, taking a step forward.

"Heh. Smart move" said Bunjo. Before Naruto could take another step, Sasuke grabbed the back of Naruto's collar.

"What are you doing, Teme?!" shouted Naruto.

"What I promised myself" said Sasuke. "Ever since that day, when we encountered the Sound Four, no ever since the night I lost my clan, I promised myself that I wouldn't let another person close to me be taken away. I'd rather die before I let something like that night happen again. If you just think I'm going to let you hand yourself over to them, then you might as well kill me as well, that's if you think you can, Scaredy Cat."

Yep, that hit Naruto. He took one look at both Sasuke and Sakura ad both of them nodded before reaching for their weapons. Naruto grabbed one kunai in particular, the one that his dad had sealed inside the scroll, the one that still contained the Hiraishin seal on it. Sasuke had a set of shuriken in each hand. Sakura had a kunai in one hand with a set of the pink senbon in the other hand.

"We've just seen what'll happen if this information gets out. As much as I'd hate to say it, we need to kill them, right here, right now" said Sasuke.

Bunjo sighed. "Fine, looks like we do this the hard way" he said as he made a hand signal. As he did so, the remaining 13 Iwa ninja that were in the trees, attacked.

As the first bout came, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke found them dodging a flurry of kunai strikes and blows. While dodging a kunai strike to the throat, Naruto slashed out with his own kunai, the metal just missing the Iwa ninja's chest. The Iwa ninja backed away and grimaced, thinking he had just dodges a fatal blow…that is until he keeled over, dead. There was a blade of wind coming out of Naruto's knife, roughly a foot in length that had cut deep into the ninja's chest, slicing through his heart. _1 down_.

Sasuke had unleashed his shuriken before the Iwa ninja could strike. The Iwa ninja smirked as he dodged the incoming shuriken, only to find said shuriken wind around him, encasing him in ninja wire. "Katon: Dragon Fire Jutsu!" Sasuke called out as a flame shot along the wire towards the Iwa ninja. Before anyone could free him from the wire, he was engulfed in flame as the burning became too much and he died. _2 down._

Sakura was busy deflecting the knives from one Iwa ninja, and dodging punches and kicks from another one. During her training with Tsunade, one thing she had greatly improved on was her speed and ability to evade blows, as that was one of the most important skill sets a medical ninja needed, aside from superb chakra control. She found herself being able to dodge most of the blows with relative easy.

"Hey, you move pretty good. Too bad I have to kill you. Who knows, perhaps I'll be kind enough to leave you alive just long enough to have a little bit of fun" smirked the Iwa ninja.

If Sakura wasn't mad before, this pushed her. She knew what the ninja was referring to and there was no way in hell she was going to let that happen. "It's just too bad you have that forehead of yours. If it wasn't for that monstrosity, you'd be perfect."

That really did it. The Iwa ninja would have been better off bringing the wrath of the Shinigami down upon himself than what was about to befall him. Sakura wound up her fist while unleashing an amount of killing intent that would make the Kyuubi proud. **"Shannaro!" **Sakura shouted before driving a supercharged fist straight into the ninja's chest, the same fist that he had some of her pink senbon in. The man was dead. If the shattered rib cage, collapsed lungs, and crushed heart didn't kill him, the poison from the senbon would. _3 down._

The remaining Iwa ninja that were engaging them suddenly jumped back as Bunjo completed a series of hand seals. "Doton: Jaws of Hell!" he shouted, slamming his hands into the ground. Team 7 jumped just in time to avoid a demonic earthen head emerge from the ground and try to devour them. However, they didn't fully avoid it as Sakura's leg was scraped by the stony fangs. The gash as deep, and she would have to tend to it right away. As Sakura landed, her hands began to glow green as she activated one of the new medical jutsu in her arsenal, the Mystic Palm Technique. She placed it over her leg wound and began to stop most of the bleeding.

Naruto had recovered, only to be tackled by one of Kucha's wolves. Naruto tried to fend I off while it was on top of him, but the wolf bit into his arm. "Lion's Barrage!" shouted Sasuke as he slammed h heel into the back of the wolf's neck, forcing it to release Naruto. "You'd better not be giving up on me now."

"Heh. Wouldn't dream of it" said Naruto.

"Summoning Jutsu!" both Naruto and Sasuke shouted, slamming their hands into the ground beneath them. For Sasuke, a large white saber-toothed tiger, clad in battle armor appeared. As for Naruto, a larger Toad, maybe slightly bigger than Jiraiya, also in battle armor and wielding a sword like a samurai appeared.

"Gamakiro, think you can take care of these wolves?" asked Naruto to his summon. The toad nodded to his summoner.

"Saja, help the toad and take care of these wolves" said Sasuke. "Sakura how long do you need?"

"About thirty more seconds and I should be good" said Sakura as she put the finishing touches on her wound. Naruto nodded and went to watch over Sakura.

"Heh, you think some mangy summons can beat me?" smirked Kucha. "Try this. Doton: Wolf Pack!" About a dozen wolves made of stone and earth erupted from the ground beside Kucha and darted towards Sasuke.

"Raiton: White Tigers!" shouted Sasuke. Lightning bolts erupted from his hands, held together in the tiger seal, and formed into about six tigers made from lightning. The two jutsus clashed, sending chunks of rock and dirt everywhere as the lightning jutsu overpowered the earth jutsu., before turning on Kucha.

"Here kitty kitty" called out one of the wolves. He and Saja, Sasuke's tiger were circling one another, waiting for the other to strike.

"Please, you're embarrassing your own kind. Not that they need any help" replied Saja. The wolf let out a growl before leaping at Saja, only for the tiger to dodge the attack and retaliate by sinking her fangs into the wolf's back, dispelling the summon. The white tiger looked over at her companion at the time and saw the toad Gamakiro slash at the wolf with his sword as it dispelled as well, returning to wherever the summon came from.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" shouted Naruto as a dozen Narutos appeared as he went to cover for Sakura. Three of the four ninja who had decided attack Sakura while she was down were repelled back by the clones while most of the clones picked one ninja and stormed him.

"U-zu-ma-ki" shouted four clones as they knocked the Iwa ninja into the air. "Naruto barrage!" shouted the real Naruto as he delivered a spinning axe kick to the back of the Iwa ninja's skull. Rising to her feet Sakura threw a few of her pink senbon into the Iwa ninja to ensure the job was finished. "Sakura, watch our backs." Sakura nodded as Naruto turned to get Sasuke's attention. "Sasuke!"

"Right. Katon: Dragon Fire Breath!"

"Futon: Great Breakthrough!"

The two comrades cast their jutsu simultaneous as Naruto's wind jutsu was absorbed into Sasuke's fire jutsu, increasing the power of the flamethrower, which was headed towards 6 shocked Iwa ninja.

"Doton: Mud Wall!" shouted one of the Iwa ninja, trying to create a defense for him and a few of his comrades.

Two of the Iwa ninja moved out of the way of the incoming hellstorm while the remaining four took cover behind the wall…bad move.

The combined attack, powered by both fire and wind collided with the mud wall and began tearing through the defense and the four who decided to take cover behind the wall soon found themselves engulfed in the flames as they were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer power of the combined attack. _7 down._

The remaining eight Iwa ninja did their best to regroup on their leader, Bunjo, and tracker, Kucha. Bunjo and Kucha were growing increasingly angry at the Konoha ninja they were facing. The three ninja had managed to lay waste to seven of their party so far, while they had only managed to land a few scratches on their opponents. The other six ninja however, were seriously regretting this decision to fight them.

"Inaka, take them out" ordered Bunjo.

"H-hai" an Iwa ninja said hesitantly. He made a series of hand seals which Sasuke was watching. "Raiton: Lightning Cannon!" A ball of condensed electricity formed between his hands as he slowly drew them apart as Sasuke's eyes widened. That was no simple C- or even B-rank technique. That had the power of an A-rank technique and sadly it would require the power of an A-rank technique to counter it. With a flick of his wrist, Inaka sent the ball of lightning hurling towards them at high speed and only Sasuke found himself able to catch it's movement in-time thanks to his bloodline.

"Chidori!" Sasuke shouted, using his lightning encased hand to block the ball of lightning heading towards the team. And explosion followed and Sasuke was sent sliding back, clutching his arm.

"Sasuke!" shouted Sakura.

"Don't let yourself get distracted! I'm okay for the moment!" shouted Sasuke, trying to get his team's attention back on the Iwa ninja.

"Doton: Mud Wave!" shouted Bunjo as he unleashed a wave of mud towards team 7.

"Sakura!" shouted Sasuke. Sakura nodded, knowing what Sasuke was thinking.

"Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!" shouted Sasuke and Sakura as their fireballs collided with the mud wave heading their way. The two jutsu collided this time and the held each other at bay, the mud preventing the fire from advancing any further and the fire hardening and solidifying the mud.

When the flames and dust died down, two of the Iwa ninja lunged forward, driving Kunai into the guts of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

Naruto and Sasuke both spat up blood before collapsing to the ground as Sakura's eyes grew wide. The two Iwa ninja grinned, but before threw had time to wipe that grin away, Naruto and Sasuke disappeared, as they were only shadow clones and Sakura began to fall apart in a swirl of sakura petals, enveloping the two Iwa ninja in her genjutsu.

"Shit! Genjutsu!" shouted one of the two Iwa ninja.

"Quick! Kai!" they both said as they quickly dispelled the genjutsu. It was too late.

"Now, let's see if I've got this right" said Sasuke, clapping his hands together and slowly drawing them apart. A ball of electricity formed in between them and the Iwa ninja's eyes widened.

"What?! B-but how?" said a shocked Inaka, back by Bunjo.

"Clearly you've never faced the Sharingan before" said Sasuke. "Raiton: Lightning Cannon!" With a forward flick of his wrist the lightning ball shot forward towards the two Iwa ninja who were caught in Sakura's genjutsu, piercing through the first one's chest and violently exploding upon contact with the second one. _9 down._

Sasuke grinned, having gotten something useful from the Iwa ninja in this fight besides a chance to test himself, but winced as a pain shot through his arm from taking the damage from that previous Lightning Cannon.

The remaining six Iwa ninja tried to make some sort of counter attack, but found that a hail of shuriken were heading straight towards them at extremely high speeds. The six of them jumped but two of them were too late as dozens of shuriken embedded themselves in the two of them. _11 down_.

"Shit! Reinforcements?" swore Bunjo. Based on the skill of the three Konoha ninja that he was facing, reinforcements was the last thing he needed.

Suddenly, six pairs of Naruto clones burst from the trees from the locations where the shuriken had come from. "Not quite!" Shouted the Narutos as the closed in with Rasengans in their hands. Bunjo and Kucha were the only one's able to dodge the incoming barrage of one of the Yellow Flash's feared techniques as the other two, including Inaka, were pummeled by the barrage of Rasengan. _13 down._

The twelve Naruto clones closed in on Bunjo. "Doton: Shooting Spears!" shouted Bunjo as a series of spears erupted from the ground surrounding Bunjo, impaling the clones.

Team 7 took one look at each other before making what would hopefully be the final assault on their attackers. "Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!" shouted Sakura, before expending a good portion of her remaining chakra. The rest that she had would have to be used to heal Sasuke's arm as it still looked injured from using it to block the Lightning Cannon with his Chidori. Bunjo and Kucha both jumped, dodging the gigantic fireball that was heading their way.

Naruto immediately stopped. _"Here goes nothing"_ he thought before working through a few hand seals as Bunjo was descending towards the ground. "Futon: Air Dragon Bullet!" Naruto shouted, unleashing his newest jutsu upon Bunjo. Before Bunjo could recover himself, he saw the figure that was the wind dragon which Naruto had conjured coming towards him. Unable to get away in time, Bunjo felt the blast of the jutsu slice into his flesh, as he fell to the ground with multiple deep cuts all over his body and Naruto slowly walking towards him.

"Katon: Phoenix Sage Flame!" shouted Sasuke as he launched a barrage of fireballs towards Kucha. The wolf master frantically dodged the smaller fireballs as a larger fireball came sailing directly towards him. He jumped backwards just in time to dodge the explosion of the fireball, but he wasn't fast enough to dodge Sasuke charging towards him, through the smoke with Chidori active. Kucha's eyes widened as it was too late to dodge and Sasuke was moving too fast. Sasuke's arm drilled through Kucha's chest as he dropped to the ground, dead. _14 down._

Sasuke looked over to see Naruto walking towards a heavily injured Bunjo.

"Wh-who a-are you?" struggled Bunjo as he looked up towards Naruto, who was now standing over him. Naruto's eyes showed a hint of regret. Regret for what he had just done and what he was about to do, but Naruto knew this had to be done. To protect his secret and his friends, this had to be done.

"Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, the son of Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage" replied Naruto as he formed a Rasengan in his hand. Both Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened at that declaration and Bunjo's eyes closed as he knew it was over.

"Rasengan!" shouted Naruto as he drove the Rasengan into Bunjo's back before walking away from everything. 15 Iwa ninja lay dead and Team 7 was victorious.

"Nar…!" cried Sakura before being pulled back by Sasuke.

"Just let him be. Give him a few minutes to cool off" said Sasuke. "Then we'll go find him." He then clutched his right arm as it was still in pain.

"Sasuke! Hold on" she said as she activated her medical jutsu and placed it over Sasuke's arm as she began healing him. Sasuke winced a little at the initial touch, but he could feel his arm start to heal itself.

"Sakura, I know you didn't want it to end like this, but…" said Sasuke.

"I know. But if they had got away, then word of who Naruto was would have spread and he probably would have had the entire country of Iwa on his ass his entire life. I couldn't let that happen to him, especially with everything he's got on his shoulders already" said Sakura as she put the finishing touches on healing Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded. "I still can't believe the Dobe is really a Namikaze, let alone the Yondaime's son. Come on, let's see what these Iwa ninja had and we'll go find him." Sakura nodded as she followed Sasuke towards the battlefield. Suddenly, Sasuke stopped and turned towards Sakura. "You did really good. You're actually turning out to be a pretty damn good kunoichi."

Sakura couldn't help it as a slight blush took over her cheeks and she smiled before following Sasuke to check the Iwa ninja for scrolls before continuing on to find Naruto. All in all, they found a total of four scrolls on the Iwa ninja. The Iwa ninja had accumulated a total of seven scrolls, after the five they were given and the two that they got from ambushing the other groups, but three of them had been severely damaged by the inferno that Naruto and Sasuke had unleashed on the Iwa ninja.

* * *

Naruto was sitting on a rock by a nearby tributary of the main river that flowed through the arena, reflecting on everything.

"_I k-killed all of them…"_ said Naruto, in shock from what had just transpired.

"**It was necessary, Kit"** replied Kurama.

"_What are you talking about? How is killing 15 people, even if they attack you necessary?"_ asked Naruto.

"**For the same reason you killed those Sound ninja back in the invasion. Because your friends were in danger"** said Kurama.

"_Yeah, but we didn't have to kill them. Just incapacitate them long enough for the three of us to escape"_ responded Naruto.

"**And if you would have just incapacitated them, they would get away with that knowledge. Remember why that pervert wanted you to keep that a secret, because of the enemies your father had. Your heritage had been kept a secret so that those enemies wouldn't put you or your friends in danger. If you had let those Iwa ninja live, then the information regarding your heritage would have gotten away and some of those enemies would have stopped it nothing to make you suffer. They would have killed your comrades, your friends, and probably your vixen as well to get to you, before killing you all for revenge on your father."**

Naruto had been trying to find some other explanation. **"You know I'm right. It was the only way to keep them safe."** Sadly, the Kyuubi was right.

"_But what do I do now?"_ asked Naruto.

"**Move on, become stronger and help them become stronger. There's no going back, no severing connections, no escaping this. All you can do is move forward and prepare for what's coming. Anyways, I have a feeling you've got some explaining to do."**

"_Huh? What are you…"_

"Naruto!" shouted Sakura as she and Sasuke caught up with him.

"About time we found you, Dobe" said Sasuke.

"Hey…about that…" said a still depressed Naruto. That is until Naruto felt Sakura wrap her arms aooud him in a hug.

"It's okay Naruto" said Sakura. It was no Hinata hug, but it was pretty close as Naruto felt a warmth spread through his body. "We're here for you."

"But they could have killed you because of me" said Naruto.

"And we would have died with you no matter what" said Sasuke, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulders. "But we didn't, we got out of that alive and together. So are you really…you know?"

Naruto lowered his head before it shooting up and a grin lighting up Naruto's face. "Yeah, I am!" he said cheerful.

"There's the Naruto we know" said Sakura, smiling with Naruto. "I still can't believe that you of all people."

"I'm just surprised we didn't catch it earlier. After all, he looks just like him" said Sasuke.

"Guys, can we not talk about that. It's supposed to be a secret for a reason and now that you know, it needs to stay a secret" said Naruto, flailing his arms frantically.

"What's the matter Dobe? Embarrassed at who your dad is?" asked Sasuke, jokingly…wait, Sasuke joke?

"Of course not! After all, my dad's…" Shouted Naruto.

"Remember Naruto, that's a secret. We can't have you blowing it now, can we?" interrupted Sakura.

"Heh. Fine, so what now?" asked Naruto.

"Well, we've got plenty of scrolls. Those Iwa ninja had two Cloud scroll, and two Lightning scrolls" said Sasuke.

"And don't forget about those two scrolls the two of you burnt to a crisp" scolded Sakura.

Naruto grinned and Sasuke even tried to manage an innocent look. "You have to admit though, that was one hell of a fire jutsu" said Naruto as Sasuke merely nodded. Sakura sighed.

"Anyways, let's get to the base. We can try and get a hold of Kakashi-sensei and talk to him about this who ordeal" said Sakura. She turned her head towards the stream that Naruto was facing when Naruto pointed out something odd about the river.

Both Sakura and Sasuke turned their head to see what Naruto's fuss was about. Indeed there was something off about the river. They could barely make it out under the faint glowing light of the morning sun, but one thing was obvious, the river was a deep red color, stained with blood. Someone, or something, had also been out killing that night.

Suddenly, a scream filled the air. A scream filled with pure terror, and one that Sakura recognized.

"That sounded like Ino!" exclaimed Sakura. "Quick! This way!" Sakura began running up the blood-stained tributary towards Ino's scream with Sasuke and Naruto closely behind.

* * *

The morning of the third day dawned with a red sun. Blood had been spilt that night. And from the screams that filled the morning air, more was yet to be spilt.

* * *

Jutsu

Doton: Jaws of Hell: As the user slams their hands into the ground, an earthen face emerges from the ground with its jaws open. The jaws then clamp down upon the unsuspecting victim, crushing them or dragging them into the earth below. While it is a powerful jutsu, it can be easily avoided by an alert opponent.

Rank: B

Users: Hashiga Bunjo

Mystic Palm Technique: Considered a staple ninjutsu for medical ninja. This medical ninjutsu sends carefully controlled amounts of chakra through the user's hands to a wound to rapidly speed up the body's natural healing process. This jutsu requires extremely delicate chakra control.

Rank: A

Users: Haruno Sakura, Senju Tsunade, Shizune

Doton: Wolf Pack: The user summons up to a dozen wolves, made of earth and stone, from the ground around them. These wolves then work together as a pack to tear their opponent to shreds.

Rank: B

Users: Ucacha Kucha

Raiton: White Tigers: The user mold lightning chakra in the form of a few large white tigers, made out of pure lightning. These tigers then race towards the target(s) at high speeds, tearing through their targets with claws of lightning.

Rank: B

Users: Uchiha Sasuke

Doton: Mud Wall: A ninjutsu where a wall of compact mud rises from the ground. This wall has considerable strength and can withstand many attacks. This is primarily a defensive jutsu, but can also serve some suplementay/strategic purposes.

Rank: C

Users: Incinerated Iwa ninja

Raiton: Lightning Cannon: After forming the hand seals, the user claps their hands together and slowly pulls them apart, allowing a ball of condensed electricity to fill the void in-between his hands. The lightning ball continues to grow until it is roughly the size of a softball. With a slight movement of the hands, the user then sends the ball hurling towards the target at extremely high speeds that most ninja can't match or see. However, the speed of this move can be seen by a specialized dojutsu such as the Sharingan.

Rank: A

Users: Inaka, Uchiha Sasuke.

Doton: Mud Wave: The user slams their hands into the ground, uplifting a mas of mud and dirt that is sent traveling towards an opponent.

Rank: C

Users: Hashiga Bunjo

Doton: Shooting Spears: In a circle pattern surrounding the user, sharp stone spears erupt from the ground, impaling whatever is above them.

Rank: B

Users: Hahiga Bunjo

* * *

Author Notes

There was the chapter. It was the longest one yet, almost 10k words.

Some big things went down here. Sakura and Sasuke now know about Naruto's full heritage and Sasuke managed to pick up a new jutsu :p

With two days behind them and four left to go, Team 7 now has all of their scrolls, courtesy of Iwagakure, and both Team 8 and Team Gai have two scrolls. As for Team 10, well it sounds like they're in trouble, but the question remains is what kind of trouble have they gotten themselves into.

Oh, and to all you Bee and enka rap fans, don't worry. He will return.

Till next time,

Please Review/Comment.


	51. Chapter 51

Sweet, 400 favorites! Thank you to everyone for all of your support so far.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

Posted: 1/18/13

* * *

**Chapter 51: Close Encounter**

"So how do you think they're doing?" asked Asuma. He, Shikamaru, Kurenai, Kakashi, and Gai were trying their best to keep themselves occupied while in Kumo. All five of them were aware that they were under surveillance from the Kumo ANBU, which didn't surprise them, but at the same time it didn't give them much time to train or do some sort of shinobi exercises to keep their minds from growing bored.

"Well, if I know Naruto, he's already drawn half the field to his attention" said Kakashi. The other three laughed at this.

"I'm not worried about my team, their youth will see them though!" shouted Gai.

"My team's come a long way, especially Hinata. She's really been pulled out of our shell, thanks that to that loudmouth of yours, Kakashi" said Kurenai.

"Naruto's always troublesome, but that's just who he is" said Shikamaru. "I have faith in my team, even if I'm not there, Ino and Chouji can pull through if they really set their minds to things."

Asuma let out a sigh. "It's not Ino or Chouji I'm worried about. It's Shinji. The only reason I agreed to take him on the team is because we needed a third, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. He clashes to much with the team dynamic, not to mention he's got that main branch Hyuga demeanour to him" he quickly looked over to Kurenai. "No offence to Hinata or anything."

"It's okay. Hinata's never been much of a Hyuga. Her father's made leaps and bounds, but I wish he had taken more notice of his daughter before. He and Neji are the only ones to have changed. The rest of the clan is still the same…arrogant as the devil and they just avoid her. I talk to her father on a weekly basis to update him of Hinata's progress and he shares the state of the clan with me. None of the main branch likes her, in fact, they hate her. The elders are trying to turn her younger sister into some heartless puppet of theirs that they can use to control the clan with. They are also constantly making excuses to have Hinata sealed" there was a bit of venom and anger in that last part of Kurenai's voice.

"But isn't Hiashi the head of the clan? Can't he do something?" asked Asuma.

"There's only so much he can do. He may be clan head, but when it comes to internal affairs, the elders do have a considerable amount of power. Not to mention, he's doing everything he can to keep the elders away from his two daughters and get, as I call it, the Hyuga complex out of Hanabi's mind. I still just wish he'd Jyuken their sorry asses though" said Kurenai. Everyone could feel Kurenai's temper rising.

"Now now, just calm down Kurenai" said Asuma. "Just look at it this way, if Hinata makes it through these exams and makes chunin, the Hyuga counsel will have no choice but to eat it."

Kakashi got a chuckle out of this and Gai's youthfulness began to burn brighter, that is until a tranquillizer dart came out of the shadows in the restaurant where they were getting breakfast, and knocked Gai unconcious. Kakashi looked over towards the shadows, where one of the ANBU was hiding.

"My apologies, but we were ordered by Raikage-sama, and your own Hokage, to keep the 'Flames of Youth' as your Hokage called it, in check" said the ANBU.

* * *

Team 10,

Ino sank to her knees in utter fear. They had encountered a group of Kiri ninja, all wearing masks, who were standing on top of a river bank looking down towards the river. Ino saw this as the perfect distraction to get off her Mind Transfer Jutsu, take control of one of them, and use him to take out the rest of the team.

Ino found herself in an odd sort of mindscape. Usually, when she took over someone else's mind, she was in a blank void and could control her opponent from there. This was different though. She was inside some sort of damp cave, trying her best to get her bearings.

"Where am I? I've never seen a mindscape like this" said Ino to herself.

She took a few steps around, trying to gauge where she was, but she still couldn't make out what was going on or what kind of mindscape she was in.

Suddenly, she felt a stinging sensation on her shoulder. She looked up to see another drop of a strange liquid land on her arm. Like with her shoulder, the liquid burned at her skin. "Acid? What is acid doing in someone's mind?" asked Ino to herself. "What the hell is going on?" Ino took a few steps backwards, hoping to get out of the drip of acid, or whatever it was. However, she backed into something coated in the acid as she winced and it burned into her back. Getting a quick feel of what it was that she backed into, it was soft and sticky. Ino ran a few steps forward, hoping to get away from the acid coated 'wall' as she collapsed to her knees in pain. "What the hell is going on here?"

It was then that she turned around and was able to get a better look at what exactly she ran into. It wasn't a wall, but rather… "Is that a slug?" she asked. "Why is a slug in here?"

"**Well, looks like dinner has found its way to me this time"** said the slug, who turned out to be the Rokubi.

"D-dinner?" gulped Ino. The slug lunged it's head forward at Ino, mouth agape is it was about to devour her mind. "Ahh! Release!" she shouted just as the slug crashed down on top of her.

As Ino awoke back in her own body, she couldn't help but let out a piercing scream, before going onto a cold sweat. "Ino! What's wrong?!" shouted Chouji, trying to snap her out of the terrified trance that she was in.

"I-it, s-slug" was all Ino could mutter before collapsing into a fetal position as she began shivering.

"What happened?" asked Shinji.

"I don't know. I've never seen her like this" said Chouji.

"Aww, did the poor flesh bag see something it shouldn't have?" said the same ninja who Ino had tried to switch minds with.

"Who are you and what did you do to her?!" shouted Chouji.

"Me? Nothing. It's not my fault she couldn't keep to herself. As for what she saw, well let's just say an image of your deaths" said the Kiri ninja.

Shinji activated his Byakugan, prepared to fight this foe. "Red?" he said in shock as his eyes picked up on the color of the ninja's chakra.

Chouji was the first to charge only for the Kiri ninja to crab his arm and stop him before his punch could progress any further. Chouji felt a burning sensation against his skin where the ninja was grabbing his arm. Because of this, he lost control of his footing, allowing the Kiri ninja to flip him and send rolling down the river bank. Thankfully, something broke his decent.

"Huh? What is this?" asked Chouji, trying to get his bearings and nurse his burnt arm as well. "And what did he do t my arm?"

When Chouji looked down to see what he was landing on, he nearly puked. Around him, on the bank of the river, and even sitting in the river, were about half a dozen corpses. They had all been killed from what appeared having the flesh stripped, or in this case, melted from their very bones. Some of the more freshly killed victims were partially lying in the river as the blood ran from them into the current of the water.

Chouji was growing increasingly fearful of the man they had just ran into. Had he really done this? Butchered half a dozen ninja? Chouji scrambled o the top of the bank away from the death-infested river. As he reached the top of the bank, that very ninja stood in front of him. Chouji gasped, but even the air that was sucked into his lungs burned.

"Hello, meat sack" said the Kiri ninja a Chouji couldn't help but cough on the poisoned air around him.

"Jyuken: 8 trigrams, 32 palms!" shouted Shinji as he attacked the Kiri ninja. However, he could only manage 8 strikes before his hands and lungs began to burn. It was like this ninja was made from acid.

"You think a measly attack like that's going to stop me?" snarled the Kiri ninja, taking his eyes off Chouji, giving the Akamichi time to retreat back to where Ino and Shinji were. "I am the ultimate killing machine. Everything about me was meant for the melting of flesh. Even my breath kills."

The Kiri ninja removed the mask he was wearing, took a deep breath and exhaled a thick green fog that enveloped Team 10. As the fog surrounded them, everything began to burn, their skin, their lungs, their eyes…everything. The acid in the cloud slowly began eating away at them. Chouji was the first one to go as he lost consciousness, followed shortly by Shinji. "W-what a-are you?" asked Ino weakly.

"Futon: Gale Palm!" a strong gust ripped through the battlefield, blowing the cloud away from the three suffering ninja.

* * *

Sand siblings,

"Where did he go?" asked Temari. When she turned to find Kankuro, he wasn't standing beside her. She looked back to see Kankuro rummaging through what was left of Gaara's last victim. "What are you doing you idiot?! We've got to find him quick!"

"You can't expect me just to let a good scroll go to waste" explained Kankuro. "Besides, thank's to Gaara's rampage, we've now got all our scrolls."

Temari sighed. "Baka. Don't you even care a little for your brother?" asked Temari.

"Well yeah. That's why the sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can try and get Gaara some help" explained Kankuro.

"Never mind" said Temari, smacking herself in the face. The continued to follow the path of destruction until they came to a huddled Gaara, crying. "G-gaara?"

"Temari?" said Gaara in between the tears.

"Don't worry bro, we're here" said Kankuro.

"And we'd be here sooner if you didn't have to stop every two minutes!" shouted Temari.

"Do you…do you guys…hate me?" asked Gaara.

"Of course not. Why would we hate you. You're our brother and we love you. We hate what that monster inside you is trying to do to you, but it's not you" said Temari, showing a very rarely seen sensitive side.

"But the Ichibi and I are…"

"You're two different things. What just happened, was the Ichibi, not you" said Temari. "You're doing well in keeping it under control."

"But I killed" replied Gaara.

"True, but you didn't kill any friends. There was another Sand team back there who were afraid you were going to kill them, but you just passed them up" said Temari. "Your only victims were a team of Kumo shinobi and two teams of Ame ninja. Not killing your comrades is an improvement. Besides, there was something else last night that really triggered the Ichibi. It wasn't the full moon or anything, it was like there was a shroud of death over the entire mountain last night. That was what triggered the Ichibi I think, nothing you did."

"Yeah, now let's get out of here before whatever triggered the Ichibi gets us" said Kankuro.

"Coward!" barked Temari. "But you're right. We need to get Gaara out of here and away from whatever it was that set the Ichibi off."

"Temari…Kankuro…thank you" said Gaara, regaining his composure.

"Anytime, little brother" said Temari as the three Sand Siblings took off towards the base.

* * *

"Yes! Take that you bitches! We're Queens of the Mountain!" shouted Karui. Her team, consisting of herself, Omoi, and Yugito had managed to reach the base at the top of the mountain by the beginning of the third day, making them the first ones to reach the top and earning them the title of Kings (or Queens in Karui and Yugito's case) of the Mountain.

"Oh yeah. Made it to the top that you did, bakayaro konoyaro!" said Bee, appearing from the summoning seal on the three scrolls that the Kumo team placed in front of them.

"Bee-sama, nice to see you again" said Yugito.

"I'd say more celebration is in order, but brotha wants ta see ya, bakayaro konoyaro!" said Bee as he led the team towards the chamber where the Raikage was waiting.

"Yugito, Omoi, Karui" said the Raikage, who was resting on a couch in his temporary office for the duration of the exams.

"Raikage-sama" bowed the three.

"How are things out there?" asked the Raikage.

"We ran into a few other of our teams and they each had a scroll. I suspect it shouldn't be long before, although that could lead to our own teams fighting over a batch of scrolls and in that case none of them make it because they've beaten each other into the ground" said Omoi.

"Just stop it you!" shouted Karui.

"Anyways, something was definitely up last night, Raikage-sama" said Yugito. "I don't know how to explain it, but it definitely got the Nibi a little riled up. And then this morning, I don't really know how o explain it. All that I can say is that there was a lot of killing last night."

"Hmm" growled the Raikage. "Usually in exams like these, there are a few deaths, no more than a dozen and that's on a bad year."

"I can tell you for sure to expect more than that. I would be willing to bet that two dozen were killed last night, easily" said Yugito.

"What?!" shouted the Raikage, slamming his is on the couch and breaking the arm.

"I don't know how to explain it any other way, but it was like the Shinigami himself was on the battlefield last night" said Yugito.

* * *

Team 10,

"So more have come? I see. The more killing, the merrier" said the Kiri ninja.

Ino looked up to see who had come, the first thing she saw was a pink haze over her as her vision was weary and she was on the verge of unconsciousness with the rest of her team. "Sakura?..."

"Hold on Ino, we're here" said Sakura.

"No…you have to…he's a monster…he'll just kill…" with that, Ino lost consciousness as well.

Sakura was running a quick check on the rest of Team 10 while Naruto and Sasuke were staring down their opponent.

"So he's?" asked Sasuke.

"Yeah. The Rokubi's jinchuriki" said Naruto.

The Kiri jinchuriki just laughed. "I'm impressed. You know my little secret. How about I tell you another one. Those who know my secret are at my mercy. If you know my secret I can kill you whenever I want. And I want to kill you now!" The Kiri ninja ran at Naruto, gathering as much acid around his hand until it was practically dripping off him.

As the Kiri jinchuriki shot his acid coated fist at Naruto, the blonde caught it and winced at the initial pain. However, that pain soon faded as Kurama channeled a little bit more chakra to speed up Naruto's regeneration to the point where it could overcome the corrosive effects of the acid. "What?! Why aren't your hands melting?!" said the Kiri jinchuriki in surprise. The amount of concentrated acid should have begun melting his fingers off by now at the very least. And to make things even more confusing, Naruto wasn't coughing as most others should as the acid vapors should have been terrorizing his lungs by now.

Naruto looked up into the eyes of the fellow jinchuriki, his eyes red and his whisker markings a little darker. "You're not the only special one here" said Naruto as he threw his opponent back.

"I see" said the Rokubi's jinchuriki, now slightly intrigued. "It appears so. Well then, killing you will be well worth it."

Sakura was looking over Ino, Chouji, and Shinji. It was not looking good. They had lost consciousness from the damage the acid had done to them and she was nearly positive the acid had disrupted the pH balances in their blood as well. To make things worse, there was a decent amount of corrosion and deterioration both on the skin and inside their lungs as well. They needed treatment and they needed to get away so that she could give that treatment. "Naruto!" she shouted to her teammate. "We need to get them away so I can treat them!"

"Heh, if you think I'm going to let them get away, you've got another thing coming. You're all going to die here" said the Kiri jinchuriki.

"You got an idea?" asked Sasuke.

"Yeah. But be ready to move away and move away quick" said Naruto. Sasuke nodded and Naruto made a familiar hand seal. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" In seconds, nearly 1000 Narutos popped into existence, all of them having a small amount of demonic chakra in them that would allow them to last slightly longer. With a loud yell, all 1000 clones charged the Kiri jinchuriki and Naruto gave Sasuke the signal.

Sakura grabbed Ino, Naruto grabbed Chouji, and Sasuke grabbed Shinji as the three of them used the clones as a distraction to get away.

By the time the Kiri ninja could defeat the clones, through a combination of a concentrated acid cloud surrounding him and even resorting to a one-tailed form once he realized the clones would be able to overtake the cloud, Team 7 and Team 10 were long gone, well beyond his sensing range. He was beyond mad. If he wanted to kill them before, he really wanted to kill them now, especially Naruto.

"Stop!" shouted Naruto as a few shuriken came flying out of the woods and into the tree just beside them. His was not good, they had just escaped a killing-crazed jinchuriki, had three injured comrades on their back, and now they were under attack.

On a tree branch in front of them appeared three Kumo ninja. One was a rather tall male, black hair, and the beginnings of a beard. Another was a shorter man who had a distinctive scar running across his face from his right check across his mouth. The third was a female, with brown hair tied up in a in a ponytail that ran down to her shoulder blades. "Well well Yakuro, look what we have here" said the female.

"A couple of Konoha ninja, and they appear to be carrying an extra burden" said the tall Kumo shinobi, who was most likely Yakuro. "They look pretty weak, and the ones they are carrying must be pathetic if they have to be carried by a bunch of weaklings like these guys."

"What?! Come down here and I'll wipe that smug look off your face!" shouted Naruto.

"Naruto, hush!" snapped Sakura.

"Pinky's right. You don't want your friends to get killed now do you?" said the scar-faced Kumo shinobi.

"Shamaru's right, you don't want anything to happen to your friends" said Yakuro. "What do you think we should do with them, Hami?"

"I say we just put them out of their misery" said the Kumo kunoichi, Hami. Sasuke sent them all a glare that basically said 'try something, I dare you.'

"Wait!" shouted Sakura. She didn't like this situation, but right now their number one concern was getting Team 10 to a safe place where she could begin treating their injuries. "How about we make a deal."

"Oh, a deal? Very well, what did you have in mind, Pinky?" asked Yakuro.

"My guess is you're looking for a scroll, otherwise you'd be at the base already. You let us go quietly, we'll give you a scroll" said Sakura. Both Naruto and Sasuke saw the logic in this, despite not liking this.

"Hmm, an interesting trade. Although we do in fact need a wind scroll" said Yakuro. "Very well, hand over a wind scroll and we'll let you go."

Sasuke growled, but none the less, took out the wind scroll he kept and tossed it towards the Kumo nin. "Hmm. Very well. Because you cooperated, we'll make your death nice and quick" said Shamaru.

"What?!" shouted Naruto. "Bastard!"

"Tsk" was all Hami said before the three of them jumped down, preparing to draw the swords on their back.

"Gatsuga!"

The Kumo ninja had just enough time to jump out of the way of the spiraling Kiba and Akamaru. A swarm of insects appeared behind them and Hinata took up a third position on the side.

"You have what you came for, I suggest you leave" said Shino from up in the tree.

"I say we just kick their ass" said Kiba.

"While I'd normally concur, we are in a rather complex situation" said Shino. "But we will attack if they make the wrong move."

"Hmph, everyone wants to spoil our fun" said Yakuro as he and the rest of the Kumo nin sheathed their sword. The three took off in the only opening that was left to them, the direction towards the mountain. Everyone relaxed their guard slightly.

"Naruto!" said Hinata, running over to the blonde.

"Glad to see you all, even you Kiba" said Naruto.

"So I guess this means we're even, right?" asked Kiba.

"You're not going to jab a kunai into my skull again, are you?" growled Naruto.

"What? What makes you think I would do a thing like that?" asked Kiba, trying to shake it off. "Anyways, what happened here?"

"Long story. We need to find a safe place so Sakura can treat their injuries though" said Sasuke.

"We've got a camp not far by" said Kiba.

""Wait!" said Shino.

"What now?" asked Kiba.

"Are we sure they are who they say?" asked Shino, holding up his palm, making the symbol appear. Everyone else did the same, except for Team 10 who was unconscious. "Very well, but we will keep a close eye on them until they can do the same."

* * *

Some cave just up the mountain,

Team 8 and Team 7, carrying Team 10 arrived at a cave, about a kilometer up the mountain side, which Team 8 had decided to make a camp out of. Team 10 was set down and Sakura immediately went to work, trying her best to stabilize the three members of Team 10.

"So what's going on?" asked Kiba.

"You remember that one guy we agreed to stay away from?" replied Naruto.

Everyone on Team 8 nodded. "Well, they kind of ignored my warnings and went ahead and tried to fight them" said Naruto.

"Whoa! So you guys ran into him?" said Kiba.

"Are…are you okay?" asked Hinata.

"We are, but I don't know about them. We needed to get them away, quick so Sakura could do her thing, so I just made a ton of clones to cover for us while we escaped" said Naruto.

"Smart" said Shino.

"And then we ran into those jerks" said Naruto.

"I'll say. Hinata saw you guys from a little out talking with them and giving them a scroll. It's a shame that they would stoop so low as to try and do that" said Kiba.

"We could have taken them, but as you can see, we didn't want to risk Ino or Chouji" said Naruto.

"And Shinji?" replied Shino.

"Meh" said Naruto, Sasuke, and Kiba in unison.

"Naruto! Kiba! Sasuke!" protested Hinata.

"Hinata, can you come over here? I need your eyes" said Sakura as Hinata went to assist Sakura.

"So you lost a scroll then, bummer. I would imagine that it's going to become harder to get them starting soon" said Kiba.

Naruto just grinned as he and Sasuke pulled out all the scrolls they had on them.

"Holy crap! Where did you get all of those!" shouted Kiba. In total, Team 7 had a Wind scroll, two Lightning scrolls, and two Cloud scrolls.

Naruto sighed as he and Sasuke began to tell the story of the previous night and how they were ambushed by the Iwa ninja. To Naruto's defense, they left out the part about Naruto being a Namikaze and just attributed it to the grudge that Iwa has against Konoha in general.

"Wow…just wow…you're serious?" asked a dumbstruck Kiba. Shino merely raised an eyebrow and Hinata shot Naruto a worried look. Naruto looked down, sighed, and nodded. "Well, you guys did smell a bit like death when we found you."

"Kiba…" protested Hinata, seeing Naruto's reaction.

"It's okay. It wasn't something we enjoyed, but it happened. I wish it hadn't, but it did" said Naruto.

"It was either kill or be killed. As much as I didn't like it either, I wasn't ready for a repeat of that night" said Sasuke, referring to the Uchiha Massacre.

"Okay, I've done as much as I can for now. They should be stable, but I'll work on them some more once my chakra's replenished itself" said Sakura. Her and Hinata had just finished rubbing some of the medical cream that Hinata kept on her onto the members of Team 10. "Their lungs are mostly repaired and some of the burns are gone, but what they really need is a safe place to rest."

"Sheesh, taking over our camp now, are you?" asked Kiba, receiving a glare form Sakura. "I'm just kidding. Although if you want to thank us, we still need a Cloud scroll."

Naruto and Sasuke sighed before handing over the spare Cloud scroll that they had. It was more for helping out a fellow team, than payment for using the cave. Soon after, a loud growl was heard through the cave.

"Please tell me there's no bear in here" said a startled Kiba.

"The only bear here is that bottomless pit" said Sasuke, pointing to Naruto's growling stomach. Hinata giggled at that as Naruto took out their food scroll.

"Huh?...Wait, where are they? I thought I packed enough!" panicked Naruto.

"What is it now, Dobe?" asked Sasuke.

Anime style tears began flowing from Naruto's eyes. "I'm out of ramen."

"That's what happens when you eat three bowls for breakfast each morning, not to mention dinner" retorted Sasuke. "We've still got plenty of bento boxes and rice balls at least."

Naruto sighed in defeat and unsealed a box of 'lesser food'. As the sun was starting to set, Sasuke and Shino returned with a few handfuls of wood for a fire.

As night came, shifts were divvied up for watch, Naruto taking the first, Hinata taking the second, although the couple combined their shifts together.

"N-naruto, did you really have to…you know, kill those ninja?" asked Hinata.

Naruto sighed. She had seen that there was more to this than just a simple grudge. "Yeah. They found out about HIM. If we let them live, then that information would have gotten out and I'm pretty sure I'd have the entire village of Iwagakure on my tail the rest of my life. Not to mention everyone close to me would be in danger as well."

Seeing a little bit of distress in Naruto's head, Hinata snuggled her head into his shoulder. "I see. I'm sorry you had to do that."

"It's not your fault. We're ninja, it's who we are and I'd be lying if I said situations where we were forced to kill or be killed were never going to happen. Don't get me wrong, I don't like what I did, but sadly it was necessary to protect my friends, myself, and you" said Naruto. That only made Hinata snuggle into him a bit more.

"So…do they know? Sakura and Sasuke? Do they know about him?" asked Hinata.

"Yeah. They had heard enough from the Iwa ninja and Sakura's pretty smart, so I'm sure she was already starting to figure things out. It was only fair since they stuck by me through that mess that I told them the real reason why" said Naruto. "Now you get some rest. It's going to be a long climb to the summit tomorrow and I can handle these shifts."

"_Naruto…so warm"_ thought Hinata with a smile and slight blush as she fell asleep snuggling up against Naruto.

Shino and Kiba had the next shifts respectively; needless to say not much was said. Sasuke had the fifth shift, although Sakura had gotten up around the same time.

"You should go back to bed. It's going to be a long climb tomorrow" said Sasuke.

"I know. But I'm just worried for Ino and Chouji" said Sakura as she gave the two of them a quick scan.

"So, how are they?" asked Sasuke.

"They seem to be okay. Still some small amounts of damage to their lungs, but I guess I could try and get the healed a bit more" said Sakura as she activated her medical jutsu. "What I'm really worried about is Ino's mind."

"Huh? Why's that?" asked Sasuke.

"Remember when Naruto told us that there are two personas in his head, his and the Kyuubi's?" Sasuke nodded.

"You're afraid she saw whatever's sealed inside that guy?" asked Sasuke. Sakura nodded.

"That initial scream we heard wasn't one of pain. It was one of terror, pure terror. And when we got there, it didn't seem like they had been fighting for that long. My guess is that she tried to use her Mind Transfer Jutsu on him and saw whatever the Rokubi is" said Sakura.

She finished up the healing on the three members of Team 10. "There, now all that's left are a few very minor external burns. All the internal damage is completely healed" said Sakura. She tried to get to her knees, but collapsed, only to be caught by Sasuke.

"You've really gotta stop with that diet stuff. You didn't eat that much last night and you've been using jutsu almost non-stop while you were awake" said Sasuke.

"I know. And don't worry, I've given up on the diet. I was just more concerned about Ino that I kind of forgot to eat" admitted Sakura.

"Forgot to eat?" smirked Sasuke. "You're almost as thick-headed as Naruto."

"Am not!" protested Sakura, only for her stomach to object. Sasuke grabbed their teams scroll and unsealed a few rice balls for Sakura, who began eating right away at a pace that would make Naruto proud.

"Sakura, I meant what I said back there. You really have come a long way" said Sasuke.

Sakura smiled, but before a blush could take over her face, something interrupted them.

"Mmm….Ramen" moaned Naruto as he got up from where he was sleeping and put a kettle on the fire.

"Is he?" asked Sakura.

"Just let him be" said Sasuke.

Both Sasuke and Sakura looked on as a still sleeping Naruto walked over to his pack, pulled out a scroll that read 'In case of emergency, use', unsealed the contents, being a kettle and a few bowls of instant ramen.

Both of the awake members of Team 7 watched in awe as Naruto successfully boiled water, poured it into the instant ramen bowl, and ate the ramen, all while asleep. After finishing the ramen, Naruto promptly went back to snoring as Sakura and Sasuke's faces faulted.

"You're kidding me, right?" asked Sasuke.

"Nope, afraid not" said a dumbstruck Sakura.

* * *

Dawn of the fourth day followed shortly after. With the events of the previous nights behind them, everyone nursed their wounds and those who still had yet to find scrolls prepared themselves for the remaining three days of the competition.

* * *

"Good morning!" shouted Naruto, waking the rest of them up. He looked around to see a few opened and unopened packages of ramen scattered on the ground. "Hey! Ramen! Where did this come from?!" shouted an excited Naruto, reaching for the nearest package.

"Baka!" retorted Sakura.

"What? What'd I do?" responded Naruto.

"You really don't remember, do you?" asked Sakura.

"Don't remember what?" asked an utterly confused Naruto.

"Never mind" said Sakura, face palming herself.

"You guys are weird" said Naruto.

Sakura was really trying to resist the urge to smack the blonde, but was snapped out of it when she saw movement from the members of Team 10.

"What? Where are we? Sakura?" said Ino, looking right towards the pink-haired kunoichi.

"About time you guys are awake" said Kiba.

"What happened?" asked Chouji.

"You guys ran into the one guy that you didn't want to run into" said Naruto.

Team 10 began to remember the events of the previous day. At the mention of that one mist ninja, Ino began to cower, but then she noticed that the injuries which she had from yesterday were gone. "Wait, if all that happened, then why am I not injured?"

"Because I spent all night healing you three" said Sakura.

"Bah! Yeah right. It must have been a genjutsu. Yeah! Everything must have been a genjutsu and Sasuke here came to save me from it!" shouted Ino, flinging herself at Sasuke. In just the nick of time, Sasuke used a substitution with Naruto, who was busy eating breakfast. Naruto found himself wrapped up in Ino's grasp, much to a certain Hyuga's displeasure.

"Eww! Get away Naruto!" shouted Ino, shoving Naruto away from her and into Hinata's arms.

"No Ino, I'm serious. The three of you nearly died" said Sakura.

"Yeah sure, trying to make yourself look good in front of Sasuke, Billboard-brow. We both know you're not that good" scoffed Ino.

"Let's go. It's already day 4 and we still need scrolls. We won't get them by hanging around these losers" said Shinji, glaring specifically towards Hinata.

"Ino…" said a concerned Sakura.

"Hmph. I'll see you at the top, Billboard-brow. And try not to make Sasuke do all the work" said Ino.

Reluctantly, Chouji joined his team. "I'm really sorry about them and thank you for everything" said Chouji, bowing to them before leaving.

Everyone turned to see Sakura on her knees crying. "Ino…why…why did we become like this? What happened…to us?" Naruto went to try and comfort his teammate, but instantly pulled away when he saw Sakura's fist clench. "Ino!" shouted Sakura as she drove her fist into the side of the cave they were in, leaving a massive crater and causing the six Konoha ninja to evacuate their dwelling or else be crushed by the following cave-in.

"Sakura? Are you okay?" asked Hinata.

"No…I want Ino back…the Ino I used to be close friends with…" said Sakura.

It took at the very least, two hours for Sakura to cool down. By the time the two teams had set out for the summit, Sakura had calmed down saying that she would figure out how to deal with Ino.

* * *

"So what do we do now?" asked Naruto. Teams 7 and 8 had arrived at the base, after a long climb up the mountain. After presenting their scrolls to the guard, they were allowed inside. "Is it just like the Konoha exams and we open them?"

"Beats me" said Kiba. "Why don't the three of you try and we'll see."

""Wait, you just want us to go first in case of a trap" objected Naruto.

"Well…not really…maybe" admitted Kiba.

"Just drop it, Dobe" said Sasuke as he unfurled the scrolls and placed them in a triangular pattern. A puff of smoke flashed and a scarecrow, which bore an odd resemblance to Kakashi, appeared out of the scrolls that had a note attached to it.

_Hey,_

_Sorry, but you see there was this lady who really needed my help. I'll be there as soon as I can._

_-Kakashi_

"You can't be serious, right?" asked Sakura.

All three of their heads dropped in defeat.

Team 8 did the same things with their scrolls, only Kurenai appeared and not a scarecrow version of her.

"Nice to see the three of you" said Kurenai to her team

"Kurenai-sensei!" said all three in unison.

"If you're here, then I guess that means you three passed. Congratulations" said Kurenai. She then looked over to see Team 7 waiting impatiently by the Kakashi scarecrow. "You've got to be kidding me…"

"Wish we were" said Sasuke.

"You guys go on ahead, we'll be there in like two hours" said Naruto, earning a group sigh from Team 7.

About an hour passed and Team 7 was trying to kill time by using a deck of cards that Naruto had stashed in his pouch. The door to the base opened up as the team from Taki entered. Naruto instantly recognized the green-haired Fu, the jinchuriki of the Nanabi. Like Team 8's scroll, their sensei appeared while Team 7 was still stuck waiting for Kakashi. Before their sensei led the Taki team away, Naruto noticed a look in the sensei's eyes. It was an all too familiar look to him as it was the same scornful look that the villagers in Konoha used to give him. He honestly didn't see her in the first chunin exams to know her all that well, but he began wondering if she had been suffering and alone like he did.

* * *

Inside the base, the Taki team stepped into what appeared to be a rather large open room, with a large window overlooking the southeast side of the arena. Inside, there was nothing too fancy, a few seats and tables, but not much else. Their sensei instructed them that they would be staying here for the next few days, before taking the two male members of the team away somewhere with him and leaving Fu alone in the room.

As her team left, she heard footsteps coming from the hall opposite where the rest of the Taki team went. She turned around to see who it was. "Oh, it's just you" she said.

"I see you still remember me" said a monotonous voice.

"I don't really see how I could forget. You were the one who beat me last time and nearly…never mind" she said. The person she was talking to, being Shino, took a few steps closer. "So what do you want?"

"You intrigue me" said Shino.

"I intrigue you? What's that supposed to mean, bug-boy?" asked Fu.

"It means what I said. The last we met, you appeared to have severe entomophobia; however, I am not detecting any adverse emotions towards my presence" said Shino. One of Shino's bugs flew from him and landed on Fu's shoulder. She winced, slightly, but nothing much after.

"Well, when you learn that you can't escape them, you learn to get used to them" the green-haired girl said.

"I see. If I may ask another question" asked Shino.

"Okay…" said a slightly hesitant Fu.

"Your comrades, they appeared resentful of your presence. If I may ask so, why?" asked Shino.

"You seem like you should know! After all, you're partially responsible!" barked Fu.

"Me? If I did something to upset you, I meant no offence" apologized Shino.

Fu let out a held breath. "No it's fine. In reality, you had no play in the reason why they hate me."

"The Nanabi, am I correct?" assessed Shino.

"How did you figure out?" asked a surprised Fu.

"Them" Shino said, holding up a finger with a few of his bugs.

"So let me guess, you hate my very existence as well?" asked Fu with a hint of venom to my voice.

"Certainly not. I am an Aburame. My clan and I have a deep respect for all insects, whether they be my Kikaichu, or Nanabi itself" said Shino.

"So what is it that you wanted?" asked Fu.

"Nothing more. As I said, I am interested in you. I merely wanted to get acquainted" said Shino as he walked away.

"Okay…weird" said Fu.

* * *

After two hours of waiting, "Yo."

"You're Late!" shouted Naruto and Sakura.

"Sorry, this lady wanted me help get her cat out of the tree, but it turned out to be a black cat and I wanted to wait for the bad luck to wear off before accepting the summons. Can't risk being summoned to the wrong place, now can I?" said Kakashi, making an upside down smile with his one eye.

Both Naruto and Sakura groaned. "So do we pass?" asked Sasuke.

"Yes" said Kakashi, leading them into the rest of the base. "There are still about 48 hours left in the exam so the three of you are to stay here until the end of the second test. If I'm correct, they have a few training dojos here that you can use, if training is what you desire. However, fighting with one another, even sparring, is not allowed. So, how did everything go?"

"Is there somewhere private we can talk?" asked Naruto. Kakashi took a look at his team and immediately realized something was up.

"I see. Follow me then" said Kakashi as he led his team towards a room where they would be able to talk. As they entered the room, Kakashi activated a few silence seals that he had on him. "While I am confident of these seals, this is not Konoha. Whatever you have to say, I suggest being discrete. Now, I can tell just by looking at you three that something happened out there. You've killed haven't you?"

"Yes, what gave that away?" asked Naruto.

"Your eyes, they're a bit harder than I remember" said Kakashi. "Now why don't you tell me about what happened?"

"Two nights ago, we were attacked by a band of Iwa ninja, numbering 15. Their target was Naruto" said Sasuke.

"Naruto?!" said a surprised Kakashi.

"I don't know how, but somehow they made a connection between me and HIM. I think it was just based on how I look, but they attacked me, wanting to get revenge" explained Naruto.

"I see. This is troubling indeed. I assume you two know now as well" said Kakashi. Sakura and Sasuke nodded. Kakashi let out a sigh. "This truly was meant to be kept a secret, Naruto. But even if you didn't know before this, I have a feeling the same thing would have happened."

"But how did they find out, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto. "The only people I told were ones I trusted absolutely, and I even made sure no one else was around."

"You are aware of his actions in the Third Shinobi war, correct?" asked Kakashi. Everyone nodded, having learned back in the academy why the Yellow Flash was so feared in that war. "Let me get this straight. Iwa hates him and anything that has to do with him. Sasuke, imagine how much you hate your brother and their hate might even surpass that."

"What? That much?" asked Sasuke.

"Yes. That hatred has been passed down in Iwa and they are even bitter towards us to this very day. I would not be surprised if they would have attacked you, not knowing. They would have seen that you were Konoha shinobi and would have attacked none the less. Your resemblance only gave them more incentive and I think that that caused them to connect the dots. Hatred warps the mind, making you see what it wants you to see, only for that hatred to grow further. Naruto, that's why the villagers only saw you as the Kyuubi during your childhood."

"I see. But I feel like I'm making progress. It feels like I'm slowly wiping away their hatred" said Naruto.

"Yes, and I would agree. There are ways to quell and eliminate hatred, such as forming strong bonds with others, as in Sasuke's case, or proving that you aren't what people once saw you as, such as Naruto's case" said Kakashi. "Anyways, what happened to those Iwa ninja?"

"Dead. All of them" said Sasuke. "After they figured that out, we couldn't let them get away."

"I see. Sadly, that was the correct course of action. If Iwa of all people got a hold of that information, who knows what they would do. I am going to need to talk to the Hokage regarding this issue so that we can be sure that no other ninja know" explained Kakashi. "Now, is there anything else that I should know?"

"Yeah, there are five jinchuriki in this exam" said Naruto.

"What?!" Kakashi sounded surprised with this. "Who?"

"Gaara, Yugito Nii of Kumo, Fu of Taki, and this freaky Kiri guy" said Naruto. "But it's that Kiri guy that's the real problem."

"He nearly killed Ino and Chouji" said Sakura with a slightly bitter voice.

"We made it just in time to get them out of there. We had to find a place to get them to so Sakura could treat them, but we then ran into this team of Kumo shinobi who tried to kill us. We offered them an extra scroll we picked up from the battle against the Iwa ninja, but they went ahead and tried anyways. Team 8 interfered before we were forced to fight. We could have taken them, but…" said Sasuke.

"But you would have put Team 10 in danger" finished Kakashi. "What's up with Sakura?"

"Let's just say her and Ino are having a tough time in their friendship" said Naruto.

"I see. Well, I'll leave that for the two of them to work out" said Kakashi, not wanting to get in between two pubescent girls, especially when one possessed the potential to knock his head clean off his shoulders.

"Don't worry sensei, I think I know how I'll handle it" said Sakura.

"A bit rash, but sadly effective. Just make sure you don't kill her" said Kakashi, reading Sakura's expression.

"I won't. I just want my old friend back" said Sakura.

"Well, then I'll leave that to you" said Kakashi. "Any ways, I must say that I'm impressed with how well the three of you handled yourself out there. You were placed in a number of difficult situations and the choices you made were the correct ones. The three of you really have matured in the past year, don't you say? Regardless of what happens from here out, I believe you three are ready for the responsibilities that come with being a chunin, but you don't need that. I have faith you'll do just fine in the rest of the exam."

* * *

Author Notes

Okay, few things to say.

First, Fu. Yes, she has gotten over her fear of insects (at least started to). Anyways, I will be developing her further as the story goes on. She will get a little more screen time (if that's what you want to call it) outside of fights in this book and then won't reappear again until probably the third book.

Second, the Mist jinchuriki. Hopefully I didn't overdo him, but I am trying to make him out as a twisted, psychotic killer. Unlike Gaara, who was once an innocent child, this guy has always killed. As he said, he was basically born to kill. There will be no helping him like Naruto was able to do for Gaara. Also, he has some control of the Rokubi, nowhere near the same extent as Naruto or Bee. While the Rokubi doesn't like her jinchuriki, she will lend him a small portion of her power if he's going to kill. I think in the first few chapter, I made the Rokubi as rather bloodthirsty, almost as much if not more than the Ichibi.

Third, Ino. Yes, I know I'm making her look like a complete bitch. No, I do not hate her nor am I going to be continuously bashing her. This Ino will be resolved in the next chapter or two.

Fourth, Yugito. In cannon, I believe her age was 29 and she was a jonin. For the purposes of the story, she's a genin (kind of obvious though) and she's only 14 years in age.

Fifth, Bee. The phrase 'Bakayaro Konoyaro' is basically his equivalent of Naruto's –ttebayo. For those of you who don't know, it's translated as 'Fool ya fool' I believe.

Sixth, Gaara. The main reason Gaara lost control wasn't because of the full moon or anything. It was because, as said by both Temari and Yugito, death was practically in the air that night and that's what caused the Ichibi's bloodlust to skyrocket to a point where Gaara couldn't resist. However, he was still able to divert the Ichibi's frenzy away from allies.

Edit: Fixed an error regarding which war Minato was involved in

Hope you enjoyed.

Please Review and Comment.


	52. Chapter 52

**Disclaimer:** Sorry, still don't own Naruto

**A/N:** As of now (1/21/13) the name change has taken effect and the name has been changed to 'The Uzumaki Tales: Return of the Whirlpool' from the previous title 'Naruto: A Ninja's Journey'.

**A/N:** So I will be doing a preliminary round in these chapters and it will begin in this chapter and probably carry over into the next chapter. Please note that there will be a lot of fights and I will only be covering the more significant ones (Konoha fights, and maybe jinchuriki fights). The rest of the fights will probably just be a quick paragraph to summarize who won and stuff.

* * *

**Chapter 52: Too Many Konoha Ninja?**

The dawn of day five came. While some teams relaxed and rested themselves, others still struggled to gain the scrolls they needed to advance to the third round. Currently, the teams that were in the base were: Team 7, Team 8, Team Yugito, Team Fu, Team Gaara, and that team of Kumo ninja who tried to take advantage of Team 7.

* * *

Naruto made his way through the base to where the kitchen was so that he could get some breakfast. Sakura had insisted that she wanted to sleep in for the first time in ages and Sasuke had disappeared, most likely with Kakashi to one of the dojos to train. Team 8, with the exception of Shino, was following Sakura's lead and getting in the first night of good sleep they had in weeks. Naruto figured he would find Sasuke and Kakashi and train after he got some food in his system.

Upon arriving at the kitchen, Naruto noticed the two male members of the Taki team and their sensei. At first, he didn't think much of it; as he went on to make breakfast. Sadly he wasn't able to have ramen seeing as Sakura had confiscated it the night before and insisted he eat something healthy, or at least something besides ramen, for once.

Naruto was busy enjoying a simple breakfast with some of the rice balls that he had sealed in the scroll, until the mood in the room froze. The three Taki ninja's attention turned to the doorway of the kitchen, the same scornful look that had tortured Naruto for his life, now on their face, only it wasn't directed towards him.

The three Taki ninja picked up their breakfast and made their way out of the kitchen, past their green-haired teammate, who was the focus of their looks. On their way out one of the genin gave her a hard nudge (more like a push) that sent her staggering a few steps. As Fu clenched her fist, her attention was drawn to the blonde in the room looking at her. "What do you want?" she asked angrily. "Can't stand me at all? Think I'm a nuisance who should just disappear like all the others?"

"Umm…what?" asked a now confused Naruto.

"Forget it…what would you know? You're just like the rest of them anyways, except for bug boy from yesterday, but he just seemed creepy" said Fu.

"You mean Shino, don't you?" replied Naruto, causing Fu to raise an eyebrow. "Anyways, I know what you're talking about. The way your team looks at you, hoping you would just vanish so that they wouldn't have to deal with you, hating your very existence. I know it seems impossible, thinking that no one cares for you, only wanting you gone from their lives; impossible that there's never going to be someone who cares about you. And yet, you're stuck wondering why this happened to you. After all, you had no control over what happened, and the people can't seem to understand that you're just a lonely person looking for someone to call a friend."

Fu stared in awe at the first person who managed to read her. "H-how?" asked Fu.

"Because I know how it feels. I've lived my entire life with the villagers of Konoha hating me, wanting nothing more than for me to cease to exist" said Naruto, placing his hand over his stomach. "I know what you have sealed inside you. It can be either a curse or a blessing, depending on how you look at things. For me, it's a blessing. Sure, life's been hard, but everything I've accomplished up till now, every friend I've made…I feel like I've truly earned."

"But how?" asked Fu.

"You already have one person, or I guess demon in your case. They aren't what most people think. Try talking to her and you'll be surprised. Otherwise, never give up and do everything in your power to show people who you really are, not what they see you as. And once you form a bond with someone, do everything in your power to keep it going" explained Naruto, flashing Fu his signature grin.

"I once had a bond with someone. Shibi, the previous leader of our village" said Fu. Naruto felt like he knew that name from somewhere…that's right, that's the man Orochimaru killed so that he could get to Sasuke. "He was warm and kind, he cared for me and I saw him as a grandfather. But then he was taken by some freak and now his son, Shibuki, the new leader of the village wants nothing to do with me. In fact, I overheard him hoping that I would manage to get myself killed somehow in these exams."

Naruto's fists clenched. He already was angry at Orochimaru for taking away the Sandaime, his grandfather figure, attacking Konoha, and a bunch of other things. Now he couldn't help but hate the snake more for taking away Fu's only human bond she had. "Listen to me on this. I know the man who killed your grandfather, or at least the closest thing you had to one. He tried to take away one of my strongest bonds, and that was the reason he killed your Jiji. For that, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Your village sent us a report implicating some guy called Orochimaru in the murder of Jiji and using his image to lure your team into a trap" she said. "But how did you save them? Shibi-jiji was the strongest ninja I knew and even he failed. If he failed, then how did you make it?"

"Because, I believed in my strength and my friends strength. I had already lost my Jiji to the same snake and I'll be damned if I let him take anything else" said Naruto. "It's my nindo. To never go back on my word. To become stronger to protect those bonds that I have worked so hard to achieve."

"If I may ask, who was your Jiji?" asked Fu.

"He was the Hokage, or at least the previous one. He was the one who watched over me as a child and the one who was there for me" said Naruto. "When everyone else wanted to see me vanish, he was there to comfort me. Shibi sounds a lot like the Hokage and if I know him like I knew the Hokage-jiji, then he wouldn't want you to suffer like this. He would want you to try and make friends, well at least more friends anyways."

"What are you talking about? There's no one in Taki who will be my friend" said Fu.

"That doesn't mean you should give up. Someone's bound to come through eventually. Besides, you've already got a friend in me and Shino. I know he may seem a little creepy at first, but he's really a great guy and he's there when you need him" explained Naruto. "And if you want another friend, try talking to Chomei. Oh and if you do, tell her Kurama says hi. Now I'm sorry but I've got to go find the rest of my team, the exam's not quite over yet."

As Naruto left to go search for Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke, Fu was left wondering. She made her way back to the room she had been assigned, thinking on everything the blonde had said. Perhaps she should go talk to Shino ad see if he really wanted to be her friend. Speaking of talking to friends, who was Chomei?

Suddenly, Fu couldn't help it as she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Naruto wandered his way through the lower level of the base, hoping to find Sasuke or Kakashi-sensei. He had been spending 15 minutes going from training room to training room, there really were a lot of them on that level, until he heard an explosion come from one. He entered the room just in time to avoid a blast of lightning from Sasuke as it collided into the chakra reinforced target next to the door he entered through.

"Hey Dobe, watch it" called out Sasuke.

"What'd you mean, 'watch it'?! Why don't you watch where you're aiming!" shouted Naruto. Kakashi was immediately defusing the situation, blaming it on faulty placement of the target.

"Any ways, I'm surprised and impressed that you managed to get THAT jutsu" said Kakashi.

"Huh? It sounds like you know it" said Sasuke.

"I do. It's a jutsu that a clan in Iwa guarded closely due to its power. However, in terms of power, I would say Chidori either matches it or is a little stronger as you were able to stop it with said jutsu. I will say that's one jutsu we've been trying to get from Iwa for years now, but it seems like you've done the work for us" said Kakashi.

"Seriously, it's like none of them have ever fought the Sharingan before" said Sasuke. Kakashi chuckled a bit at that. "Any ways, what's up Naruto?"

"Nothing much, I've got nothing better to do" said Naruto.

"That's why I always carry a book on me. Never know when you're going to have nothing to do" said Kakashi, holding up the latest Icha Icha.

"Well, I do have my great-grandfather's book, but I've already looked through it and well…there's not really much in it. It looks as if it should have a lot of sealing knowledge in it, but there's nothing besides different types of sealing written on the pages" said Naruto, pulling out an old black book, about the same size as Kakashi's Icha Icha, and having an Uzumaki swirl on the cover.

Naruto flipped through the pages, showing Kakashi exactly what he meant. All that were written on the pages were titles such as Barrier seals, Amplifications seals, and other types of seals, but nothing else. "Ow!" spat Naruto as he nicked the side of his finger on one of the pages.

"Quit complaining, it's only a paper cut" said Sasuke. Naruto watched as a single drop of blood managed to trickle out of the cut before it healed itself. The blood ran down his finger and dripped onto the age that he had opened. Naruto jumped back, dropping the book when a seal on said page lit up and a large scroll, about the size of the Forbidden Scroll, poofed.

"Well what'd ya know, a blood seal" said Kakashi, almost in an 'I-told-you-so' fashion. "Well, at least we know one thing for sure…you are an Uzumaki, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to get past that blood seal."

"Kakashi who exactly are the Uzumaki?" asked Sasuke.

"You mean you don't know?" asked Kakashi in slight disbelief. "You were supposed to learn this back in the academy as the Uzumaki had a huge part in the founding of Konoha."

"Wait, you mean the Uzumaki's helped found Konoha with my ancestors and the Senju? Then why haven't I heard of the clan?" asked Sasuke.

"Because they weren't in Konoha. They had their own village called Uzushiogakure no Sato. That's where Ero-Sennin and I went while you were getting private training from Kakashi" said Naruto. This was where Kakashi took over.

"The Uzumaki were responsible for aiding the Senju and Uchiha in the formation of Konoha. It is believed that without them, Konoha would have never been formed, which is also one reason why we wear the Uzumaki spiral on the back of our standard uniform. As for who exactly they are, well I would have to go all the way back to the legends surrounding the Sage of the Six Paths" said Kakashi, until he stopped, his attention drawn towards the open door. _"Looks like we have a visitor."_

"You know, you don't have to keep hiding like that from me anymore" called out Naruto, a smiling Hinata popping her head out from behind the door.

"But you guys sounded like you were discussing something important" replied Hinata, walking up next to Naruto. "Besides, it's fun to see how close I can get."

"Well, it's not something that's really a secret, so you can join us if you want. But just answer this. Did you learn about the Uzumaki back in the academy?" asked Kakashi.

"There may have been a slight mention of the name, but nothing else. No history, no relations they had with Konoha" answered Hinata.

Kakashi sighed. This really was supposed to be a major part of Konoha history. "Anyways, the legends surrounding the Sage states that he had two sons, the elder son who inherited the Sage's eyes and younger son who inherited the Sage's body. Legend states that the elder son's descendants eventually formed the Uchiha clan while the younger son's descendants formed the Senju clan. I believe you know about that Sasuke." Sasuke nodded, having been told about his clan history from his parents back when he was just a child. "But somewhere down the line, before the Senju clan was formed, another line was formed which eventually became the Uzumaki clan. In a way, the Uzumakis are cousins of the Senju and distant relatives of the Uchiha. Now, the Uzumakis were an extremely powerful clan that were masters in various ninja arts especially in taijutsu and kenjutsu. However, the area where they were most adept in was fuinjutsu."

"Kakashi, exactly how powerful were the Uzumaki?" asked Sasuke, needing to know that fact.

"Before you go asking me a ton of questions, realize that I'm not the best person to ask these questions to. Besides, this is something I'd rather not talk about while in the boundaries of Kumo. I promise if you have more questions, I'll answer them once we are in the security of Konoha. For now, just know that the Uzumakis were feared by many other nations for their prowess in fuinjutsu. As such, an alliance consisting of Kumo, Iwa, Kiri, and many other minor nations formed an alliance to wipe them out, which eventually started the Second Shinobi War. While destruction was inevitable, considering the size of the forces they were up against, the Uzumaki managed to cut the invading forces in at least half."

"Half?" said Naruto and Sasuke in surprise. The combined forces must have totaled at least 40,000 and for a single clan, which had maybe a few hundred members at the very most to have eliminated tens of thousands of enemies at once, well that was just unheard of.

"Yes. The other villages at that point had reason to fear the Uzumakis, and that was shown in the battles preceding the destruction of Uzushiogakure" explained Kakashi.

"So where are they now? A clan that powerful, surely some had to survive" asked Sasuke.

"Only a few Uzumakis managed to escape. To the best of our knowledge, there are only 2 left. The one who nearly lost his head just a few minutes ago and one who managed to find her way into Orochimaru's service" said Kakashi. He looked over at Naruto who was struggling to take this in and accept it. Kakashi placed a reassuring hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I'm sorry, but that's the hard truth."

"_Naruto…you're just like me. The last of a once great clan. I never imagined you'd be anything besides the 'Dobe' of the class. But yet, here you are, doing the impossible once again and proving yourself to be worthy of being my rival" _thought Sasuke. If he thought he wanted to fight against Naruto before, now he was sure he wanted to fight against Naruto. If what Kakashi said was true, then the Uzumakis were the only clan besides the Senju who could match the Uchiha.

"It's okay Kakashi-sensei. Ero-sennin already told me everything" said Naruto, regaining his cheerfulness. "Hey Hinata, let's go and see what Morio-jiji put inside this book."

Naruto took off out of the room, dragging Hinata behind him.

"_Morio? I've heard that name before, but where?...NO! It can't be?!"_ Kakashi's visible eye shot wide open.

"Kakashi?" asked Sasuke, confused at his sensei's expression.

"It…it's nothing. Now why don't we see what the potential of that jutsu is now that we have any unnecessary casualties out of the way" said Kakashi. _"If that's who I think it is, then the Uzumaki heir still lives."_

* * *

Naruto had dragged Hinata back to the room he and Sasuke were sharing. "Okay! Let's see what Jiji has for us!" shouted Naruto excitedly. Hinata just giggled at Naruto's enthusiasm. Naruto began flipping through the pages, wondering which type of seal he should start with.

"**There. Those two would be incredibly useful for you in these competitions"** called Kurama from inside Naruto's head.

Naruto flipped back through the book until he found the two types of seals that Kurama had mentioned. A grin plastered his face. These would be perfect. Hinata watched as Naruto unsealed two rather large (yes, large) scrolls from the book and took an initial look over them.

About an hour later, his brain was on the border of brain-dead as he tried to understand the incredibly complex seals written on the scrolls. Hinata had sadly given up trying to help after reading the first few lines and not being able to understand them at all. "T-this is a-an Uzumaki seal?" said Naruto in complete disbelief. "The stuff Ero-Sennin taught me doesn't even come close to the first few lines of this. There's no way…this is going to be impossible."

"Don't say that Naruto" said Hinata from behind Naruto, resting her head over his shoulder. "If anyone can do it, then it's you. You've always had a knck for doing the impossible. If I know you, you'll have those seals down in time for the third exam."

"You're right. I'm going to get these down! -ttebayo!" declared Naruto, only for his stomach to protest. "After some dinner. I'm starving."

It was now getting late in the afternoon as Naruto and Hinata made their way towards the kitchen for some food. On the way there, they passed another two Kumo teams and…the Kiri team with the Rokubi jinchuriki.

The Kiri jinchuriki sent a massive blast of KI (killing intent) towards Naruto, who didn't even flinch as he had been trained by Kurama to withstand even a demon's KI. After a few moments of exchanging looks and KI, Naruto realized that there were other people in the room beginning to suffer the effects of Biju-backed KI and they separated.

"Nii-san!" shouted a pleasantly surprised Hinata when Team Gai walked through the main doors with well, Gai.

"Hinata-sama, Naruto" responded Neji.

"Your youthful flames burn brighter than ever for you to have beaten us here!" shouted Lee.

"Yeah, especially considering we were the ones with more scrolls than you last time we met" said Tenten.

"Yeah, about that, just so you know, I'm not a clone so don't be throwing kunai at me this time" begged Naruto. This caused Tenten to laugh a little.

"Don't worry. Although we ended up running into a field with a lot of dead Iwa ninja and were hoping we could salvage a scroll from there, but they were all gone or half burned" said Tenten.

Naruto responded with an innocent grin, which being Hyuga, Neji immediately caught. "That was you, wasn't it?"

"What?!" both Tenten and Lee shouted in unison.

Naruto sighed. "Yeah, we were ambushed by a gang of about 15 Iwa ninja, I guess with some sort of grudge with Konoha from the last war. Unfortunately, it was either kill or be killed."

There was an awkward moment of silence before Naruto's and Team Gai's stomachs began rumbling, prompting a bit of laughter from everyone.

Suddenly, everyone's attention was turned to the newcomer in the room.

"Gaara!" said Naruto. Every member of Team Gai was instantly on guard as Gaara approached them.

"Hello Naruto" said Gaara. He turned to Lee. "It is good to see you here, Lee."

"Yosh! It' is good to be here" shouted Lee.

Suddenly, Gaara bowed at Lee. "I sincerely apologize for what happened during our last meeting."

This caught most of Team Gai off guard, except Neji, who still thought of Gaara as an unstable killer.

* * *

As evening came to an end and night slowly approached, Naruto and Hinata found their way out onto a balcony which had a brilliant view of the setting sun between two distant peaks.

"You know, it may not be as pretty as the sunset from the top of the Hokage Monument, but it's still pretty beautiful" commented Hinata, snuggling into Naruto.

About two hours later, after a little bit of stargazing, Naruto found his way back to his room. He wanted to get a long rest for tomorrow as the second exam would be coming to a close in the middle of the afternoon that same day. There was a lot of teams occupying the base already, and even with the rumors of Kumo having a lot of participants in the third exam, this still seemed like a lot and he wanted to be well rested just in case a preliminary round came up like it did in the previous exams.

Naruto finally managed to drift away into dreamland.

* * *

Naruto awoke to find himself in some flame-lit corridor with a bowl of ramen, of all things, in his hand. It wasn't until he started to feel and look around that he realized that he was sitting on something big, furry, and kind of reddish-orange.

"Okay, where am I?" asked Naruto.

"**Bout time you woke up. I was afraid you'd be sleep-eating ramen for another hour or two"** called out a familiar voice.

"Huh? What are you doing here, Kurama?" asked Naruto. "And where are we going?"

"**This as a rare occurrence, but it happens every now and then if enough of us are close by"** said Kurama.

"What does? And who?" asked Naruto. Before he could get an answer, the corridor opened up into a large stone-lined chamber with a circular fuin pattern on the ground.

"**I see, so this is your kitten"** said another demonic voice. Naruto looked over towards one of the other corridors, only to see a blue-flaming two-tailed cat, with a particular blonde girl wearing a night robe on top of the cat's head. **"Hmm…I thought he'd be a little bit bigger than that."**

"**It's not my fault that his ramen obsession has prevented him from getting the proper nutrition to grow at a normal rate"** retorted Kurama.

Another voice was heard from another corridor and Kurama swore under his breath. **"Woo Hoo! That was a wonderful night of killing! You should have seen the looks on those Mist human's faces. Oh and what about those pathetic Kumo humans? I think I set a new time record killing them!" **Shukaku appeared out of said corridor, with Gaara sitting on top of his head in a cross-legged position as if he was meditating.

"You killed my comrades!" shouted Yugito with venom in her voice.

"**Oh man, it was a blast!" **replied Shukaku. **"Hey Foxy, nice seeing you here. How many did you manage to kill?"**

Gaara merely sighed. He had tried to awaken himself from meditation (Gaara can't sleep so he meditates instead), but sadly it appeared as if he was stuck with the Shukaku's killing rants for the night. However, it got better once he noticed that Naruto and another person, who he recognized as the girl who prevented him from killing Naruto during the first exams, were there as well. What was even more surprising was the presence of two other biju.

"**Fifteen"** replied Kurama. Shukaku's jaw nearly dropped, having been bested in the kill count.

"What? You killed fifteen people in this exam?" asked Yugito, turning her attention to Naruto.

"In my defense, they were Iwa ninja who attacked my team first. Although there is a Kumo team I wouldn't mind beating up a little when they tried to kill us while we were evacuating a few injured comrades who had an unfortunate run in with the Rokubi's jinchuriki" defended Naruto.

"Oh, they were just Iwa? Then never mind" said Yugito. "No one likes Iwa." This earned a laugh out of Naruto.

"**Oy Foxy, how about letting me kill that brat of yours. You kill mine, I kill yours and we go on a rampage like good ol' times" **offered Shukaku.

"**How about I take that tail of yours and shove it up your ass. You should know better than the rest of us that we can't kill our jinchuriki while in here. Besides, if anyone even thinks about killing MY Kit, then they'll be finding themselves tailless"** threatened Kurama as Shukaku cringed and Matatabi let out a sigh.

"Have they always been like this?" asked Yugito. The Nibi sadly nodded.

"**Well well, I never thought I'd see the day when Kurama, of all biju, would grow fond of his host"** said another demonic voice as it emerged from yet another tunnel. Everyone's attention turned to see a rather large bull/octopus emerge from the tunnel, with the one and only Killer Bee riding atop its head.

"**Figured I'd try something new for once, Gyuuki. It gets boring being sealed for a hundred years, I need something to entertain myself. Besides, there's just something about this Kit"** replied Kurama. **"Plus, I've heard what you have to put up with, and I'll take this blonde brat any day."** Kurama burst out into laughter as the Hachibi's sweat dropped.

"So can anyone answer my question? What's going on here?" asked Naruto once again.

"Every now and then, the biju meet up again. Talk, chat, and listen to the killer beats of Killer Bee. Bakayaro Konoyaro!" rapped Bee. A few people/demons let out a sigh.

"**Four of you? It's my lucky day. First my human finally decides to talk to me and now I get to see a few friendly, and one…err, bloodied face"** said the Nanabi as it flew down from what appeared to be a large hole in the ceiling.

"**Thank you, I do my best to keep up my appearance"** said the Shukaku, responding to the 'bloodied face' comment.

"Hey Fu!" shouted Naruto, greeting his newest friend. Needless to say, the green-haired jinchuriki couldn't help but feel surprised that Naruto, the blonde she had met earlier that day, was in the middle of a room where demons were meeting with one another, although that did explain a lot.

"Uhg, what's that smell?" asked Yugito as she began coughing. So did a few of the other jinchuriki.

"**Saiken, can you keep your gas to yourself?"** asked the Nanabi, using her wings to blow away the mist.

"**Sorry, but so many jinchuriki makes me want to kill…especially that one"** the giant slug said, pointing at Naruto.

"Stealing those kills was a bad move brat. I'm going to take extra pleasure in watching you suffer the next time we meet. And trust me, we will" said the Kiri jinchuriki.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" shouted Naruto. "All this killing?! I'm only going to say this once…you touch my friends, and I'll kick your ass!"

Gaara took a look at the Rokubi's jinchuriki and saw the bloodlust in his eyes. He was just like how Gaara used to be, only wanting to kill…no, something was different about this guy. His eyes were cold, no warmth existed inside this man at all. It's like his heart had been melted away by all the acid he has been exposed to. He showed no remorse for any of his actions. In fact, he rather enjoyed doing it. This was a man who had gone even further into the darkness, farther than he had ever gone, and probably too far to come back.

"**Soo…Ichi, Ni, Roku, Nana, Hachi, Kyu. There are six of us here, more than there usually is" **said Kurama.

"**Yeah, I guess these chunin exams that the humans hold at least served some benefit in bringing us together again"** said Matatabi.

"This has happened before?" asked Naruto.

"**As I said this is a rare occasion, but it does happen. When there are a few of us around and we are all in the same state of mind, we can enter a certain level of the subconsciousness where we can talk with one another"** explained Naruto.

Some time passed which really consisted of the biju who were present catching up with one another and simply talking and catching up. Some insults were exchanged, particularly between Kurama and Shunkaku and also Saiken and most of the other biju, but the conversations remained at least somewhat civilized (about as civilized as you can imagine with six demons present).

"**Looks like our time is coming to an end"** said Gyuuki as he and a lot of the other biju began to feel themselves fade out of the subconsciousness.

Before, they could leave, Naruto managed to say one last thing. "Be careful. There is a group known as Akatsuki that's going to be coming after all of us in a few years" said Naruto.

"Why are they targeting us?" asked Gaara.

"I don't know. Ero-Sennin and I encountered two of them a few months back and all I know is that they were pretty powerful and they wanted the biju for some reason, but I don't really know why" explained Naruto.

Naruto was just barely able to finish his warning before everyone faded from the subconciousness.

* * *

About a half hour before the exams were scheduled to end, everyone in the base made their way to the largest dojo in the base at the bottom floor. It looked somewhat similar to the same arena inside the tower in the Forest of Death as it had a large floor and a few raised platforms. Looking around the room, there was a rather large number of teams with their respective senseis and village officials up front standing behind the Raikage. Teams 7, 8, and Gai from Konoha, Gaara and his siblings from Suna, Fu and her team from Taki, the Mist team, and five Kumo teams made up the current count, but with some time still left on the clocks, it was still possible another team could still make it in time.

Speaking of which, a few minutes before the exam ended, Team 10 managed to drag themselves into the dojo, bruised and battered, but they were there.

"As of now, the second round of the chunin exams is officially over" announced Darui, who had taken over as proctor for Bee, after Bee's attempted concert.

Darui made his way over to the Raikage to discuss the next step. "There are quite a few of them. What do you think?" he asked.

"Hmm…" grunted the Raikage. "Five of our teams…that's pretty good, but I see Konoha has four. I was expecting one, maybe two, but not four. There are too many."

"I see. Shall we do a preliminary round then?" asked Darui.

"Yes, we should be able to eliminate most of the competition for our chunin hopefuls in the final round" said the Raikage.

"I understand, Boss" said Darui before turning around to the rest of the field. "I congratulate all 36 of you for passing the second round. It is at this time that I am sorry to inform you that you are not quite finished yet."

"What do you mean, 'not finished'?" asked a Kumo ninja. Most of the ninja, especially those from Konoha and Suna, knew what was going to happen next, having already experienced something like this.

"I mean, 36 is an extremely high number to be advancing onto the next round. The third exam will be consisting of one-on-one matches where you will be fighting in front of crowds that include judges and lords. Because of this, the last thing we want to do is waste the lord's time with frivolous matches and 18 matches would be quite a lot. A normal round of fighting consists of between 7-10 matches for us, so that means that one round of preliminary matches should be sufficient to reduce the numbers" explained Darui.

"Reduce the numbers?!" questioned another of the Kumo ninja. "We've worked hard to complete this exam and we've earned our spot in the third round."

"While that may be true, we make the rules here. As such, we have decided that there are simply too many of you to have an exciting third round" said Darui. Some took this as an insult that they were too boring or not worth the time, while others who were familiar with this just sighed at the 'rookie's' antics. "Now, for those of you who should manage to advance to the third round, you will have two chances to convince the judges that you have the skills worthy of a chunin. The first round of matches will be held four weeks from now while the second round of matches will occur three days after the first round. For those of you who are able to fight after the first round, you will have a second chance to impress the judges. It does not matter if you win or lose the first match, so long as you can fight. For those of you who make their way into the third round, your first matches will be announced after we have narrowed down the field."

"So how are we determining who we fight in these preliminary matches?" asked Neji, wanting to avoid any more complaining.

"These matches will be chosen by random with the winner advancing and the loser not advancing. Now, before we begin, are there any other questions?" asked Darui.

There were a few questions from some of the newer ninja to this scenario, basically about what would end a match and other basic stuff. "If all the questions are over, those of you who do not wish to continue can forfeit now."

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to bow out" said a younger looking Kumo ninja who had a bandaged up leg and arm. "Unfortunately, my arm and leg are in no condition to fight."

"Very well, probably a smart move" said Darui. He asked around for any other volunteers, but when no others raised their hands, he proceeded. "Now, seeing as we have an odd number, you will draw slips to determine who gets the bye." Bee came around with a box that contained mostly blank slips and one with a red dot on it. The one who drew the red dot would be the one with the bye. Ninja after ninja, a blank sheet was drawn until it came to Lee.

"Rock Lee, Konoha genin, you will be given a bye" announced Darui.

Lee began to shiver. "No! I do not accept this! Please take this unyouthfull piece of paper away from me!" shouted Lee, shoving the paper back at Bee.

"Boss, what do we do?" asked Darui.

"I…I don't know" said the Raikage in disbelief. He had never seen anyone pass up a free-ride to the finals before. "I guess if he wants to risk his chance in a fight, let him."

"Very well, we will redo the drawing" announced Darui. Before walking away, Bee held out his fist to Lee, motioning for the green-clad genin to pound fists.

"I like your style" commented Bee before walking away. Lee looked up towards Gai, who responded with a thumbs up and a smile.

After the second round of drawings, the bye fell on Omoi of Kumo, who accepted the bye. "If you will turn your attention to the screen, we will then select the matches" announced Darui.

As the screen flickered through names, thoughts were racing. Sasuke and Lee were hoping for their matches to be soon, Naruto was hoping any of his friends didn't get matched up against the Kiri jinchuriki, Sakura was hoping for a particular blonde, and Shino was rather indifferent.

**Match 1: Shyomi vs Hyuga Hinata**

Naruto let out a long held breath (well, not really that long since it is only the first match). Hinata had avoided a fight with that Kiri jinchuriki, or any other jinchuriki for that matter, and he wouldn't have to worry about her match up for much longer.

Everyone besides Hinata and the Kumo kunoichi called Shyomi were ordered to move to the upper platforms to observe. "Good luck, Hime" Naruto whispered into Hinata's ear before. Hinata shot Naruto a reassuring smile before facing her opponent. Shyomi was a kunoichi from Kumo who was maybe a few inches taller than Hinata and probably a few years older than her as well.

As Darui signaled for the match to begin, Hinata assumed the standard Jyuken stance. Hinata made the first move, taking off at a rather high speed towards her opponent. As Hinata approached her opponent, Shyomi merely vanished, causing Hinata to stop her assault.

"What's going on? Where'd she go?" asked Kiba.

"Genjutsu" replied Kurenai, Kakashi, Asuma, Gai, Sakura, Shino, Sasuke, Neji, Ino, Chouji, Shinji, and Tenten all in unison. Naruto would reply, but he was immune to the genjutsu thanks to the Furball that lived in his head.

"Yeah…I knew that, I was just making sure you all did" replied Kiba, trying to save face.

Hinata felt a kunai press up against her neck as Shyomi came up from behind. "I suggest you surrender before I sever that cute little head of yours from the rest of your body."

"Pathetic…" said Shinji. "I can't believe she let someone sneak up behind her. She has the Byakugan after all."

"You are in my field of divination" called out a voice from behind Shyomi.

"What?!" she said, quickly slashing the knife through her captive's neck, only for it to disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Jyuken: 8 Trigrams, 64 Palms!" shouted Hinata as she went to work on her opponent. 64 rapid strikes later, Shyomi collapsed to the ground, unable to move as a good portion of her chakra system had been disabled.

"Winner, Hyuga Hinata" announced Darui.

"Where did she learn how to use shadow clones?" asked a surprised Kurenai. Everyone's attention drifted to an innocent-looking blonde with his hand behind his head.

"Ero-sennin kind of had me teach it to her a few months ago" replied Naruto. "Hey! Great job Hinata!"

"T-thank you, Naruto" replied Hinata as she blushed slightly and pressed her fingers together. "I could have defeated her earlier, but I felt like working on my shadow clone diversions."

Shinji spat at this as everyone looked up at the board for the next match.

**Match 2: Yakuro of Kumogaure vs. Takaru of Takigakure**

The leader of the group of Kumo ninja who scammed a scroll of Team 7 and tried to kill them took the arena as Takaru, one of Fu's teammates did the same. As Darui signaled the beginning of the fight, it became obvious that Yakuro had the clear advantage of being both faster and more skilled. Unfortunately, this was normally the case when pitting a major village versus a minor village.

The battle was over in a few minutes. Sasuke had been watching the battle with his Sharningan. If fact, he was going to watch every battle with his Sharingan with hopes of picking up something useful. Anyways, while it was clear that Yakuro was a lightning-user, like a good majority of Kumo ninja, there wasn't much Sasuke was able to get out of that match. Yakuro had managed to defeat Takaru using mostly taijutsu and kenjutsu, with a small C-rank lightning jutsu to shock Takaru when the he used a water jutsiu.

Sasuke took a look up towards the boar and smirked.

**Match 3: Uchiha Sasuke of Konoha vs. Hami of Kumogakure**

"_Perfect"_ thought Sasuke. If there was anyone's ass he wanted to kick right now, it was one of those three Kumo ninja they ran into during the survival exercise.

"Well if it isn't one of the pathetic weaklings from the mountain. I guess I really was meant to kick your ass" said the Kumo kunoichi as she unsheathed her own sword. "Too bad, you're actually kind of handsome." This caused an uproar with both Sakura and Ino, although Sakura was able to keep herself under control, except for the…

"Kick her ass, Sasuke!" Sakura shouted.

Sasuke looked at his opponent, staring at her with his red eyes. Hami was the first to make a move, running at Sasuke. She took a few swings at Sasuke with her sword, who easily dodged them, being able to see where her attacks would land with his Sharingan.

"Cloud-style, Crescent Moon Slash!" called out Hami as she swung her sword in a crescent moon-shaped arc at Sasuke. Much to her dismay, Sasuke dodged the strike without much effort.

"Is that really the best you have?" mocked Sasuke. He looked at her eyes. They were angry and he was correct. Sasuke sighed. "Such a disappointment. And here I was hoping to get something useful out of this fight. Oh well, at the very least I can give this a try. Katon: Flame step!" As Sasuke completed his jutsu, flames swirled around his legs about half-way up his thighs.

Sasuke ran towards Hami at a surprising speed, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. She swung with her sword again, hoping to intercept Sasuke, but once again he simply ducked underneath it. Before she could react to his next move, Sasuke was right beneath her as he sent a fire-laced kick up into her gut, sending her into the air with an explosion of fire.

From there, he went into the motions for the Lion's Barrage with each kick emanating a blast of flames that caused Hami to cringe at the burning sensation. As Hami landed hard on her back, Sasuke let out one more roar. "Flaming Lion's Barrage!" he shouted, slamming his foot into Hami's stomach, resulting in the largest eruption of flames.

A few medics came onto the field to check Hami's condition. She was alive, but a few broken bones and some severe burns would earn her a lot of time in the hospital. Darui sighed. "Winner, Uchiha Sasuke."

The Raikage clenched his fist and a few people could feel the tension in the room already. These preliminaries were meant to eliminate the excessive amounts of Konoha shinobi, not his own shinobi. Already Kumo was 1-2 and Konoha was 2-0.

"We should have just put them out of their misery in the second exam" said Sasuke, walking back up towards the balcony.

"Sadly, you're right. That looked too easy" said Naruto.

"Oh well, that just means that they really weren't ready. I mean after all, they had to attack us when we were carrying injured comrades. How low can you get" replied Sasuke.

"Okay! Me next!" shouted Naruto. "Come on….Damn!"

**Match 4: Botetsu of Kumo vs. Gaara of Suna**

"_Oh well, at least we get to watch Gaara"_ thought Naruto.

"This should be quick" commented Kankuro.

Indeed it was. It only took a minute or so before Gaara had Botetsu wrapped up in a sand cocoon with a large lance of sand pressed up against his face. Not wanting to spill any more blood in this tournament, Gaara was giving the Kumo genin a chance to forfeit. About six months earlier, Kankuro and Temari would have taken their brother to a psychiatric clinic for mental evaluations after he _spared_ someone.

Darui sighed as he could feel just a little more pressure be added to the room by the Raikage. _"We had better begin winning matches soon or Boss is going to lose it"_ Darui thought.

"Yosh! If I am not next, then I will do 500 pushups, and if I am not next after that, I will run 300 times up and down the mountain on one hand!" shouted Lee.

"Ridiculous" replied Neji as Tenten's head dropped at her teammate's antics.

**Match 5: Aburame Shino of Konoha vs Kankuro of Suna**

"It appears as if we are next" said Shino, turning to Kankuro.

"1…2…3…"counted Lee as he dropped to the ground and began doing pushups, earning a look from most of the people on the balcony.

Shino and Kankuro made their way to the floor. As the match began, Shino and Kankuro both just stood there, hands in their pockets and not really doing much.

"Oh get on with it already!" shouted Temari from the balcony after about a five minute starring contest.

"Troublesome woman" commented Shikamaru, who had also taken a spot on the balcony next to his team.

"What did you say Pineapple Head?!" responded Temari.

Shikamaru just sighed. "Yep, troublesome indeed."

Back in the arena, Shino raised his arms as his swarm of insects came out as Kankuro made a few movements with his arms and his puppets emerged from the bundle. With a few motions of his finger's Kankuro's puppet, crow darted towards Shino, driving its fist into the ground where Shino once stood. Shino just barely jumped out of the way to avoid the dagger that had popped out of Crow's hand. As Shino jumped back, Crow shot a few daggers out of its mouth at the bug-user, which found their target in Shino's shoulder. _"There is poison on these daggers. My insects should be able to neutralize most of it, but I cannot let anymore get to me"_ thought Shino.

Crow came at Shino again, as the bug-user put up a screen of bugs to obscure Kankuro's vision. As such, Kankuro switched from a stab with crow, to a slash. The slash opened a temporary window in the barrier of insects. When Kankuro could see Shino, if even for just a second, he had crow launch some more daggers towards Shino, who was forced to take another step back.

Kankuro smirked as he made a flick with another finger and from behind Shino, his second puppet, Red Ant, appeared with its central compartment open as it swallowed Shino.

"I strongly recommend forfeiting if you don't want to end up a stuck bug" said Kankuro. Temari face palmed herself from the balcony.

"Don't even get started on the puns already" shouted Temari.

"Why? Am I bugin you?" joked Kankuro. Temari clenched her fist and a tick mark appeared on her forehead.

"I would forfeit, but it does not appear as if you have captured me" said Shino as he emerged from the cloud of insects that was still hovering around crow. Kankuro looked over in surprise to Red Ant to see numerous insects pouring out of the openings in the puppet as Red Ant collapsed to the ground after Shino's bugs severed the chakra strings on it. A few seconds later, Crow met the same fate and Shino turned his swarm on Kankuro. "I believe it is you who should forfeit now."

"Shit" swore Kankuro. Shino had him. "Fine, I give."

"Smart choice" said Shino as he recalled his swarm.

"Winner, Aburame Shino" announced Darui. At this time, Lee was finishing with his set of pushups.

"Way to go Shino!" shouted Kiba and Naruto from the stands as the rest of the Konoha squat sent him either a congratulatory look.

While this match didn't increase the Raikage's frustration, it certainly didn't help as Konoha now had three participants in the finals.

Everyone looked anxiously at the board, waiting for the next pairing. "Yosh! It is time for my youth to shine!" shouted Lee.

**Match 6: Rija of Kirigakure vs. Rock Lee of Konoha**

Naruto began to sweat a little, but thankfully his worries were settled when he saw one of the Kiri jinchuriki's teammates move towards the arena. The last thing he needed was for Lee to go from almost being killed by one jinchuriki to almost being killed by another.

Lee and his opponent entered the arena, Lee took his stance as Darui called for the start of the match. Immediately, Lee was off. Lee lashed out a strong kick at Rija's side. The Mist ninja had just enough time to grab the pair of steel tonfas that he had on his back to block Lee's kick. Still, Rija found himself forced back a few meters. "Damn kid, you've got some strength in that kick, I'll give you that, but you're going to need more than just that kick to beat me" said Rija. "Ninja Art: Water Tonfas!" Rija's tonfas soon became encased in water, which added to their power and added a more potent point at the end of the weapons. Lee and Rija spent the next few minutes trading blows. Neither of them landed any serious blows, but they did manage a few glancing blows which had an increased impact on each other due to the nature of their attacks.

For Lee, one thing was sure…this Kiri opponent wasn't like some of the other opponents in the previous matches. This guy actually had a decent skill at being a close quarters fighter. _"Please forgive me Gai-sensei, but it is my best option for winning this"_ thought Lee, glancing up at his sensei.

In the stands, Gai caught Lee's eye and instantly knew what his student was thinking. Gai nodded back to his student, a little reluctantly. A normal Frontal Lotus with only one gate, Lee could handle without much repercussions besides the normal fatigue, so long as he got some proper rest afterwards. So long as this guy wasn't like Gaara, the Frontal Lotus would be enough.

Lee unraveled some of his bandages from his arms, causing a few eyebrows to be raised in the stands and he mentally unlocked the first of the Eight Celestial Gates. With an increased boost of speed, Lee dashed towards his opponent, who thrust his weapons out in front of him, hoping to catch Lee. However, Lee disappeared from in front of Rija, only to knock him up into the air with a strong unsuspecting kick from below to the chin.

Lee then shadowed the floating Rija and his bandages encased the shocked Kiri genin. "Primary Lotus!" shouted Lee as he barreled down towards the ground, slamming the encased Rija into the ground.

When the dust cleared, Rija laid on the ground, unconscious and most likely with a rather large concussion. "Winner, Rock Lee" announced Darui.

"Yeah! Way to go Lee!" shouted a few of his friends from the balcony, mainly Tenten and Sakura.

"Yes, Gai-sensei! How was that?!" shouted Lee.

"Lee! I'm so proud!" shouted Gai.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

Lee jumped up onto the balcony and embraced his sensei in a manly hug with the ocean sunset as the backdrop. A few of the non-Konoha ninja tried desperately to release this horrendous genjutsu that had been cast on them.

"It's not going to work" said Naruto, turning to Yugito's team, who was standing near the Konoha group. "It's not a genjutsu…come to think of it, I don't think anyone's really sure what it is."

"The best way to describe it is the 'Flames of Youth'" said Tenten. After the shuttering ceased from the rest of the ninja present and Gai and Lee finished, everyone looked up at the board.

"Hah! This is perfect, now Sasuke will see just how great I am. And once I win, Sasuke will practically beg me to be his girlfriend…no, wife!" squealed Ino. Naruto and Sasuke looked over at Sakura who was gripping the railing tightly.

"Sakura, are you okay?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I need to do this, for Ino's sake" said Sakura as she removed her hand from the railing. The railing was crushed where Sakura's hand had been. "It's about time she begins to blossom, and for the most beautiful flowers to blossom, they have to endure the harshest of winters. I was hoping for this to come, but I never imagined it would happen again."

"Perhaps it was fate" commented Neji.

"We're not starting with the fate crap again, are we Neji?!" shouted Naruto. Neji merely chuckled.

"Hey Billboard-brow, get your sorry ass down here so I can kick it!" shouted Ino.

"Go do what you need to do, Sakura" said Sasuke. Sakura nodded. "Just don't overdo it."

"Oh, I plan to" replied Sakura.

**Match 7: Haruno Sakura of Konoha vs. Yamanaka Ino of Konoha**

* * *

Jutsu

Katon: Flame Step: A simple fire jutsu where the user surrounds a part of their body, usually the feet and legs, with fire chakra. While it is simple, it is effective in close combat, allowing the user to strike with fire-based blows.

Rank: C

Users: Uchiha Sasuke

Flaming Lion's Barrage: A combination taijutsu technique where Sasuke performs his Lion's Barrage in conjunction with the Katon: Flame Step.

Rank: B

Users: Uchiha Sasuke

* * *

Author Notes

Okay, there's the next chapter.

So I've got quite a few things to say here, so just bear with me.

First, I did start off with Naruto having a conversation with Fu. I figured that Naruto was the best person to truly get through to Fu as he's one of the few who truly understands her. What this led to was her talking with her biju and the two of them are starting to work a few things out. She won't have the same level of control as say Naruto for awhile, but she will be able to tap into some of her jinchuriki abilities. Also, there will be more interactions between her and Shino and I will be nice and confirm a Shino/Fu pairing later on.

Second, I did throw in a little bit about the Uzumaki clan as now Sasuke is becoming more interested in who exactly Naruto is. He truly is beginning to see Naruto as a worthy rival and no longer the 'Dobe' even if he still calls Naruto that. This sudden interest in his teammate was most likely perked by the realization that Naruto was the Yondaime's son, along with other things. That was just a short little blip and there will be much more on what exactly is Naruto's heritage and the history of the Uzumakis coming up in the next book.

Third, added semi-biju/jinchuriki meeting. Just figured I'd try and see little bit of interaction between some of the biju outside of how their jinchuriki act.

Fourth, regarding the prelims, don't worry it's not going to be a complete Konoha sweep as it is appearing. This just somehow ended up how I arranged the matches when I was making them. As for the third round, there will be two sets of matches, not a tournament format. As I stated in a previous chapter, Kumo does it this way to get as many of their candidates as much exposure time as possible, while still keeping the number of fights somewhat reasonable. However, it is already appearing as that strategy is backfiring on them. As for the upcoming Ino/Sakura match, I figured it would be nice to have at least one rematch from the previous exams and besides, how else is Sakura going to break Ino of her fan-girl tendencies.

Fifth, I am coming to the end of this book here rather quickly. My plan is 1ch more to finish the prelims and begin the month of training. 1 ch to finish the month of training and begin the first round of matches. 1 ch to finish the first round and cover the three days of preparation for the second round. 1ch for the entire second round, except the last match. 1ch for the final match and the conclusion of the exams. And probably 1-2ch to wrap everything up. In total, 7 chapters at most remaining.

I have thought deeply about it and I have decided to write the next book on Naruto's time with Jiraiya. Before some of you freak out, don't worry. Unlike Cannon, Naruto will not be wasting his time with Jiraiya. He will be coming back with much more than just an oversized Rasengan and slightly better (but not much) control over the Kyuubi, which he kind of already has control over anyways. I will also be throwing in some of Jiraiya's pervy antic to make things interesting (besides, who doesn't like Ero-Sennin's antics?). The second book probably won't be more than 15-20chapers in length (or around 100k words). I've thought about it, but there is just too much I want to cover during this time for simple flashbacks to cover. I'll post the title to the next story in one final author note that will be at the end of the book.

Okay, I think that's everything. Had a lot to say, so there is a chance I might have forgotten something. If I did, I'll mention it at the beginning of the next chapter. Sorry for the insanely long A/N at the end.

Hope you enjoyed.

Please Review/comment


	53. Chapter 53

**Disclaimer:** The day I own Naruto will be the day Lee stops proclaiming about youth.

Posted:1/25/13

**A/N:** Real quick note, remember that Shikamaru, Anko, Genma, and Yugao (the last two probably won't make an appearance though) are present as they are considered ambassadors/officials from the village for the duration of the exam.

* * *

**Chapter 53: Prelims come to a Close**

"Hey Billboard-brow, get your sorry ass down here!" shouted Ino from the arena.

Sakura let go of the rail, revealing a much dented rail where her hand was. "Here Naruto, hold onto these" said Sakura, passing Naruto her pouch where she stored her extra senbon. "I don't keep the pink ones in my gloves and the last thing I want to do is use those on Ino." She then proceeded to make her way down to the arena to meet Ino.

"Troublesome" said Shikamaru.

"Is that all you say?!" shouted Temari towards the lazy chunin.

"Troublesome woman" responded Shikamaru with a bored expression on his face. At this point, Temari was about ready to slam her fan into the Nara's face. The only thing holding her back would probably be Gaara's sand.

"Dobe, if you play around with those, you're going to prick yourself" said Sasuke to Naruto, who was looking through Sakura's bag of senbon.

"Ouch!" shouted Naruto as he shook his hand from pricking himself with one of Sakura's sleeping senbon.

"Told you" replied Sasuke.

"Shut up Tem…*yawn*…I feel sleepy" yawned Naruto before collapsing to the ground. Everyone's sweat dropped. If Naruto missed his match because of this, there was no way Sasuke would ever let him live it down.

"Troublesome…" replied Shikamaru, observing the whole thing.

"That's it! Get over here Pineapple head!" shouted Temari as Shikamaru began running.

* * *

Once Sakura arrived down in the arena, Darui signaled the start of the fight.

"Well well, little Sakura. Here I'll show Sasuke who truly is the better…Ouch!" shouted Ino as she felt something sharp drive into her shoulder.

"Shut up and fight!" growled Sakura.

"Grr…fine!" shouted Ino as she charged at Sakura. Sakura easily dodged Ino's punch and threw her against the opposite wall.

"This world is no place for silly girls living in a fantasy world Ino! I nearly died learning that fact and so are you" said Sakura.

"What are you talking about, Billboard-brow?!" responded Ino.

"That senbon in your shoulder is coated with a poison will take full effect in about five minutes" said Sakura, pointing to the black senbon in Ino's shoulder. "If you can't beat me by then, it'll be all over. As a matter of fact, I could have killed you just a moment ago while you were boasting about how you're 'going to kick my ass for Sasuke'."

"You're joking Billboard-brow! There's no way you have what it takes to beat me" said Ino, swinging another punch at Sakura, only for the pinkette to easily block.

"I'm not, and in fact you should have been dead days ago when you ran into that monster!" shouted Sakura, pointing up towards the Kiri jinchuriki who just managed a grin behind his mask. "But you're not because I was the one who saved you!"

"That was all a genjutsu! It was Sasuke who save us, not you!" shouted Ino as she swung another punch at Sakura. Again, Sakura dodged with ease.

Up in the stands…"Sakura's not really trying to kill Ino, is she?" asked a concerned Kurenai. Kakashi whispered something into her ear and she got it.

Down in the arena, Sakura dodged another punch from Ino, retaliating with one of her own this time. Sakura's punch caught Ino in the stomach and sent her sliding back against the floor, clutching her stomach in pain. "You're going to need to do much better if you want to beat me, let alone survive."

Ino growled, but her eyes suddenly shot open as she began losing feeling in her arms. "M-my arm!"

"Looks like it's starting to take effect. The poison will start with your arms and legs and work its way towards the more vital organs in your body. If I'm correct, you've got about three minutes left. And I doubt you have anything that can save you. Oh, and if you're even thinking of using your Mind Switch Jutsu on me, I think we learned last time that doesn't work" explained Sakura. "However, my techniques should work just fine. Ninpo: Hell Viewing Technique."

Ino watched as a swirl of cherry blossoms enveloped her and she found herself in some sort of forest setting. Her initial thought was genjutsu, but she soon saw Sasuke, lying face down on the ground with a few arrows sticking out of his back and the Sound Four smiling at their kill. "S-sasuke?"

"I-ino" Sasuke said weakly.

"S-sasuke! Don't worry, I'm here for you!" cried Ino as she made her way towards Sasuke.

"Aww, did the poor little baby loose something?" asked Kidoumaru.

"I say we just put the whore out of her misery" commented Tayuya.

Kidoumaru drew back his bow and aimed it at Ino, loosing the arrow straight into Ino's chest. Ino winced in pain as she collapsed next to the ground, next to Sasuke.

"I-ino…" said Sasuke weakly. With what little life she had left in her, Ino turned her attention to Sasuke. "I…always knew you'd be…the death of me. You're weak…to weak for me…to weak for anyone…"

As Ino passed into darkness, she awoke back in the arena with a piercing cry. "Sasuke!" Ino then collapsed to the ground, no longer able to move her legs or arms.

Sakura's tone changed from harsh to sincere. "Ino, I know exactly what you saw, because I actually lived that. I stood by, completely helpless as I watched Sasuke, my friend and comrade, die right in front of me. I watched him die as I slowly felt myself dies as well. I was lucky…by some miracle, we both made it out of that alive, but I will never forget how useless I felt there. Afterwards, I began to push myself to become the best ninja I could become, so that I would never be just a burden again."

"S-sakura…Am I…Am I really going to d-die?"asked Ino, completely broken.

Sakura smiled. "No. That was just a paralytic poison that should wear off in about 15 minutes. But I was serious, I could have killed you if I had wanted."

"B-but w-why did you do something like this? I thought we were friends?" asked Ino.

"I did it because we are friends, Ino. I want my Ino back, the girl that used to be my best friend. The one who would laugh with me and the one who didn't make fun of my forehead. Not the one that I would always fight with over some silly crush" said Sakura. "I really am sorry that I had to put you through this, but this was the only way I thought I could get the real you back. The Ino I would have fun with and the one I know that can become a killer kunoichi someday. And the Ino who make all the boys in Konoha worship her someday, not the stuck-up fangirl."

Ino was crying uncontrollably at this point. "Sakura…I'm sorry, I've been a terrible friend…Can you ever forgive me?" asked Ino.

Sakura smiled. "Sure I can. I'm your friend and that's what we do…help each other through tough times like this." Sakura picked up a limp Ino and began to walk up the stairs.

"Hey, you know the match is still going on!" shouted Darui.

"No it's not. I forfeit, Billb…I mean Sakura had this won from the very beginning" said Ino.

"Very well. Winner, Haruno Sakura" announced Darui.

"That was a very cruel thing for you to do, Pinky" said Anko as Sakura arrived at the top of the balcony. She was giving one of those looks that only Anko could do…you know, the one that you make you shit your pants and wish for a quick death. Sakura began freaking out a little before Anko wrapped her up in a big hug. "Oh I've never been so proud of anyone! You've got potential Pinky. If you're ever interested in tapping into that potential come to me." Anko had just found a 'new best friend' apparently.

Sakura just stood there, stupefied. Was she just congratulated, by Anko of all people?

"*yawn*…What'd I miss?" asked Naruto, waking up from his drug induced sleep. This earned him that same look that Anko had just given Sakura, only from Sakura.

"Baka! You were asleep this entire time?!" shouted Sakura, giving Naruto a good size lump on his head.

"Sakura, can I ask you one more thing?" asked Ino. "Did you really save me and my team from that Kiri ninja?"

"Well, my entire team did, but I was the one who treated you. If not for that treatment, you probably would have died" said Sakura.

"I see. I believe you and I'm really sorry for doubting you" said Ino.

Suddenly, Ino found herself in a hug by Sakura. "It's okay, I'm just glad my best friend's back." A few people awwed. While the rest turned their attention to the score board.

**Match 8: Fu of Taki vs. Kazuno of Kumo**

This match took a little longer than some of the other matches, but the outcome was something that made one particular Leaf genin happy, even if he didn't show it. Fu had won, earning her a spot in the finals and giving her a chance to do what a fellow jinchuriki of hers suggested to do, prove to everyone who she really was.

Like most of the other Kumo ninja present, this one had some skill with a sword and preferred to use it as a primary offensive. Fu spent a decent amount of the fight dodging, in which she proved to be rather light on her feet. It was when she was finally able to get an attack off, Ninpo: Blinding Scales Technique which temporarily blinded her opponent that she was able to make a few decisive moves to end the match.

"Okay, come on. I want to go!" shouted Naruto. Sakura and Sasuke sighed. Naruto was getting almost as impatient as the Raikage, who was really starting to blow a fuse now. Kumo was 1-4 while Konoha was 5-1, with their only loss being in a match between Konoha ninja. "Damnit!"

**Match 9: Inuzuka Kiba of Konoha vs. Yugito Nii of Kumo**

"_Hopefully this will help the dull situation" _thought Darui. _"If anyone from Kumo can win, it's Yugito."_

"Alright, let's go Akamaru!" shouted Kiba.

"Arf!" Kiba and his buddy made their way down to the arena with Yugito following closely behind.

"Now, if I remember correctly, she's some sort of crazy cat hag. We've got this in the bag" said Kiba.

"I'm sorry to say this, but Kiba's going to get his ass kicked" replied Naruto. Kiba's comment instantly caught Yugito's attention and her eyes turned yellow with slit pupils, like that of a cat's.

"So you honestly think you can beat me, you mut?" asked Yugito. "I'd like to see you and that little rat of yours try."

"Akamaru's no rat! Man-Beast Clone!" shouted Kiba as Akamaru turned into a feral version of Kiba and Kiba became more beastly himself. "Let's go boy! Gatsuga!"

Kiba and Akamaru barreled towards Yugito who instinctively twisted around their attacks with a level flexibility that would make even Hinata look as stiff as a board. As Kiba and Akamaru made another pass at her, Yugio took a deep breath. "Katon: Mouse Hairball!" shouted Yutgito as she exhaled a fireball that quickly took the shape of a mouse. The fireball then began to divide into many other smaller mouse-shaped fireballs. The smaller fireballs then proceeded to lock onto one of the Kibas who turned out to be Akamaru after the subsequent explosion sent the puppy skidding across the room, injured enough that he was out of the fight.

"Akamaru!" shouted Kiba. "Grr…you'll pay for that!" Kiba rushed towards Yugito, ready to swipe at her with his canine-like claws. As he charged, Yugito's own claws rapidly grew. As Kiba dove towards Yugito, she simply leaned back as Kiba's attack flew over her. As Kiba was over her, she slashed with her own claws across the dog-user's chest. Kiba tumbled to the ground in obvious pain. The next thing Kiba felt as he slowly uncurled himself were Yugito's claws at his throat.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue Dog-boy?" asked Yugito as Kiba could only help but growl at his defeat.

"Winner, Yugito Nii of Kumo" announced Darui. Instantly, he could feel some of the Raikage's pressure backing off. Kiba and Akamaru were taken off to the infirmary. Their wounds weren't critical, but they would require some treatment.

"Come on! Let me go already!" shouted Naruto.

"Just hush, you'll get your turn already" said Sakura.

"But I can't help it, Sasuke won his match, Hinata won hers, and wait...how did you do again? I was sleeping" asked Naruto, only to receive a fist bop on the top of his head.

"I happened to win mine as well, thank you very much" said Sakura, crossing her arms as Hinata was busy rubbing the lump on Naruto's head.

**Match 10: Umo of Kumo vs. Rigito of Taki**

"Damnit! I want to go!" shouted Naruto.

"Oh don't get your tails in a bundle" said Yugito as she walked past them.

"Winner, Umo of Kumo" announced Darui.

"Wow, that was fast" said Naruto.

"I expected Umo to end it quickly. He's like that and he's one of the best shinobi we've got in these exams. Besides, it's good that he won. Raikage-sama's been getting pretty close to exploding" said Yugito.

"Hey Sasuke, how did he win so fast?" asked Naruto.

"You should watch the match next time. It seems like he's primarily a taijutsu user, but he knows where to hit an opponent" said Sasuke.

"You mean like the Hyugas?" asked Naruto.

Sasuke shook his head. "No, I'm talking that it seems like he knows the general weak spots on the body and can take advantage of them. An initial hit to the solar plexus created a lot of openings for him. After that, it was pretty much over."

Naruto nodded and then looked over at where the Taki ninja were. Their jonin sensei did not look happy at all. He was most likely mad due to the fact that Fu got into the finals while the other two didn't. After all, it's preposterous that a 'Demon Brat' get into the finals of the chunin exams, right?

**Match 11: Hyuga Shinji of Konoha vs. Akamichi Chouji of Konoha**

"Good, about time I get this little play over with" scoffed Shinji as he made his way down to the arena. Chouji was reluctantly following. Chouji wanted to give at first, not believing he should be here after his little encounter in the second exam, but Asuma bribed him with food, as usual. While Asuma had nothing against Chouji, he was just trying to get the young Akamichi heir to understand aspects of being a ninja. "Bring it fatty, I'm getting tired of just waiting."

"What did you just say?!" shouted an enraged Chouji. No one uses THAT word around him. "Partial Multi-size Technique!" shouted Chouji as his arms grew to a rather large size. Chouji clapped his hands together, hoping to grab Shinji, who simply ducked underneath his attack and sent a few strikes at Chouji's arm, cutting off the chakra flow in them and shrinking the arms back to normal size.

Chouji stared in shock at his hands, unable to increase them in size. "Human Bullet Tank!" the Akamichi said, getting over his initial shock. Chouji swelled in size until he was as large as a huge boulder. Shinji just stood his ground as Chouji began rolling towards him at high speed.

"Kaiten!" shouted Shinji as Chouji's attack collided with the Hyuga's absolute defense. Unfortunately for Chouji, he was thrown back against the wall from the force of the Kaiten.

"How does Shinji know that?" asked Naruto.

"He is a main family Hyuga" stated Neji.

"I know that, but Hinata's way better than him and she doesn't even know that" said Naruto.

"It's not that HInata-sama doesn't know it, it's more like she can't use it. It's similar to Lee not being able to use ninjutsu" said Neji, earning a confused look from Naruto. "Jyuken techniques, especially the Kaiten are earth based techniques, while Hinata-sama has wind based chakra. Wind and earth are two elements that clash with one another and as such will make her learning the Kaiten extremely difficult. However, she has her own defense to make up for it, one that suits her so much better making the Kaiten not worthwhile for her to learn."

"I think I see now" said Naruto.

"Jyuken: 8 trigrams 32 palms" shouted Shinji as he quickly made a move on Chouji.

"Chouji!" shouted the more vocal members of the Konoha 12; although, even Shikamaru joined in.

"Pathetic weakling. I'm amazed I was able to put up with you for the past week. All you did was talk about food, instead of the test. No wonder we just barely made it" said Shinji. Chouji began coughing up blood as medics came to check on his condition.

"Winner, Hyuga Shinji" announced Darui.

"Oh yeah, he'd better hope we don't meet in the finals, cause I'm gonna kick his ass" said Naruto.

"You have to make it to the finals first, Dobe" responded Sasuke.

"Neji, is all of the Hyuga main branch that brutal?" asked Ino.

"Sadly, yes. Hinata-sama's the only one who's always been kind and gentle, and as a result has been hated by the main branch for years because of her 'weakness', as they call it. Uncle, while he has changed, I'd be lying if I said he was never like that" said Neji. Naruto flashed Hinata his signature grin, cheering the girl up a little.

"Well, speaking of Hyuga…" said Naruto, pointing up at the board.

**Match 12: Hyuga Neji of Konoha vs. Karui of Kumo**

"Well well, perhaps fate has smiled upon me today" said Neji, slipping into 'fated stuck up prick' mode and a tick mark appeared on Naruto's head.

"You had better not start before 'fate' dictates me slamming a Rasengan up your ass" said Naruto. This caused Neji to chuckle slightly. To him, this was now more of a joke and something he'd use to irritate Naruto every now and then. Naruto was aware it was a bit of a joke as well, but he couldn't help himself.

"OH HELL NO! I FORFEIT!" shouted Karui from the other side of the room, remembering the beating and heart attack Neji gave her last chunin exam.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Umm…Boss?" questioned Darui.

"…" the Raikage was silent. His temper wasn't really increasing, he was just confused, completely and utterly confused at Karui's sudden withdrawal. Of all people here, the short-tempered red-head was the last one he expected to do what she had just done.

"Very well. Winner, Hyuga Neji of Konoha" announced Darui. "That certainly was dull."

"Hey guys, what happened?" asked Kiba, slowly making his way back from the infirmary.

"Let's see. I'm going to kick Shinji's ass, and Neji probably set the record for the shortest match in history" said Naruto.

"Was Shinji the one who Chouji faced?" asked Kiba. A few people nodded. "Damn. That would explain why he looked pretty beat up. Now I want to kick his ass as well."

"Hmph. I'd like to see you try, Mutt" replied Shinji, only irritating Kiba to the point where Kurenai and Asuma were struggling to hold him back.

"Trouble…" Shikamaru was interrupted.

"Finish that word and you'll be eating my fist" growled Temari.

"Troublesome" joked Kankuro, only to earn him a hard smack from Temari's fan.

**Match 13: Tenten of Konoha vs. Goyaku of Kiri**

"_SHIT!"_ swore Naruto loudly, waking his inhabitant.

"**What is it now? I was talking a nap!"** growled a grumpy Kyuubi.

"_It's HIM!"_ said Naruto. He looked over and saw the Kiri Jinchuriki, apparently his name was Goyaku, make his was towards the arena. Goyaku was shooting a look towards Naruto that basically said 'watch as I kill your friend'.

"Tenten!" shouted Naruto, grabbing the weapons expert before she could get down to the arena.

"What is it, Naruto? I've got a match" said Tenten.

"No! You've got to forfeit. You're no match against HIM. He'll kill you!" warned Naruto.

"Your concern is touching, but I can handle myself" replied Tenten.

"But…" said Naruto as he was hushed by Tenten.

"Why did you do that, Naruto?" asked Lee. "That wasn't very youthful."

Naruto grinned and gripped the railing as the match began. _"What do I do? If Tenten continues, she'll get herself killed no matter what."_

"**A tricky situation. I'm afraid you may be forced to give up something here. Just do what comes naturally and everything will work out."**

In the arena, Tenten made the first move, throwing about a dozen kunai towards her opponent. Goyaku didn't even blink as the kunai disintegrated when they got within 5 or 6 feet of him. "What?!" said Tenten in shock. She got over her initial shock and pulled out the two scrolls at her side, placing them in front of her. "Fine. Twin Rising Dragon!" The scrolls unfurled and spiraled upwards as Tenten jumped up into them and began hurling weapon after weapon at Goyaku.

"Damnit" swore Naruto from the balcony. Tenten's attack didn't manage a single his as all her weapons disintegrated from the acid surrounding him before they.

"Bah. You're not even worth killing. However, I'll be nice and kill you just to piss off blondie up there" said Goyaku. "Ninpo: Breath of Death." Goyaku exhaled a dense acidic cloud that quickly enveloped Tenten. She began to cough violently as the acid went to work on her lungs and also her skin. Somehow, Tenten managed to crawl out of the cloud before too much damage was done.

"Naruto…was right" said Tenten, breathing heavily as she coughed up a bit of blood. "I…forfeit."

Darui nodded. "Winner, Goyaku."

"Phft. Too bad that's not going to help" said Goyaku. He formed what appeared to be a ball of condensed acid in between his hand.

"Stop! This match it over!" ordered Darui. Goyaku wasn't listening.

"Tenten!" shouted a worried Team Gai.

"Ninpo: Acid Sphere!" shouted Goyaku as he shot the condensed ball of acid towards Tenten.

The entire room couldn't breathe as what seemed to be Tenten's inevitable death approached.

A cry of pain rang out through the dojo as the ball of acid hit something. Tenten opened her eyes to see Naruto standing over her, some weird red chakra cloak over him.

"Are you…alright?" asked Naruto. Despite having a chakra cloak on him, that acid was concentrated enough to penetrate the cloak and eat away at the clothes, including the famed orange jacket, and some of the flesh on his back. With the presence of Kurama's chakra, his back instantly began healing, but that didn't do anything to stop the shocked looks on a lot of people's faces from around the room.

"Kurenai-sensei? What's going on?" asked a stunned Kiba. When Kurenai wasn't giving him answers, he turned to the others.

"That's something for Naruto to tell you and Naruto alone" said Kakashi.

"_So Konoha does in fact have a jinchuriki"_ thought the Raikage. _"And based on his features, I'd say Kyuubi…damnit!"_ The Raikage just watched the scene unfold for the moment. In truth, Konoha having the Kyuubi wasn't much of a secret. It had never been confirmed, but the Raikage had suspected that a jinchuriki was made when the Yondaime Hokage defeated the Kyuubi, twelve years ago. Truth be told, he wanted to act, he wanted to take Naruto as a prize for Kumo, but the international treaties that surrounded these exams pretty much made Naruto immune to any attempts Kumo would make towards obtaining another jinchuriki, unless of course Kumo wanted a real war on its hands. It's the same reason why they hadn't attempted to capture the two unsealed Byakugans yet.

"N-naruto…what's…up with your chakra?" asked Tenten weakly.

"I'll explain later" said Naruto as his body finished repairing itself.

"**I'm sorry, but I had to give you a cloak, otherwise the regeneration wouldn't have been able to counter the acid in that attack"** responded Kurama. **"I did mention you would be giving up something today…either one of your friends or one of your secrets."**

"_Heh, you know me. My friends come first" _replied Naruto.

Naruto looked over at the fellow jinchuriki, only to receive a look of pure anger. Once again, Naruto had denied him a kill. "That's it…**I'm killing something today, you rotten little!..."** shouted Goyaku a he even let his demonic chakra flare.

Before he could take another step towards Naruto and Tenten, a large octopus tentacle wrapped around him. The source of the tentacle shocked almost every non-Kumo ninja, except for the other jinchuriki present. "Yo, calm down before I pound you into the ground, bakayaro konoyaro" said Bee.

Bee released Goyaku once he could feel the Rokubi's chakra calm down. As Naruto saw this, he lowered his cloak as well. A few of the Konoha jonin came down to check up on Tenten. She wasn't as bad as Team 10 was after their encounter, but she still needed treatment. Before the Kumo medics could come out, Sakura had said that she would handle the treatment and Tenten was taken back to the balcony so Sakura could begin to treat her.

"The next time we meet, brat, I WILL KILL YOU and then I'll kill your little annoyances of friends" threatened Goyaku.

"That's not going to happen. No way you'll ever lay a finger on them! That's a promise! –ttebayo!" replied Naruto.

Naruto made his way back up to the balcony as the next fight was announced.

**Match 14: Yakimaru of Kumo vs. Tazakahi of Kumo**

When Naruto reached the top of the stairs, the remains of his coat and shirt finally fell off, revealing the seal on his stomach to everyone, and causing Hinata to blush a bit at the sight. "So Naruto, what exactly was that?" asked Kiba.

Naruto sighed. He knew after acting like that, there would be questions and he would need to give answers. He told them about what really happened on the night of the Kyuubi attack and how the Fox was sealed inside him by the Yondaime. Naruto then told them about jinchurikis and how there were other jinchurikis in the room, including Goyaku and Bee. "What you just saw back there, was me using the Kyuubi's chakra. It was the only way I, or anyone, could have survived that ball of acid" said Naruto. He looked around at the group around him and saw fewer surprised looks than he had expected.

"How many of you knew?" asked Kakashi, wanting to know that after seeing their reactions. Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Shino, Neji, Shikamaru, Temari, and Gaara all raised their hand.

"Back in the academy, I knew something was different about you, Naruto. I finally figured it out about a year before graduation" said Shikamaru.

"And you didn't care?" asked a hopeful Naruto.

"While you were a little wild, you never hurt anyone and honestly, it would have just been too troublesome to really care" said Shikamaru earning a look from Temari.

"Shino?" asked Naruto.

"They told me some time ago" said Shino, holding up a finger with a few insects on it. "Does it bother me? No. Why? Because you are my comrade and have given me no reason to look down upon you."

Naruto then turned his attention to the people who just learned his secret.

"Naruto, as far as I'm concerned, you are still as honorable as you have always been. You saved Tenten so that can only go to show that you are in fact a good guy" said Lee.

"If it wasn't for you…I'd be dead right now, so thank you Naruto" said Tenten.

"Chouji and I are the same. If you hadn't saved us back in the second exam, we'd be dead" said Ino, with Chouji managing a slight nod. Chouji was still trying to recover from his battle but found himself unable to move most of his body still.

"I find it hard to believe, but you've never been bad" replied Kiba. "It's a shock that you have a demon sealed inside you, but it sounds like you've only used it for good purposes. I don't have any problems, but I suppose that explains everything. Actually, it's not like he is the Kyuubi, so why did the entire village treat you like it?"

"The village's hatred for the Kyuubi overtook any form of logic and reasoning in the civilian population and they saw Naruto simply as what they feared" explained Kakashi. "Plus it didn't help that they didn't understand the basic concepts behind sealing. Most of the shinobi population understood, but I'm sad to say that didn't help anything and as Naruto proved himself as a shinobi, it's something the shinobi of our village are coming to regret more and more."

"Damn. I'm sorry Naruto, I never knew" replied Kiba.

"It's okay. You're not to blame" said Naruto.

"Demon trash."

Everyone's attention turned towards the one who had uttered those two words and a certain Hyuga found himself bombarded with 17 different blasts of KI, coming from Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji, Tenten, Lee, Gai, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Temari. But the strongest of the blasts came from one individual in particular…Gaara.

"If you think he's a demon, then allow me to show you what a real demon is" said Gaara, letting some of his sand creep towards Shinji. He wasn't going to let anyone torment his very first friend.

"Gaara, just stop, please. He's not worth it so long as I have all of your support" said Naruto. Gaara regained control of himself and retreated his sand as he just turned away from Shinji.

"Now, there is something I need you guys to understand as well, and it's only fair that you know. What exactly happened the night of the Kyuubi attack, wasn't what you all really think. The Kyuubi really isn't evil, he just wanted to be left alone in peace, but was forced to attack the village by some masked man calling himself Uchiha Madara" said Naruto. A few gasps were heard throughout the crowd that had gathered around him and Kakashi and the rest of Team 7 helped to convince everyone that what Naruto was saying is in fact true and that perhaps the Kyuubi himself was a big misunderstanding. In short, no one's opinions changed with that revelation.

The current match finished up with the winner being Yakimaru from Kumo.

**Match 15: Tamaru of Kiri vs. Hikari of Kumo**

"Damnit! I wanna go!" shouted Naruto.

"Why don't you go put a shirt on first" replied Kankuro, only to earn a few glares from the female populous, especially Hinata. Despite being only 12, Naruto did have a rather well toned body and the beginnings of six-pack abs. To be honest, the Konoha girls, minus Tenten who was still being treated, found themselves resisting the urge to glomp Naruto all of the sudden. Hinata on the other hand…well she was trying to hide the small trickle of blood coming from her nose after imagining Naruto a few years from now.

Naruto reached around for his jacket, picking it up and finally seeing the completely burned away back side of it. Unfortunately, this only made Naruto sad as that was his favorite jacket and the one Hinata had given him a few years ago as a surprise birthday present.

"Well, look at it this way Naruto, perhaps it is time for a small wardrobe change" said Kakashi, placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Yeah, no more 'Kill Me Now' orange" joked Kiba.

"What is it with everyone hating orange?" questioned Naruto, making everyone laugh.

"Winner, Hikari of Kumo" announced Darui.

"Wow, that was quick. Okay, only two matches come on…Yes!" shouted Naruto.

**Match 16: Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha vs. Shamaru of Kumo**

"Hey Naruto, look who it is. Now don't hurt him too bad, after all, we are 'weak and pathetic', right?" Sasuke said with a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice. Naruto simply grinned at his rival and brother.

"Heh, I'll see you in the finals" said Naruto. Before he could go down, Kakashi stopped him for just a second.

"Don't use the Rasengan or your knives. Kumo already knows you're a jinchuriki now, the last thing we need is for them to connect those two things to 'you know who'." Naruto nodded at Kakashi.

As Darui announced for the battle to begin, Naruto could already see Shamaru shaking a bit. The revelation of Naruto being a jinchuriki must have shaken him a little.

"**Hehe, this could be fun"** said Kurama. **"I want to test something, just listen to what I say."**

Naruto closed his eyes and realized his breathing slightly. Naruto slowly opened his eyes, revealing the red-slitted eyed. As Shamaru was about to make a move, he instantly froze and went wide-eyed as he was hit with a massive wave of KI. Shamaru dropped to his knees, shivering and unable to move as Naruto just walked towards him and held a kunai at his neck.

"Well that was rather dull. Winner, Uzumaki Naruto" announced Darui.

Up in the stands, Kakashi just chuckled.

"Wait, what did Naruto do?" asked Ino.

"Killing intent. And that was only a fraction of what Kakashi would have us train with" said Sasuke. Kakashi would usually use Naruto to train his team with dealing with KI and he was proud to say that his team could handle most of the Kyuubi's full KI by this point.

"Man…that was no fun" complained Naruto as he walked back to the balcony. "That's the last time I take Furball's advice on starting a fight."

"Well, if you can't handle the slightest amount of KI, then you don't deserve to be in this exam" said Kakashi."

**Match 17: Temari of Suna vs. Sumira of Kumo**

"About time. I can't believe I was the last match…again" said Temari.

Temari faced her opponent, a kunoichi from Kumo and Darui signaled the beginning of the match.

"Raiton: Electromagnetic Murder!" shouted Sumira as streams of electricity shot out of her hands and towards Temari.

Temari just grinned and pulled her fan from her back, opening it to the third moon. With a single swipe of her fan, a huge gust of wind is created, cancelling the lightning jutsu and knocking Sumira back against the wall of the arena with enough force to knock her out.

"Winner, Temari of Suna" announced Darui.

With the matches concluded, everyone who had made it onward lined up in the middle of the room. Overall, the Raikage was not pleased with the outcome of the preliminaries. Only 6 Kumo ninja out of 15 managed to make it to the finals. Suna had 2, Kiri had 1, Taki had 1, and Konoha had 8. This was supposed to be an opportunity to reduce the number of Konoha ninja in the finals, not make them the largest group. Still, for the sake of the announcement of the third round, he did rather well holding himself together.

After all was said and done, the chunin hopefuls now consisted of: Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Shino, Shinji, Neji, Lee, Gaara, Temari, Fu, Goyaku, Yugito, Yakuro, Umo, Yakimaru, Hikari, and Omoi. 18 participants meant 9 matches for the first day of fights and whoever would be capable of fighting after a 3 day resting period would fight in the second round of matches.

"Now, if each of you will turn your attention to the screen, it will begin listing the pairings for the first round of fights" announced Darui as everyone's attention turned to the screen on the back wall. "Match 1 will be Yugito Nii vs. Fu."

Yugito and Fu both looked at each other. They both knew they were going up against fellow jinchuriki so that could make for an interesting fight.

"Match 2 will be Uzumaki Naruto vs. Goyaku" announced Darui. Everyone could feel the tension in the room rise between these two.

"Looks like you've got a few weeks to live brat. You'd better be there for your own execution and don't you dare back out or I'll come and hunt you down" said Goyaku.

"Good, that way I can take you out so you won't hurt any of my friends" replied Naruto.

"Match 3 will be Rock Lee vs. Temari" announced Darui. This would be an interesting match for both of them. Temari knew that if Lee got within close combat, he would easily have the upper hand. And he had the speed to do so as well. If she could keep him at ranged though, she would be able to win.

"Match 4 will be Hikari vs. Haruno Sakura" announced Darui. Unfortunately, not much was shown in Hikari's preliminary match for Sakura to make any predictions off of.

"Match 5 will be Hyuga Hinata vs. Umo" announced Darui. Two taijutsu users against one another and based off the preliminary matches, Umo's speed and precision were something to be watched out for. If it wasn't for the lack of a Byakugan, some people were thinking Umo could be as precise as Neji. One thing Hinata knew was that she would have to get faster over the next few weeks to win this.

"Match 6 will be Hyuga Neji vs. Hyuga Shinji" announced Darui. To be honest, both boys were cursing their luck. Shinji knew Neji was the stronger of the two and Neji knew that he would lose if Shinji pulled the Caged Bird Seal on him, which he honestly wouldn't put past Shinji to use.

"Match 7 will be Gaara vs. Yakimaru." Both of them remained rather indifferent with the matchup.

"Match 8 will be Uchiha Sasuke vs. Yakuro." Sasuke merely smirked at this. Looks like he would be the one to put the final member of that trio of Kumo ninja in their place. However, he did watch his person's battle and he did have to admit that Yakuro was obviously much more skilled than the rest of his team. Perhaps Sasuke might get a challenge from one of them after all.

"Match 9 will be Omoi vs. Shino." Both of them seemed rather indifferent about this match.

"Now, unless you have any other questions, the finals will be held in exactly four weeks from now. I strongly suggest you use that time to prepare for your upcoming matches. You know your first opponent, but you will not be told your second opponent until the day of the second match. As such, I recommend preparing for anything and everything, not just a single match. Those of you who are not from Kumogakure, you will be provided a few training grounds. Are there anymore questions?" asked Darui. No one asked one. "Good, then I will see you in four weeks time."

After everyone filed out of the base on the mountain to return to the village, there was a loud crash from behind. Darui turned to see that the Raikage had smashed a rather large hole into the wall. It was impressive though that he had managed to restrain himself that long.

Outside, Konoha had gathered all of its ninja, with the Suna trio and Baki tagging along. "Certainly has been an interesting week, hasn't it?" asked Kakashi. "It'll be late by the time we return to the village. Why don't we go find something to eat and we can call it an early night. We'll start training tomorrow afternoon after you all have had a chance to rest."

Upon arriving back in the village, the group of Konoha/Suna ninja made a quick stop at the hotel where they had checked in the night before moving on to find an open restaurant. However, Naruto had to go to a clothes store to pick up some sort of new shirt, which sadly wasn't in orange. However, everyone was wishing that it was orange as Naruto had picked up a shirt with Bee's face on it and his catch phrase '_Bakayaro Konoyaro'_ on the back; most likely a shirt form Bee's last enka concert.

It was on their way to some western-style steakhouse, much to Chouji's pleasure, that they saw the green-haired Taki ninja wandering through the village by herself. After some quick questions, the Konoha group soon realized that Fu was left in Kumo to train while the rest of her team returned to Taki. Naruto didn't like the idea of just leaving her hanging for the exam, but there really wasn't much that could be done…except invite her to dinner with the rest of them. Needless to say, Fu was shocked by the invitation (in a good way). When she initially declined, saying that she didn't want to intrude on their night, Shino was the one who insisted that she join them.

Minutes passed after their food was ordered and there was a lot of conversation going on between individual parties. While she was quite enjoying herself, Fu couldn't help but feel envious towards Naruto. He had just revealed to a good chunk of his friends that he was a jinchuriki and yet they still accepted him and laughed with him like nothing had happened. _"Is there a place where I could be accepted like that? Where people wouldn't care and I could just live a normal life?"_ thought Fu to herself. She was beginning to think that Konoha was sounding pretty good, until she caught the way Shinji was looking at Naruto. She remembered Naruto saying that he had to work hard for his friends, and it appeared as if this group was the reward for his hard work. Still, she already had two friends in Konoha, which was more than she had in Taki, and the way in which this dinner was going, it felt like more than just Naruto and Shino.

As dinner arrived, Ino was surprisingly the first one to dig into the massive ribeye steak she ordered. While it was different from the food they were all used to eating back in Konoha, everyone at the table had to admit that the food was delicious. And for Ino's case, she probably could have out eaten Chouji that night. It was like something finally snapped inside her after she also decided to give up her fan-girl ways and he body was making up for all the years of dieting.

* * *

Afternoon the next day came and the Konoha genin were asked to meet up for their training assignments. Those who did not make the finals decided to stay and see if they could assist the others in training. However, the most surprising thing about the day had to be Naruto's new attire. Apparently, Hinata had dragged Naruto along shopping for a new outfit, after his got melted off of him when he went to save Tenten. Naruto had gotten rid of orange as the primary color and was now wearing a pair of black pants with matching ninja sandals. He was wearing a black vest with an orange shirt underneath (he still had to have at least some orange in his outfit) which had sleeves that went half way down the forearm. Naruto had also ditched the gloves in favor of a pair of orange bracers which he scribed the storage seals for his kunai and shuriken on. As the cloth on his headband had been damaged, he also had to have it remounted and now had a long black headband which the forehead protector had been remounted to (imagine his forehead protector from Shippuden). There was however, one thing he managed to salvage form his old outfit and that was the white Uzumaki swirl which he had on his left shoulder. Naruto had the patch sewn onto the same sleeve of his new shirt. He would have to get the large red Uzumaki swirl sewn on when he returned to Konoha.

"Who the hell are you and what have you done with Naruto?" asked Kiba.

"What are you talking about? I am Naruto" replied Naruto.

"Yeah, but you're not…orange!" shouted Kiba.

"Was it really that bad?" asked Naruto.

"YES!" responded just about everyone there.

"Yo. I see everyone's here" said Kakashi as the four jonin senseis and Anko arrived at the training ground that had been assigned to Konoha. "And I see we have a newcomer here." Kakashi pointed straight at Naruto.

"Not you too, Kakashi-sensei!" pouted Naruto. Kakashi merely chuckled at this.

"Anyways, let's go over the training assignments for all of you for the next few weeks, shall we?" said Kakashi. "I've sent word back to Konoha on who made it and requested for certain individuals to come up for some of you. They should be here by the end of the week at the latest. Now, Sasuke you'll be with me obviously."

"Fine" replied Sasuke.

"Sakura, you'll be trained by Kurenai and…" Kakashi was interrupted as Anko came and gave her 'new best friend' a hug. "…and Anko. Sadly, Tsunade-sama can't be here until the time of the matches. Besides, medical jutsu won't do you much good at this point in time so Kurenai will be helping out your genjutsu while Anko helps with the 'other stuff'."

"Other stuff?" Sakura asked with a worried look, receiving the Look from Anko.

"Yes. Naruto, I believe Jiraiya arrived yesterday, I just don't know where he is" said Kakashi.

"Where's the nearest bathhouse?" asked Naruto.

"Why would you want to know where the nearest bathhouse is?" asked Neji.

"Because that's where I'll find Ero-Sennin" replied Naruto

* * *

At a bathhouse in Kumo,

"Tehehe, Kumo does indeed have some fine ladies" said a certain white haired man, perched atop one of the bathhouse buildings.

"EEEK A PERV!" shouted one of the women who happened to notice Jiraiya.

"Ladies! Do not fear! I am the Great Toad Sage of Mt. Myoboku! The epitome of manliness, who will swoon any lady off her feet! I am Jiraiya!" shouted Jiraiya, making one of his poses on one foot with an open palm outstretched. Apparently, the women in the bath didn't take this very well as they began throwing various buckets and wooden stools at him, knocking him off the building. Unfortunately, the landing wasn't much better and Jiraiya smacked his head against the ground, knocking him unconscious.

* * *

"Back to training. Naruto, you'll be training with Jiraiya in the afternoon, but Asuma here has offered his services to help with your wind manipulation in the mornings" said Kakashi.

"Really? That's great! Thanks Asuma-sensei!" said Naruto.

"No problem. Now Shinji, your father's on the way here and he'll be taking over your training" said Asuma.

"Very well" said Shinji. In reality, he was thankful to get away from this group of 'losers'.

"Lee, you and I will be training our youth together!" shouted Gai.

"Hai! Gai-sensei! I am looking forward to our youth-filled time together!" replied Lee.

"Neji, Hiashi-sama is on his way too and will be taking over your youthful training" said Gai. Neji merely nodded.

"Hinata, your father will be training you as well, however you will be working with Asuma in the mornings alongside Naruto on wind manipulation" said Kurenai.

"Hai, Kurenai-sensei" replied Hinata. She was happy that she'd be working with Naruto some these weeks. Her father had also been growing more satisfied with her training these past months, but the one thing she really needed right now was speed training for her upcoming match. Hopefully Hiashi would have something to help her out in that.

"And Shino, your dad is coming up here as well. You and Hinata are welcome to join me and Anko until your respective trainers arrive" said Kurenai.

"I understand, Sensei" replied Shino. "My father is the best choice for my training."

"If there are no more questions, you are all dismissed to your respective trainers" said Kakashi as he took Sasuke off towards some isolated corner.

"I guess I'd better go find Ero-Sennin then" replied Naruto as he made his way to find his perverted teacher.

It didn't take long for Naruto to arrive at the bathhouse and to see Jiraiya lying unconscious on the ground with a red mark on his face in the shape of a stool. "Baka-Sennin" sighed Naruto. He then noticed a water balloon not far from Jiraiya. _"Heh, been awhile since I've done this."_ Naruto performed the first phase of the Rasengan training and popped the water balloon overtop Jiraiya, waking the perv with a splash of water.

"Who are you and what have you done with the Gaki?" asked Jiraiya.

"What are you talking about, Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto.

"You're not orange!" replied Jiraiya.

"Not you too" sighed Naruto.

"I can't believe I'd see the day when you retire that bull's-eye of a jumpsuit!" shouted Jiraiya, jumping for joy.

"I didn't retire it, it got destroyed in the exams" said a sad Naruto. He and that jumpsuit had been through a lot. Naruto even had a funeral for the jacket last night.

"Oh yeah. Since we're here, how about a bath and you can fill me in on everything that happened" suggested Jiraiya. Naruto agreed to this. Truth be told, he hadn't had a chance to take a warm relaxing bath since before the exams and the showers at the mountain base only had 4min of hot water at a time.

"I see…troubling that the Iwa ninja attacked you like that, but I'm glad you and our team came out alright. I'm also sorry you had to go Kyuubi mode to save that Tenten girl. But, it's reassuring to know that all of your friends still accept you, even after that" said Jiraiya.

"Yeah, I'm glad to and that none of them managed to get killed against that Rokubi jinchuriki" said Naruto.

"That definitely is a plus. Still, that just proves that those bunch of brats you hang out with are worthy of being called friends" said Jiraiya. "Now, who's this opponent you're facing in the first match?"

"The Rokubi's jinchuriki" replied Naruto.

"I see…" said Jiraiya. "Any thoughts on how you're going to do it?"

Naruto reached into his bag and pulled out his great-grandfather's books and unsealed the two sealing scrolls. "Interesting. This one won't come in too much use against that guy, but this one may. You do realize though that these are incredibly complex seals though" said Jiraiya.

"I know, but I need them if I want to beat this guy" said Naruto.

"So you're not going to resort to the Kyuubi?" asked Jiraiya.

"No. As much as Furball is begging me to let him fight, I'm only going to use the Kyuubi chakra that's needed to counter his acid cloak" said Naruto. "I don't know, I just feel this is just something I have to do."

"Good. Well, I guess we should get started. Learning those two seals in a month's time is going to be some task, but you did manage to get the Rasengan down by the start of the last tournament" said Jiraiya. Something then came to his mind. "Oh, and I think I've got this new jutsu you'll like."

"What are we waiting for then?"

* * *

Jutsu

Ninpo: Blinding Scales: A technique where Fu blows a powdered substance at someone with a highly luminous property. The bright flash from this powder temporarily blinds an opponent. This can be avoided if the eyes are protected in time.

Rank: C

Users: Fu

Katon: Mouse Hairball: The user spits out a flaming ball of hair that assumes the shape of a mouse engulfed in flames. The fireball then splits into individual and similarly ablazed hairs. These flaming projectiles pursue the target until they come into contact where they explode on contact.

Rank: A

Users: Yugito Nii

Breath of Death: A technique where Goyaku exhales a cloud of acidic vapors at an opponent. The vapors begin to eat away at the skin of the opponent and if they find their way into the opponent's lungs, then the vapors begin to eat away at the lungs as well. Prolonged exposure to this cloud will most likely lead to death.

Rank: B

Users: Goyaku

Acid Cannon: Goyaku forms a condensed ball of acid in his hands and shoots it towards an opponent. This acid is strong enough to eat through just about anything and will kill if it hits a person. So far, the only thing that is known to protect against this attack is a biju chakra cloak.

Rank: A

Users: Goyaku

Raiton: electromagnetic Murder: A technique where the user shoots streams of lightning towards the intended target. Depending on the power, this attack can vary from a small shock to a powerful stream of lightning.

Rank: C

Users: Sumira

* * *

Author Notes

First of all, may you rest in peace, oh great orange jumpsuit.

So, the matchups for the first match are set. I know some of you were asking for a Gaara/Rokubi matchup, however I had already intended for Naruto to face him and changing the matchups would have altered too much. Also, the upcoming matches will be more exciting than the prelims.

As of now, everyone important knows about the Kyuubi.

Hopefully I did Sakura and Ino's match okay. I know I might have made Sakura sound a little cruel, but how else was she supposed to break the dreaded fan-girl mentality. Besides, she got a new friend in Anko out of it :p. I still don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

The next chapter will be a semi-short overview on what everyone is learning during this month and then I'm going to jump straight into the first set of matches. Do expect the next chapter to be rather long as I will be going through most of the matches.

Hope you enjoyed

Please Review/Comment


	54. Chapter 54

This is a rather long chapter. Also, to those of you who read the author notes at the end, be aware that the jutsu list is going to be rather extensive. Lastly, please don't hate me if I botch Bee's lines in this chapter. He's a hard one to write.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Posted: 1/30/13

* * *

**Chapter 54: An Uzumaki still Lives**

"Kur…Kurenai-sensei…please…make her stop" begged Sakura. For the past 4 hours, Anko had been making Sakura do Gai-level physical exercises (okay maybe not that strenuous).

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I'll admit, you've come a long way, but your stamina and chakra reserves could still use some improvement" responded Kurenai.

Sakura stopped and sighed, which she probably shouldn't have done. The next thing Sakura felt was the tail of a snake slam into her and sent her back into a tree. Anko had summoned Shichi, a rather large blue snake to give Sakura an 'incentive' to run. "That was fun Pinky. I'm impressed you lasted that long" commented Anko with a big smile on her face.

Sakura barely picked herself off the ground with the assistance of Ino, who had agreed to help Sakura with her training.

"Why don't you take an hour break for lunch and then we'll start on some genjutsu training" said Kurenai as Sakura welcomed the much needed break and Ino sat her down aside a tree.

"Damn Sakura, you look worse than I did the other day" said Ino.

"Oh come on, there's no way anyone could look worse than you."

"Hey! What'd you saw Billboard-brow?!" Sakura only laughed at this and Ino joined in. To Ino, she actually liked having her old friend back.

"Look Sakura, I've been thinking. I'm done going after Sasuke" this earned a confused look from Sakura. "I overheard the way the two of you were talking in the cave that night and I honestly think that if it hadn't been for Ramen-boy, something may have happened between the two of you. You may have given up on being a fangirl, but that still doesn't mean you don't like Sasuke, it's just you were the one to find the path to his heart. And to be honest, I've seen the way he looks at you at times. It'd just be cruel of me to do something of like that to my best friend, especially after everything she's done to help me."

"Ino…" was all Sakura could say.

"It's like you said, there are thousands of other guys in Konoha that I need to make worship me" Ino smiled, making Sakura laugh as well. "Now that I think of it, I can't think of a good reason why I liked Sasuke back in the academy. Sure I know he's pretty hot, but now that I think of it, that's all. You've gotten a chance to know the real Sasuke and if you still have feelings for him after that, then that means it's something more than just a silly little crush."

"Ino..are you sure?" asked Sakura.

"Absolutely" replied Ino. "Besides, it's like you said. There are hundreds of guys in Konoha that need to worship the beauty that is Ino." Ino and Sakura both got a laugh out of that.

"Those guys had better watch out then, and I'd hate to imagine what would happen if they piss you off" said Sakura.

"Oh yeah, they won't know what hit them" said Ino. "And besides, now I really will have time to work on my shinobi training. I know you'll make chunin this time around; I have absolute faith in my best friend. But don't think you'll be ahead of me for that long, because come next exam, I'll be kicking ass and taking names."

"Don't you mean numbers?" replied Sakura.

"It depends on how hot those boys I beat are." This sent another laugh through the two girls. "Anyways, I'm already falling behind. I mean Hinata of all people is in a relationship. Remember back in the academy when we all thought she would be the last person to find love because she was so quiet and shy?"

"Yeah I do. And I'll say the most surprising thing was when we found out Naruto of all people finally asked her out. It was obvious to everyone but him that she liked him, but we all thought that her shyness and his thick-headedness would prevent them from ever getting together" replied Sakura. "Man that Baka truly is full of surprises. But my life's changed so much because of him. To me, he's like that annoying little brother that you never wanted, but you find yourself not being able to live without."

"Sakura! Are you ready?" called out Kurenai.

"Wow, that time already?" said Sakura.

"Time flies when you're with me. Now go kick some ass" said Ino.

"Hurry up Pinky! You can't be wasting time. We still need to get in our poison training for today!" shouted Anko.

Sakura and Ino paled at this. "Help me…" Sakura squeaked out.

* * *

"So Asuma-sensei, what sort of cool wind jutsu are you going to be teaching us?" asked Naruto.

"Well, I mainly wanted to focus on your knives, but since I know you can make a lot of shadow clones, we could have them learn the jutsus while you and I work on your wind-blades" replied Asuma.

"Really?! Sweet!" shouted Naruto. "Hey, but what about Hinata. She doesn't have wind blades. Is she going to be learning wind jutsu then?"

"Not really. Hinata your father wanted me to help you convert your normal chakra blasts into wind chakra blasts" explained Asuma.

"But what will that do?" asked Hinata.

"Honestly, I don't know for sure. But the two of us theorize that it would be like sending a wind blade directly into the opponent's chakra system, possibly destroying it instead of just blocking it" said Asume.

"W-what?!" exclaimed both Hinata and Naruto at the same time as Naruto looked slightly dumbfounded over at Hinata.

"_Does she really have the ability to do that? That would be so amazing and so powerful!"_ thought Naruto.

"**Heh, don't underestimate the power of wind. Wind can grind mountains into dust and rip even the strongest of trees from their roots. It's one of the reasons why I'm so powerful"** bragged Kurama.

"_Wait, I thought your element was fire?"_ asked Naruto.

"**That's half right. I have two elements, fire and wind. For some reason, most people associate my element to fire, but my wind element is just as strong, if not stronger"** explained the Kyuubi.

"_Wait, so is that why I have a wind element?"_ asked Naruto.

"**Somewhat. But your wind element is incredibly strong. Even without me, you would most likely be a wind-user, I just serve to amplify that. And also, because of me, you do have a strong fire-element. It's nowhere near as strong as your wind-element, but it's still strong enough that I'd say you could master fire after wind without much effort."**

"_Wow, really?! Hey, so you know if I have any elements?!" _asked Naruto.

"**Just focus on those for now. I can't detect any other elements at this time, but it doesn't mean they won't develop as time passes."**

"_I hope they do. It's be so awesome if I had a lightning element, then I could learn Kakashi-sensei's __Chidori"_ said Naruto.

"**Still stuck on that jutsu, huh? Now get back to training, your vixen's wondering why you suddenly zoned-out for a moment"** said Kurama. That was one thing they would need to work on was Naruto taking to him for extended conversations without zoning-out a lot. _**"Lightning's going to be tough for him because his wind element is so strong. Fire shouldn't be too hard for him because of me and he can even use his own wind chakra to maybe amplify the fire chakra. Hmm...I don't know about water, but that might work out for him. If I'm correct, Mito mentioned something about the Uzumakis being strong water-users as well. Earth...this one I really don't know. Again, I think this one's going to be a problem for him seeing that wind and earth are opposites in a way. If he could somehow manage to master all five, then I've got some interesting ideas...for now, I'll keep them to myself."**_

* * *

"Uncle, do you think I have a chance to beat him?" asked Neji.

"Are you more skilled than him? By far. I know what troubles you and believe me I feel the same" replied Hiashi.

"I think…if I can end the fight quick enough, before he has time to use it, I can win" said Neji.

"I see. So you want to focus mainly on your speed" said Hiashi.

"Yes, and I believe Hinata-sama requires the same training as well. Her opponent goes by the name Umo. From what I observed, he possesses incredible precision in close combat that I've only seen rivaled by our clan or the ice-user Haku. Grant it, he doesn't attack the chakra system, but rather uses fast and precise blows on the weak spots of the human body to create openings. In his preliminary match, after an initial shot to the solar plexus, it was practically over" explained Neji.

"Speaking of Hinata…" said Hiashi as Hinata joined them after finishing her morning session with Asuma.

"Hello father, Neji-niisan" addressed Hinata, bowing to the two of them. However, Hinata's attention was diverted by a smaller girl that had been sitting along the side of the training area where they were. "Hanabi?"

Hanabi slowly walked over towards Hinata and Hinata was wondering what exactly was going to happen. In all honesty, she hadn't seen her little sister much since their last match and at that time, Hanabi seemed bitter towards Hinata. Hinata's worries were washed away when Hanabi hugged her and began crying.

"Neesan, I'm sorry. I've been a horrible. I shouldn't have gotten mad…but I…" cried Hanabi. Hinata bent down and hugged her sister back. Somehow, Hiashi had managed to de-Hyuga-ize Hanabi.

"Uncle, if I may ask. Why is Hanabi here? Of all places, why did you bring her with you to Kumo?" asked Neji.

"It was either bring her here where I could at least keep an eye on her or leave her back in Konoha for a month with the elders. I saw this as the lesser of two evils" argued Hiashi. _"I will admit, as much of a nuisance as she can be, Anko's methods certainly were effective."_

"It's okay Hanabi-chan. I forgive you" said Hinata.

Hanabi looked up at her big sister and smiled. "Now go kick everyone's ass!"

"Hanabi!" shouted both Hinata and Hiashi at the seven year-old's language.

"Sorry…" Hanabi said, cringing a little.

Hiashi resumed the topic of training and handed both Neji and Hinata a set of seals that were made up from Jiriaya. "These are a combination of weights and restriction seals. They will restrict your movements for training purposes. By training with these, you should see a drastic increase in your speeds. You will work with these on for the next three weeks and then take them off for the final week so that you can get used to fighting with quicker reflexes."

"Hai!" both Neji and Hinata said to their teacher for the month.

After the day's practice, before Neji and Hinata returned to their inn to relax, Hiashi pulled Neji aside for a brief moment. "I know for a fact that Shinji does not know how to activate the seal, but I would not put it past Kenjo to teach it to him. What you do is completely up to you, but just be aware that you are going up against someone who may not restrain himself from using the seal."

* * *

"Lee! Let us train our Youthfulness together! Starting with 100 laps around the village!" exclaimed Gai.

"Hai! Gai-sensei!" shouted Lee. "And if I cannot do that, then I will do 1000 pushups!"

"And if you cannot do 1000 pushups, then I will do 3000 sit-ups!" replied Gai.

"Will you two just stop it already?!" shouted Tenten.

"Lee, she's right. We are wasting youthful time right now!" said Gai.

"You are right Gai-sensei. We must be training! Let us go into youth!" with that Lee and Gai took off into the sunset on their 100 lap marathon around Kumo.

* * *

"Father, I am concerned about my match" said Shinji.

"I will admit that Neji is one of the most skilled in our clan, but there is one move that can defeat him without fail" explained Kenjo, Shinji's father. "This will take care of your match against Neji while we can spend time training you for the second match."

"I see. Very well then. After all, no branch member should surpass the main family. Neji must be reminded of his place" replied Shinji as his father showed him the one move he would need to defeat Neji…the activation of the Caged Bird Seal.

* * *

"You're late" said Sasuke to Kakashi. The two had staked out a private training ground on the top of a nearby mountain.

"Sorry, but I found this eagle nest and…never mind" said Kakashi.

"So what do you have for me this time?" asked Sasuke.

"Well, let's take a look at your opponent first. In all honesty, I think he was holding back a lot" said Kakashi.

"You think?" said Sasuke sarcastically.

"Anyways, did you notice that he bore a strong resemblance to the proctor?" asked Kakashi.

Now that Sasuke thought about it, Yakuro did look like a slightly younger version of the proctor, Darui. He had the same bulbous nose and similarly shaggy white hair. "So you think they're related?"

"I wouldn't be surprised and I'm sure I saw him referring to Darui as brother. Which means there's a very good chance your opponent had a bloodline that he didn't reveal" explained Kakashi.

"What?! How do you know he has a bloodline?" asked Sasuke.

"It's something you'll pick up with experience. Darui is known for possessing the black lightning, but that was given to him via a seal from the Raikage, so you shouldn't have to worry about that. What you do have to watch out for is the storm-release bloodline though I suspect" explained Kakashi. For Sasuke, this was beginning to sound more and more worth it for him. Perhaps Yakuro was just unfortunate to get paired up with a weak team. "So do you know anything about this storm-release?"

"A little bit. I fought against it once and forced my opponent to retreat, but it is quite powerful" said Kakashi.

"Good" was all Sasuke said before the two got to work.

* * *

Time skip to the start of the first round,

It was a busy day Kumogakure no Sato. Today was the day of the first round of fights for the chunin exams and the stands at the arena were packed. Excitement was in the air as 18 promising competitors had proven themselves worthy of fighting for the masses. While 18 might seem like a surprisingly large pool of chunin hopefuls, it was not odd for Kumo to have this many competitors in the final round. However, the surprising part was that the majority of the field was not made up of Kumo shinobi, but rather Konoha shinobi. Konoha had managed to secure 8 spots in the finals, Kumo had 6 spots, Suna had 2, Kiri had 1, and Taki had 1.

As the crowds assembled into the stands, the 18 competitors were led out onto the field. Up in the Kage box, the four village leaders who were able to attend the matches greeted each other before taking their seats. Shibuki, the new leader of Takigakure no Sato, Ratuka, the head elder of Sunagakure no Sato and acting Kazekage, Senju Tsunade, the Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, and Ay, the Raikage of Kumogakure no Sato.

A scream was heard up from the Kage box and everyone's attention turned to see Shibuki cowering after a messenger hawk landed on the Raikage's arm. All 18 competitors and the Kages sweat dropped at this. "Hey Fu, is that scaredy cat really your village leader?" asked Naruto, receiving an embarrassed nod from Fu.

As the stands filled, most of the crowd was obviously from Kumo, however there was a decent mound of Konoha citizens, due to the high number of Konoha participants. Out of these Konoha guests, the most important of them were: Senju Tsunade, Jiraiya, Hyuga Hiashi, Akamichi Chouza, Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, Inuzuka Tsume, Aburame Shibi, Kurama Unkai, and Sarutobi Asuma. These shinobi were the heads of the major clans in Konoha who composed the Konoha Shinobi Counsel with the Hokage, who also happened to be one of the clan heads, at the head of the counsel. All the other villages present had similar bodies, and to the competitors, these were the most important people to impress as they were the ones deciding who gets promoted from their village.

In a separate, more luxurious box, the lords from all around had gathered as well to watch the shinobi of their nations compete. However, the main reason they were there had nothing to do with the promoting of shinobi. They were simply there as these chunin exams were seen as almost a time for them to kick back and party a little. But if there was one activity that really caught these old politicians' attention, it was the opportunity to gamble with one another on the outcome of the matches.

The rest of the stands consisted of various people, mainly citizens of Kumogakure, but there were a certain number of foreigners who were allowed into the village to observe the exam. The members of the Konoha 12 along with their senseis all managed to get seats to cheer on their comrades and there was one particular chunin who was probably the most excited person to be here.

"_Naruto's grown so much over the past year. I actually can't believe that he used to be that annoying little kid who would always disrupt my lectures."_ Yes, Iruka had somehow managed to pull a few strings and got himself a pass to come observe Naruto competing in the finals. _"But what's most surprising is that he's ditched the orange jumpsuit. Sure, I'll miss him wearing that, but he actually kind of looks like a shinobi now."_

The stands were abuzz with excitement as everyone was discussing the matches to come. Suddenly, everyone just stopped everything as a huge cloud of smoke appeared in the middle of the arena. As soon as the smoke cleared, the Hachibi was standing where the smoke was, shocking almost everyone present. A beat began to play as the Hachibi transformed into Killer Bee.

"Know my name, know my fame, don't be lame! Eight tails, that's me da rappin Killer Bee! A tailed beast resides inside my hide! Makin' beats and rhymes and I'm makin' 'em live! It's what a Jinchuriki needs to survive! Battle after battle up in the Bee Hive!" rapped Bee as most of the Kumo citizens in the stands began to dance along. "First a cute little cat yeah how about that. Yugito Nii is da girl to be, just like da one and only Killa Bee! Our next competitor's hair is rather fair, it might be green but it really gleams…"

"Bee! Just get on with the match!" shouted the Raikage from the Kage Box. _"This is the last time I let him proctor an exam."_

Bee cringed at his brother's outburst and as such, got on with the match. Fu and Yugito remained down in the arena while all the remaining competitors continued up into the stands.

"Yo, let's get on with this show!" exclaimed Bee.

"Does that mean start?" asked Fu as Yugito nodded in translation.

The two kunoichi took their battle positions and Yugito was the first one to make a move. "Katon: Hellcats Fury!" Yugito exhaled a burst of fire that formed into about 6 flaming tigers and charged at Fu.

Fu ducked underneath the first one and drove a knife into the second and third ones. _"A water jutsu would be good right about now…oh wait, my bastard of a sensei never taught me anything while he was focusing on Takaru and Rigito."_ Fu was cursing her luck she was avoiding swipe after swipe from the four remaining cats. Over the past month, her team had returned to Taki, leaving her in Kumo to prepare for the upcoming exam…alone and without help. They retuned just a few days ago for the match, but she knew that they really didn't want to be there and the only reason they were was to escort Shibuki, and even he was only here because someone wearing a Takigakure headband had made it to the finals.

As Fu fought off yet another flaming cat, Yugito appeared directly in front of her with her claws extended. Yugito swiped at Fu, who barely managed to dodge the worst of the attack. Still, her arms and legs were already burnt from fighting with the cats and now she had a rather nasty scratch across her stomach. _"I need to get away from these things"_ she thought. _"That's it!"_

Fu jumped upward, hoping to get away from her attackers. The flaming cats and Yugito waited patiently for her to land, but that never happened.

"Woah!" exclaimed a lot of people from the stands. And there was something to 'woah' about. As Yugito looked up at her target, it was apparent Fu wasn't coming down as she now had what appeared to be two sets of wings coming out of the middle of her back.

"Heh, and I was beginning to think this match wouldn't get interesting" commented Yugito.

"That's awesome! She can fly!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Yes, it is a very interesting ability" replied Shino.

"**It's probably an ability she gets from Choumei"** replied Kurama.

"_Cool! Can you give me something that will make me fly?!" _asked Naruto. Kurama merely sweat dropped at this.

"**What do I look like, a nine-WINGED fox?! I can't fly you idiot!"**

"_Now!"_ thought Fu as she saw a small opening. "Ninpo: Blinding Scales!" Fu exhaled a dust of tiny luminous scales at Yugito, blinding the fellow jinchuriki and giving Fu her opportunity. With an impressive aerial speed, she zipped into range of Yugito to deliver a quick punch to the blonde kunoichi. Yugito slid back a few feet and Fu continued on with her attack. Yugito ducked underneath Fu's next attack and kicked upwards into Fu's stomach, sending her into the air. Fu was able to stabilize herself, just in time to see what was happening next.

"Katon: Mouse Hairball!" Yugito unleashed her most powerful jutsu at Fu. The jutsu quickly split into multiple smaller fireballs and quickly locked onto Fu. With a surprising amount of speed, Fu began to outrun the oncoming attack. Unfortunately, she did not find that the attack was coming off and it still appeared to follow her.

"_Damn. I need to do something to shake these fireballs"_ Fu thought as she noticed Yugtio standing in the arena below. _"Okay, that should work."_ Fu altered her course for her opponent and was suddenly flying low to the ground towards Yugito, who was not waiting for Fu to get closer before swiping out with her claws. As Fu got closer, Yugito lashed out with her cat-like nails and caught Fu across the shoulder and arms. She knew there was a danger to attacking directly and she was hoping to dodge the attack, but she was still not fully able to control herself while flying. However, the risk paid off when she saw the many fireballs collide with Yugito.

Fu got up, having crashed onto the ground after being attacked got to her feet and watched as the smoke cleared. To her dismay, Yugito was still standing, surrounded by a faint blue flame that surrounded her body.

"I have to say you're more fun than I had hoped. If I were anyone else, that little strategy would have worked" said Yugito. Using the speed that she gained by tapping into her demonic chakra, Yugito quickly closed the distance between the two of them and pinned Fu to the ground with her claws at the green-haired girl's throat. "I suggest you forfeit. Those are some pretty wings you've got and I'd hate to have to clip them."

"Fine, I'm done" said Fu, forfeiting the match.

"The tactics Yugito used at the beginning of the fight to trap her opponent were impressive, and I feel that if Fu didn't have that ability to fly, she would have been done. Still, that was an interesting ability of her, don't you say Shibuki?" analyzed Tsunade from the Kage box.

"Phft. Whatever" he scoffed off. This caught the rest of the Kage's attention. She may have lost, but that didn't mean that Shibuki had to be so harsh about it. Fu did put up a good performance and managed to impress quite a few people.

As the medics came out to help Fu patch up her wounds, Yugito came over to chat with her competitors. "Do you mind me asking if you had any more tricks? I mean you only used that dust to blind and your flying abilities. That couldn't have been everything you had, could it?"

"I wish I could say so, but my sensei and anyone in the village has pretty much refused to teach me due to my condition" replied Fu. This surprised Yugito. In Kumo, while jinchuriki weren't the most coveted people, they were still treated decently as both Kumo jinchuriki had control over their biju. From the sounds of it and other things that she noticed, Fu was not as well off as she was.

"Still, you were actually pretty good. Let me know if you ever want to play again" said Yugito, offering Fu a hand.

Up in the stands, people were applauding the match. Even though he didn't show it, Shino was slightly disappointed that Fu lost, although he was impressed by a few of her abilities.

"Let's go brat, it's your turn to die" commented Goyaku to Naruto as he left down the stairwell towards the arena.

Naruto let out a deep breath. It was now or never. "Naruto…" said Hinata, grabbing his arm.

"Don't worry Hime, I'll be fine. He almost killed three of my friends and I'm not going to let him get away with that. –ttebayo!" replied Naruto.

"Naruto" Gaara said to his friend. "I need to tell you something about him."

Flashback*

Gaara was walking through Kumo, in search of a particular fellow jinchuriki. There was something he needed to know about Goyaku. The man was even more bloodthirsty and cold than Gaara had ever been and he needed to know why. He came to the training ground that had been assigned to Goyaku and saw the fellow jinchuriki sitting in the middle of a barren spot of earth, scorched by his very acid.

"Have you come to die as well?" asked Goyaku.

"I came merely because I need to know. I used to be just like you, one who only cared about killing. As a child, my own father attempted to kill me a total of 6 six times, all because I was seen as an unstable threat to the village. Because of that, I came to the conclusion that my sole purpose on this planet was to kill and that the only reason people existed was for me to kill them. I fell into the darkness and lost myself to it, seeking only to kill those who I felt would prove my existence. But by some miracle, I found a small spark of light, one that was able to pull me out of the darkness. That light was Uzumaki Naruto, the very person you are fighting in the final round. He was just like me, and yet he was completely different. He had faced everything I had as a child, the attempted killing, the fear, and emptiness that comes with being who we are. Yet, he chose a different path, one that I have now set myself upon. He chose to work hard and earn love, and as such that became his reason to live…to protect those he cares about" said Gaara. "And as such, he has earned the love and respect of many people who now call him friend."

"A touching story" said Goyaku sarcastically. "But I don't need that load of shit. You see, unlike the two of you, I was not born as a jinchuriki. Even still, I was born a monster, and I liked it. I remember my first kill. I was only four at the time and I can still remember my father's screams, the blood pouring from the hole in his chest. He was begging me to stop and yet I kept going. Why? Because it felt so good. It was then that I learned that I was truly meant to kill."

Gaara was actually shocked at this. Goyaku continued. "I knew what love felt like. My mother loved me with all her heart. I killed her, moments after I killed my father. The pleasure I felt from killing them was overwhelming, I had to have more. And then the day came that the Mizukage offered me a proposal that I couldn't refuse. He offered to turn me into the ultimate killing machine, should I offer to serve him. I was six when the Rokubi was sealed into me and ever since then, I haven't been able to stop killing. I was born a killer. I was meant to kill. And once I kill that brat and his pathetic friends, I'll kill you next."

Gaara regained himself. It was like he just had a talk with the devil himself. This man…no, this monster had known the joys of love and friendship and yet he merely tossed them aside to kill. "I see, then if that's the way you truly feel, then you will not succeed in killing Naruto."

"And you think you're going to stop me?" asked Goyaku.

"No. As much as I want to spare Naruto from burdening himself with you, I know for certain that someone who thinks the way you do will never win against him" replied Gaara.

"Tsk. You've just ensured that brat will die a slow and excruciatingly painful death…I'm going to enjoy it with my entire being" said Goyaku with an evil look on his face.

*End Flashback*

"I see" replied Naruto.

"He's not like me. He's gone too far in the darkness. In fact, he's actually chosen the darkness and shunned any form of love and caring for him. You will not be able to save him as he won't even accept it. He truly is a demon" said Gaara.

"Don't worry. I knew that from the very first time I saw him. The Kyuubi actually gives me the abilities to sense stuff like this and I know just how far he is. He tried to kill my friends twice now and he's threatening everyone else. I won't let him get away with that, you can count on it" said Naruto as he turned to walk down the stairs.

"Naruto!" called out Neji. Naruto turned to see what it was that the Hyuga genius wanted. "Kick his ass." Naruto surprised by Neji's choice of words but none the less grinned back.

"Kakashi-sensei? Do you think Naruto can really beat that monster?" asked Ino from up in the stands where most of the Konoha ninja had found their seats

"No need to worry, Ino! Naruto's Flames of Youth burn too bright to be extinguished!" said Gai, giving everyone the nice-guy pose.

"But Gai-sensei, this guy's a monster. He nearly killed my team and Tenten!" replied Ino.

"But who was it who saved you" replied Gai.

"Naruto's the only one who can fight this guy. The entire area around that guy is filled with acid that begins ravaging your lungs the moment you breathe it in, making it almost impossible to fight him head on" explained Kakashi. "But, and you guys have probably seen this, Naruto has an incredibly high regeneration due to the Kyuubi, enough to allow him to fight without worrying too much about the acid. Besides, I have a feeling he's going to surprise us. This is Naruto we are talking about anyways. So Asuma, mind sharing what Naruto learned?"

"I'll say, those shadow clones of his and the massive chakra reserves he has is a blessing when it comes to learning jutsus. He had dozens of them working on some wind jutsu while I trained him with the chakra blades he's got. In four weeks time, we were able to get 7 different jutsus hammered into his head. Not as good as a Sharingan, but still impressive, considering one of those is a high A-rank" said Asuma. "The funny thing is that he found the scroll for said jutsu in some sort of journal that he said he got in Uzushiogakure. So I take it Naruto truly is an Uzumaki?"

"Yes, and you'd be surprised with the other part of it" said Kakashi, sending the rest of the jonin a look. He wasn't going to say much more on it in the middle of a crowd and the genin just shot Kakashi a curious look.

Back in the arena, Naruto had just walked out of the tunnel leading onto the arena. He had a serious look on his face and the new, darker look made him actually seem like a serious ninja. Of all the matches, this was probably the most anticipated one of them all. Ever since the prelims, word had gotten out about Naruto being a jinchuriki and that his opponent was also a jinchuriki. For those placing bets, the odds were in favor of Goyaku at 5:1, primarily due to the reputation he had gained throughout Kirigakure as a sadistic killer who could kill you by just being in your presence.

"**So you really want to do this on your own, Kit?" **

"_I just need enough chakra to counteract the corrosive effects of his acid. Other than that, this is something I want to do myself. Besides, it's not like I've been doing nothing these past four weeks. I need to know if I'm getting strong on my own"_ replied Naruto.

"**Fine, just don't get us both killed. Now go kick his ass!"**

Naruto approached the center of the arena and a deathly silence overtook the stadium. After just a few seconds of just starting at his opponent, Naruto felt the necessary demonic chakra enter his system that he would need to combat Goyaku's acid aura.

Before the match even began, Goyaku took a page from Naruto's book and sent a massive wave of KI at the blonde, hoping to get a reaction. Naruto didn't even flinch. He was used to KI of this magnitude, having learned how to combat it months ago from the Kyuubi. However, just because it didn't affect Naruto, doesn't mean that it simply went unnoticed. Throughout the stands, the observers with weaker constitutions couldn't hold themselves together. Some shuttered at the KI flooding the stadium, some spilled their bowels, some passed out, and some did some sort of combination of the three. This man really wanted to kill Naruto.

"_I'd better begin this soon before the tension goes boom" _thought Bee as he signaled for the fight to begin.

"Acid Cannon!" shouted Goyaku, forming balls of acid in his hand and shooting them out at Naruto.

"Futon: Air Bullets!" shouted Naruto as he unleashed multiple spheres of compressed air towards the incoming acid balls. The two attacks collided in mid air, dispersing the acid to a point where it didn't bother Naruto.

Naruto rushed towards Goyaku and lashed out with a punch towards his opponent. Goyaku caught Naruto's fist and began to excrete acid from his own hand as it surrounded Naruto's fist. Even with the demonic chakra healing him, Naruto couldn't maintain prolonged contact with Goyaku as the acid on him was too concentrated. Naruto kicked Goyaku in the stomach, causing his opponent to release his grip on Naruto as Naruto retreated to allow his hand a few seconds to heal.

"It's been a while since someone's fought me up close like that. Usually, they just keel over and die when they get too close" commented Goyaku.

"Yeah? Well there's a lot more where that came from. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" shouted Naruto as about 15 clones popped into existence. The clones rushed at Goyaku, knives out.

"Acidic Wave!" shouted Goyaku as he moved his arm in a slashing motion and send a spray of acid at the clones, causing all of them to dispel in a cloud of smoke. However, when the smoke cleared, Goyaku saw that it was only a mere diversion as Naruto and another clone had stayed back.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Futon: Great Breakthrough!"

Naruto and the clone launched a combination assault on Goyaku as the Kiri jinchuriki exhaled a thick cloud of acidic vapors to disintegrate the incoming shuriken before they would reach him. However, the shuriken were moving too fast and the blast of wind was helping to disperse some of the vapors and some of the shuriken managed to get through. Even though they were dulled by the corrosion, a few managed to find their target as some embedded themselves in Goyaku's arms and shoulders. For the first time in years, Goyaku was facing someone who had actually managed to injure him.

"Oh yeah…I'm really going to enjoy killing you!" growled Goyaku as he ripped the shuriken out of his shoulder.

"Is that all you every think about?! Killing?!" responded an angry Naruto.

"What else is there to think about? I'm sure your little sand brat told you what I told him. I want to kill, it's what I was born to do, and the Rokubi only gave me another tool to do so" replied Goyaku. "But all I care about is that you die!" Goyaku rushed at Naruto with incredible speed, probably fueled by demonic chakra, and grabbed the blonde by the neck with his left arm, slamming him back into a nearby rock. Naruto could feel Goyaku's tight grip on his neck and the acid eating away at the skin and flesh on his neck at a quicker rate than he could heal.

"Naruto!" shouted Hinata, Sakura, Hanabi, Ino, Tenten, Lee, Kiba, and Iruka from the stands.

Goyaku began gathering acid into his right hand and Naruto knew he had to get free before Goyaku had a chance to slam that acid into him. Instinctively, Naruto reached into his kunai holster on his leg and pulled out his tri-pronged knife and channeled wind chakra into it.

"This is where you die!" shouted Goyaku as he trusted his hand holding the ball of acid towards Naruto's head. At the last second, Naruto slashed with his wind blade through the arm that was holding him, severing it from Goyaku. Naruto dropped down, just in time for the acid ball to pass over his head and slam into the rock behind him. If Naruto would have looked back, he would have seen the acid melting away a good portion of the rock.

"Futon: Pressure Palm!" shouted Naruto as he gathered and compressed air between his open palms and shoved them into Goyaku's gut. The blast of pressurized air exploded into Goyaku and sent him flying back away from Naruto.

In the stands, a breath that was held by everyone was released at once. "Too close there, Naruto" commented Kurenai and the rest of the Konoha observers nodded.

Naruto rubbed his neck as his flesh slowly began to heal itself. That really was a close one. If he were anyone else, besides maybe Baachan, that acid would have eaten into the jugular vein in his neck and killed him right there, not to mention that there was no telling what that acid ball would have done to his head. One thing was sure…he had to end this match soon before he started giving people a heart attack.

"Looks like it's time for that jutsu that Ero-Sennin taught me" said Naruto. He made the shadow-clone seal, but continued on to make the tiger seal as he struggled to bring five clones into existence.

"What's wrong with Naruto, he should be able to make more than five clones and even those five seemed like a task for him" commented Sakura, turning her attention to Neji, who had his eyes active.

"Those aren't normal clones, they have more chakra than normal. It's like he purposefully overloaded them with chakra" replied Neji.

"Overloaded? But why?" asked Sakura.

"I don't really know, but knowing Naruto I'm not expecting anything out of the ordinary" replied Neji.

Goyaku managed to pick himself up from the ground as he looked over towards his handless arm. He was getting real pissed at the boy. No longer did he care what it took, he was going to kill the brat. _"Give me your power, so I can kill this piece of shit!"_ he said to the demon inside him. Just as he said this, the five Naruto clones ran straight towards him. The five clones were upon him quick, but Goyaku did not expect what happened next.

"Exploding Clone Jutsu!" shouted Naruto as he formed a half tiger seal with one of his hands. All five clones exploded in a massive blast and Goyaku was caught in the center of it.

* * *

In some Akatsuki hideout,

"Art is an EXPLOSION!" shouted Deidara as a massive explosion rang through the hide out.

"What the hell was that for you moron!" replied Hidan's head, which had been separated from his body due to the blast.

"I don't know. It feels like someone has just discovered the true joys of art so I thought I would celebrate with an explosion!" replied Deidara.

"That's it! Get your ass over here so I can sacrifice it to Jashin!" replied an angry Hidan.

"And how are you going to do that? You're just a head" replied Deidara as he wiggled his ass tauntingly in front of Hidan's severed head. "Yeeoouuch!" shouted Deidara as Hidan bit down on Deidara's ass…hard.

* * *

"Who the hell taught the Gaki THAT jutsu!" shouted Tsunade from the Kage box. "Jiraiya?!"

"Oh shit" replied now fearful Jiraiya from down by the Konoha spectators.

"You know, I don't blame Tsunade-sama. Naruto could probably destroy an entire village with that jutsu once he masters it" replied Kakashi, looking over to a cowering Jiraiya.

"Heh, that got you, you slug bastard" replied Naruto from down in the arena. His eyes widened in horror when a blood-red beam shot upwards from the middle of the dust cloud and a massive KI, larger than any felt before, flooded the stadium. "Shit!"

A massive cry erupted from the cloud of dust and standing where Goyaku once was, stood a five-tailed, blood-red, slug-like creature.

"Shit! This is bad! Really bad!" yelled Jiraiya from the stands as all the other jonin and genin looked on in horror at what Naruto was now faced with.

"This match is over, before we all fall over. Bakayaro Konoyaro" said Bee, trying to end the match as things were now getting out of hand. A few octopus arms appeared out his back as he tried to restrain Goyaku, but found that he couldn't hold on as the acid on the five-tailed cloak now had enough strength to quickly eat away at the Hachibi's flesh.

Goyaku then did something that only made the situation worse. Small blue and red balls of chakra began forming above his mouth. He was determined to kill Naruto and he was going to Tail Beast Ball Naruto, and the hundreds of spectators in the stands behind Naruto, including Naruto's friends.

"Damn, I've got to end this now or a lot of people are going to die. I've got to use those two jutsu!" said Naruto.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" shouted Naruto as seven clones popped into existence.

"Futon: Heaven's Hammer!" shouted Naruto, after running through about two dozen seals. Just as Goyaku was able to finish the Tailed Beast Ball, an incredibly powerful column of air slammed down on top of him, pinning Goyaku to the ground and shattering the chakra ball before he could swallow it and unleash its power.

"What was that?!" asked Kakashi, completely surprised at the jutsu Naruto had just pulled out of his ass.

"That, was the A-rank jutsu I was talking about earlier" commented Asuma, surprised as well by the events happening below.

The entire stands watched as the seven Naruto clones moved into position surrounding Goyaku, equally spaced so that there would be eight points surrounding Goyaku with the real Naruto as the eighth point. All 7 clones pulled out a tagged kunai and placed it at their feet as Naruto released the Heaven's Hammer and dropped to his knees panting. "Damn, that jutsu takes a crap ton of chakra" said Naruto. Despite the exhaustion, Naruto forced himself to his feet; he wasn't finished as Goyaku needed to be stopped before he killed anyone.

*Flashback*

"So what do you think, Ero-sennin?" asked Naruto, pointing to the sealing scroll he had just shown Jiraiya.

"It might just work. If you can make a seal strong enough, then I think you'll be able to pull this off" replied Jiraiya.

"How strong exactly does it have to be?" asked Naruto.

"Four elements is the bare minimum for any sort of demonic entity. However, given the fact that you're going up against the Rokubi, I'd say five minimum, if not 6. The more elements you can add to the seal, the stronger it will be and the less risk there is of it coming undone" replied Jiraiya. "But this is still an incredibly difficult seal and just getting the necessary four elements is going to be extremely difficult for you."

"I see…"

*End Flashback*

"Four elements, huh? And that will barely hold. If you say that six would be required to restrain that damned slug, then I'll make sure it never sees the light of day again!" declared Naruto as he began going through hand seals.

"What's Naruto doing now?" asked Kurenai.

"What? He's going for eight?" exclaimed Jiraiya.

"Eight? Eight what?!" replied Kurenai.

"You've got some knowledge in fuinjutsu, just watch" replied Jiraiya, directing everyone's attention back towards the match.

Back in the arena, Goyaku made his way to his feet after being crushed by that massive column of air. **"You WILL DIE…NOW!"**

As Goyaku finished his threat, the eight tags surrounding him lit up. "You will NEVER threaten my friends again!" declared Naruto as he finished the hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground in front of him. "Fuinjutsu: Uzumaki-style Eight Element Suppression Seal! Bind!"

Sealing kanji erupted from the eight points surrounding Goyaku and converged at the point underneath him where an Uzumaki spiral formed. In a chain-like fashion, the eight kanji lines going from the seven tagged kunai and Naruto towards the center of the seal rose up and wrapped themselves around Goyaku as they proceeded to chain the monster to the seal beneath it.

Goyaku let out a piercing scream as he struggled to get to his feet, but to no avail. The seal had a strong enough hold on him to stop him from doing anything as the crowds just watched on in complete surprise at everything that was going on below.

"Now, don't you ever come back out again, you damn slug! Seal!" exclaimed Naruto, making the serpent seal with his hands. The seal on the arena floor began to twist and work its way towards Goyaku as it worked to suppress the Rokubi's chakra to a point where Goyaku wouldn't have access to even a slight drop of it ever again.

Goyaku screamed out in pain as the sealing completed with an Uzumaki Eight-point Suppression Seal appearing over top his seal, which was now visible on the center of Goyaku's chest just above his heart. The blood-red chakra cloak retreated from the Kiri jinchuriki as all access to the Rokubi's chakra was completely sealed away.

Goyaku now stood, severely weakened and barely able to stand. He was just on the verge of consciousness, but no matter what happened now, the brat was going to pay. If he died...fine. So long as he took Naruto to hell with him.

Naruto felt the remaining chakra he had left. That A-rank wind jutsu and the subsequent sealing had taken a lot out of him. He had just enough chakra for one last jutsu, just enough to send one more clear message to Goyaku. Naruto rose to his feet, holding out his palm and channeling chakra into, forming the sphere of condensed and spiraling chakra. He then proceeded to charge at Goyaku, whose eyes had grown wide at the jutsu in Naruto's hand. Naruto slammed the orb of chakra into Goyaku's stomach. "Rasengan!" shouted Naruto as Goyaku was shot back against the opposite wall of the arena where he finally collapsed.

For a good minute, the entire stadium remained in complete and utter silence, wondering if Goyaku would get back up, and hoping he wouldn't, before erupting in cheers.

"Uzumaki Naruto is the winna, yeah!" shouted Bee, as Naruto finally collapsed from exhaustion with a huge satisfied grin on his face. Jiraiya was the first one down as he checked on his still conscious student.

"Not bad, Gaki. Not bad at all" said Jiraiya.

"Heh, thanks Ero-sennin" replied Naruto.

"So you want to go rest now?" asked Jiraiya.

"Hell no. I've got three days before the next round and I've still gotta watch everyone's match" replied Naruto.

"Heh, why am I not surprised" replied Jiraiya. "How about I take you back up into the stands, at least there you can sit down."

"Sure, but can I go talk to everyone first?" asked Naruto as Jiriaya carried Naruto into the tunnel and towards the contestant's box.

"**Not bad Kit, not bad at all."**

"A genin knowing that level of jutsu is just completely unheard of. He can think quick on his feet when the situation becomes dire and he doesn't hesitate, something a chunin needs to be able to do at times. And he thought of way to defeat such a monster before I could kill anyone of us, who were in the stands right behind him. He could have given up, and honestly, most of us would have been running for our lives after facing a pissed off jinchuriki, but he held his ground, not wanting to endanger anyone else and pulled through" commented one of the Konoha chunin in the audience. The chunin turned to another chunin seated next to him. "What do you think, Kotetsu?"

"I know one thing for sure, this does indeed beat gate duty. Still he's got some qualities that a chunin needs. He might not be the smartest out there, but he can think up effective solutions to problems on the battlefield rather quick" replied Kotetsu to his buddy, Izumo.

"So it looks like he'll have another fight. I look forward to seeing what the kid can do there. But I will say this, boy were we wrong about him from the very beginning" replied Izumo.

The Kages were still in utter disbelief at what they had just witnessed, even Tsunade. The Raikage was the first to break out of his stupor and slip into thought. _"So the last name isn't just for show. That blonde brat really is an Uzumaki. Damnit! And with the power of the Kyuubi, he's going to turn into a huge threat one day. If anything was evident by today's match, it was that. Something's going to need to be done."_

Tsunade regained herself in time to catch the look on the Raikage's face. _"That can't be a good look. I can't even begin to imagine what the Raikage is thinking right now. I' pretty sure about this though, it's only a matter of time now before Naruto's got the Raikage on his ass. But still, I can't believe the Gaki actually pulled that off." _Tsunade stood up as she went to collect her winnings from the bet that she had placed on Naruto.

"Naruto!" shouted Hinata as she ran over to Naruto as Jiraiya set the blonde on his feet. Naruto's legs were still weak, but he found that he was at least able to stand. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough strength to keep himself up when Hinata jumped him and the two of them fell to the ground with Hinata on top.

"Hey you two, here's not the place for that kind of stuff. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wait until we get back to the hotel" said Jiraiya in a perverted tone as Naruto and Hinata invented a new shade of red.

"Just shut up you damn pervert!" replied Naruto, only causing Jiraiya to laugh harder than he already was.

"That was amazing Naruto!" said Sakura, coming over to congratulate the blonde.

"Very nicely done, Naruto. Your Youthful Flames are truly burning brighter than ever!" exclaimed Lee.

"Yes, that was an impressive battle" commented Shino.

"You never cease to surprise me, Naruto" said Neji.

The next one to do something was Sasuke, who just extended a hand to help Naruto up off the ground. Naruto took the hand and stood up so that he and Sasuke were starring directly into each other's eyes. "Now I really want to fight you, Dobe" said Sasuke. Naruto instantly recognized this as a Sasuke comment.

"Heh, thanks everyone, and don't worry Sasuke, there's still one more round to go. We'll meet there, -ttebayo!" assured Naruto.

"You guys really are idiots if you think you will face each other in the next round. There are at least 17 competitors, which means the odds of you two actually meeting are pretty slim" responded Shinji with an annoyed tone.

"They will fight in the next round. It has been fated" said Neji, earning a glare from Shinji.

"You know, normally I'd smack you for that, but for once, I'm not arguing" replied Naruto. "And thanks everyone. Now you guys go kick ass in your matches and I'll see you afterwards."

"Where are you going, Naruto?" asked Hinata.

"Ero-Sennin wants me to come up to the stands to sit down. I don't see why though, I can stand perfectly fine" said Naruto as he almost stumbled over.

"Just go sit. Don't worry Naruto, everything will be fine" said Sakura as Jiraiya helped Naruto up to the stands and Lee and Temari made their way to the arena for their match.

As Naruto arrived at the Konoha section in the stands, he was greeted by a standing ovation from the 100-or-so Konoha citizens who had managed to make their way to the exams. However, Iruka was the one to approach Naruto.

"I'm so proud of how far you've come, Naruto" said Iruka, smiling to his former student.

"Thanks Iruka-sensei, that means a lot" replied Naruto as a tear came to his eye and he found a seat in between Iruka and Kiba.

"That was amazing Naruto!" exclaimed the members of the Konoha 12 who were already there.

"Yes, very impressive fight Naruto, and you probably saved us all from whatever that attack your opponent was charging up" said Hiashi as he and his younger daughter made their way towards where Naruto was now seated.

"Yay! Naruto-niisan won!" cheered Hanabi. For Naruto, it certainly was nice to have the old, not-manipulated Hanabi back. Before Hanabi exploded that one day, when Hinata and Hanabi were close with one another and since Hinata and Naruto had begun dating before then, Hanabi, for some reason, began calling him –niisan back then. Naruto wasn't arguing and it certainly was nice that Hinata and her sister were back to being close with one another.

"Okay okay, enough about me. Bushy Brow's fight is starting" said Naruto, diverting everyone's attention to the fight in the arena.

"YOSH! GO LEE! LET YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH SHINE JUST LIKE NARUTO'S" shouted Gai, deafening everyone within earshot of him.

"Yo, it's our green little fighta, keeps on trukin so his flames gettin brighta. And I'm a fan all the way, so don't get blown away, hey. Yeah!"

"This is definitely the last time I let him proctor an exam" commented the Raikage from the exam box. Tsunade was trying to hold back her laughs.

"Excuse me, does that mean we can start?" asked Lee politely.

"You got it, man" replied Bee.

Temari made the first move as she jumped backwards, away from Lee and opened her fan fully. She would have to end it now because she was a long ranged fighter and the minute Lee got within close range of her, it was all over.

"Futon: Great Sickle Weasel Jutsu!" shouted Temari as she end a massive gust of wind towards Lee. Lee was soon dancing around the wind blades created via Temari's technique as she launched off another attack towards him.

"_Dang it. I can't get close to her if I have to keep dancing around like this"_ thought Lee.

"LEE! TAKE THEM OFF!" Gai's voice was heard throughout the stadium, except by those who he had already deafened. Lee backed away upon hearing this and Temari swore to herself. She had seen Lee fight when he takes his ankle weights off and there was no way she was going to let him do it now.

"Summoning: Kamatari!" she shouted after smearing some blood on her fan and giving it a good swipe. A sickle weasel poofed onto the field and quickly made its way towards Lee. The weasel began swinging it's sickle at Lee, hoping to stop Lee from gaining a moment to take his weights off.

"_I need to take my weights off, but I can't seem to find the time. If I stop, then this weasel will slice…wait! That's it!"_ thought Lee.

As he was dodging the weasel's attacks, Lee moved his legs in range of the sickle just enough that it would cut through the fabric holding the weights on his legs. Lee's plan worked and the sickle weasel had cut off his weights while not cutting off his legs. Now Lee was moving much faster than before and Temari was swearing.

"Eh, not bad. Couldn't take his weights off so he had the weasel do it for him" commented Kakashi.

Lee took an extra step backwards to buy himself some room. Once his feet touched the ground, he was off and Temari lost track of him.

Temari turned around just in time to move her fan to block one of Lee's oncoming kicks. Lee's kick met her fan and Temari found herself sliding backwards a bit. This was really bad for her now as Lee was in melee range and most of her skills had gone down the drain.

Lee's follow-up attack came swift with a sweeping kick that knocked Temari off her feet. For a brief moment, Temari's eyes closed when she hit the ground. When she opened them, Lee's fist was less than an inch from her nose. Apparently, Lee was either giving her a chance to surrender or he couldn't hit her for some reason. Still, she knew that had this been combat outside the arena, she would probably be dead right now as Lee could have been holding some sort of weapon or blade.

"Damn, and I was hoping to actually keep you away from me where I could win this. It's over, there's no way I'm winning now" said Temari, forfeiting the match.

"Yes! I won! Did you see that Gai-sensei?!" shouted Lee, looking up towards the balcony.

Up in the stands, Gai was trying his best to keep his composure, even though tears were streaming down his face. Everyone thought he was going to manage, until Gai bolted over the railing of the stands and landed on the arena floor.

"Lee! I'm so proud of you!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

The two embraced in a hug with the ocean sunset as the backdrop. Everyone watching this horrific event was either trying to dispel the genjutsu or wishing that they were facing the Rokubi right about now.

As Lee and Gai were heading back into the stadium, Sakura and Hikari were on their way out to the arena for their match. "Sakura, I wish you luck, and may your own flames burn as brightly as mine did!" exclaimed Lee, giving Sakura the 'nice-guy' pose.

"Umm…thanks Lee" replied Sakura.

Sakura and her opponent faced each other. Hikari was probably about 2-3 years older than Sakura and had her brown hair in a bun with a few large needles holding it together. Because of her age, she was at least a good 6 inches taller than Sakura, giving her the size advantage if they came into close combat, however, the question was…was she as strong as Sakura?

"Hey Kurenai-sensei, you worked with Sakura these past few weeks, right?" asked Naruto. "How much did she improve?"

"Well, I've been focusing mainly on her genjutsu, and I will admit she has some amazing potential in that area. Her genjutsu's improved tremendously and now I'm almost wishing I had her on my team. If I had a year to work on her, who knows where she'd be right now. And thanks to Anko, her agility, stamina, and taijutsu have shown a good deal of improvement" said Kurenai.

"Wow! Sakura's going to kick ass then!" replied Naruto. _"Though I still feel sorry she had to spend a month with the crazy snake lady."_

As Bee declared the match to start, Sakura made the first move, starting off with a few senbon aimed at her opponent. Hikari easily dodged them and darted towards Sakura. Sakura slid into a defensive stance and pulled a kunai, not really sure what to expect from her opponent. Hikari threw a straight punch towards Sakura, who blocked it with ease. However, as Hikari's fist connected with Sakura's arms, the pinkette felt a shock in her right arm, followed by a numbness in said arm.

Out of surprise, Sakura retreated back a little to check what exactly happened to her arm.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's up with Sakura?" asked Naruto.

"I don't really know. A punch like that shouldn't have had much affect on Sakura, but it did" replied Kakashi.

"I think I know" replied Gai, who had just arrived back at the stands with a victorious Lee. "Hyuga-sama, if I may borrow your eyes."

Hiashi nodded at Gai's request and activated his Byakugan and focused in on Sakura's arm as told followed by Hikari's arm. "Sakura's chakra is fine, it's her nerves that are shaken up, but they are starting to recover. As for her opponent, there is a thin shroud of lightning chakra surrounding her hand."

"Hmm…" replied Gai.

"Gai-sensei? What is it?" asked Lee.

"Then my assumption about her from the prelims was correct. She is a user of the Raiken (Lightning Fist)" responded Gai.

"Lightning fist? What's that, Bushy-Brows-sensei?" asked Naruto.

"The Raiken is probably the most formidable taijutsu style that Kumogakure has access to. The user surrounds their hand with a thin layer of static electricity that numbs and stuns the opponent upon contact. So when Sakura blocked right there, the electricity surrounding Hikari's fist numbed her arm" explained the taijutsu expert. "The electricity messes with the nerves in the area it hit and temporarily messes them up. However, because the amount of electricity surrounding her hands is minimal, the numbing sensation only lasts 30 seconds at most. So Sakura should be regaining control of her arm right about now."

Gai was correct in that Sakura could feel the feeling come back to her arm. _"I think I see. It's just like Tsunade-shisho's __Ranshinso__ (Nerve Pathway Rupture), only not as strong. I should probably stay away from her hands then. I need to immobilize her somehow so I can attack without worrying about those hands"_ thought Sakura.

"Heh, think that little spark you call an attack is going to affect me?" Sakura began taunting as she came up with a plan. "You couldn't even light up a light bulb with the measly electricity you've got."

As Sakura proceeded to dodge a few punches from an enraged Hikari who was taking the taunts, Gai continued on with his explanation. "Unlike the Jyuken, the Raiken doesn't damage any internal organs or tissue, just scrambles the nerve impulses for a few seconds. However, that doesn't mean that a user of the Raiken can't score a fatal blow with it. If they manage to land a hit to the head, scrambling the nerve signals in the brain could actually prove fatal."

"Wow! You actually know a lot about this stuff, Bushy-Brows-sensei!" replied Naruto.

Gai flashed his smile towards Naruto. "Taijutsu is the form of combat that utilizes the strength of the body itself, as a master of taijutsu, I am also a master of the body!"

"_Too bad you're not a master of the mind as well"_ thought Tenten.

Sakura was backpedalling away from Hikari, dodging punch after punch as she made her way towards a few trees that were placed around the outside of the arena.

However, as she was backing up, Sakura momentarily forgot where she was going and she backed up into a tree and Hikari saw this by slamming a charged fist into Sakura's chest. Hikari then took her other hand and grabbed the top of Sakura's head as electricity raced through her.

"Sakura!" shouted both Lee and Naruto.

As Lee and Naruto said that, Sakura began to be absorbed by the tree and Hikari was surprised as the tree started to bind her as well. Before she could escape, the tree wrapped itself around Hikari, immobilizing her. "Heh, gotcha" said Sakura, appearing on the branch of said tree, completely unharmed.

"What?! How?" responded Hikari.

"Genjutsu" answered Sakura, throwing a few senbon needles into Hikari's exposed shoulder. A few seconds later, and Hikari was out like a log.

"She won't be waking up for an hour or so" Sakura called out to Bee.

Been nodded. "The match is over as Hikari is a dozer" said Bee.

"Yeah! Way to go Sakura!" shouted Naruto and Lee. Other cheers and applauds were heard from the stands.

"It's a shame that we didn't get to see more of the Raiken, but Hikari was so content on just getting a hand on Sakura that she didn't realize she was walking into a trap" replied Gai.

"What technique was that Sakura used?" asked Naruto.

"Tree-Binding technique" replied Kurenai. "It's a higher level genjutsu that I taught her."

In the arena, Sakura heard the applause and turned towards the stands. This wasn't something that she got to experience from the first exams, thanks to Ino, but it came as a pleasant surprise to her as she couldn't help but smiling.

"_Heh, attacks that screw with the nerves aren't going to work that well on Sakura" _thought Tsunade. _"Once she figured out what was going all she had to do was stay away from Hikari until the proper time came to strike. And being a med-nin, dodging those attacks were easy for her."_

Similar thoughts were going through the crowd as Sakura proceeded back into the stadium and a few minutes intermission was given to the stadium before continuing on with the match, giving Bee the perfect opportunity to entertain the crowds with his enka rapping skills.

"Not bad down there" complimented Sasuke as Sakura returned to the competitors' box.

"I had her from the moment I realized what she could do, which wasn't that hard given that I AM a med-nin after all" bragged Sakura. "Besides, after a month with Anko, you either learn to not let anything hit you or you learn what pain truly is."

Sakura turned back towards the door to go join Naruto and Lee back in the stands. "So you're just going to leave me here alone?" asked Sasuke, mixing in hints of joking and pleading in his vice.

"You're not alone, you've got three Hyugas, Gaara, and a few Kumo ninja to keep you company" responded Sakura, returning the joke.

"_It seems I have been forgotten again"_ thought Shino. "It was bad enough that the author forgot about me during the training montage, but now my own friends?" Shino disappeared to the corner to sulk.

"It's okay Shino. I didn't forget about you" said Hinata, trying to cheer her teammate up.

"Thank you, Hinata. But you should be going, your match is about to start" responded Shino.

"Hinata, good luck out there" said Sakura before she continued up to the stands.

The crowds began to cheer as the next two competitors took the field. The next match was against what Kumo considered their taijutsu prodigy and Hyuga, a clan that was known for their unique taijutsu style. This was another of the highly anticipated matches in these chunin exams as Kumo looked to prove that they were superior in taijutsu to the Hyugas, especially after the whole incident, almost 10 years ago.

"Finally!" shouted Naruto as he noticed Hinata take the field with her opponent, Umo. Kick some ass, Hinata!"

"Let's go Neesan! You can beat him!" shouted Hanabi, in an 'un-Hyuga-like' fashion that earned her a glare from Hyuga Kenjo and Hyuga Ihro, Shinji's father and grandfather from the main branch, and the same people who had tried to brainwash Hanabi.

"_Naruto, Hanabi-chan, everyone, I won't let you down. I promise that on my nindo" _thought Hinata as she activated her bloodline and slipped into the Jyuken stance.

"_Heh, a Hyuga and a main branch one too. This ought to be fun, but the Hyuga won't stand a chance. I've trained myself to be able to fight the Jyuken. Hmm…perhaps if I can manage to kill her and take those eyes of hers before this match is over, Raikage-sama will give me more than just a promotion"_ thought Umo as he entered his taijutsu stance.

* * *

Jutsu

Katon: Hellcat's Fury: Yugito breaths a large ball of fire that quickly forms into multiple flaming tiger-like forms. These tigers then attack the target with slashes, bites, ect with the power of fire to enhance the damage done.

Rank: B-

Users: Yuigto Nii.

Futon: Air Bullets: Naruto compresses the air for this attack in his lungs, similar to the Futon: Great breakthrough, but keeps the size of the spheres compressed to about that of a baseball/softball instead of unleashing the blast as one big gust. This also allows the user to expel more than one of these bullets per breath.

Rank: C+

Users: Uzumaki Naruto, Sarutobi Asuma

Acidic Wave: With a slashing motion of his hand, Goyaku unleashes a wave of acid droplets that burns/melts anything in their path.

Rank: B

Users: Goyaku

Futon: Pressure Palm: The user gathers and compresses air between their palms, similar to Futon: Gale Palm. The user then slams both opened palms into their target and the pressure explodes. This blast has enough power to create a good sized crater in the side of a rock or send an opponent flying back a good 100 feet.

Rank: C+

Users: Uzumaki Naruto, Sarutobi Asuma

Exploding Clone Jutsu: Physical clones that are overloaded with chakra are created and with a half-tiger seal, they will detonate, creating a massive chakra explosion. This is considered a kinjutsu as each clone requires about 10x as much chakra to make as a shadow clone. Also, the clones do not send the knowledge they have gained back to the original, thankfully (after all, who wants to remember the sensation of being blown up? Except maybe Deidara)

Rank: A

Users: Uzumaki Naruto

Futon: Heaven's Hammer: A powerful column of compressed air descends upon the target from the upper atmosphere. This column of air has enough power to completely crush most targets and even pin five-tail-cloaked jinchuriki to the ground.

Rank: A+

Users: Uzumaki Naruto.

Fuinjutsu: Uzumaki-style, Suppression Seal: An Uzumaki-style seal that is used to suppress an opponent's chakra so that they cannot access it. The more elements to the seal, the stronger the seal will be. It should be noted that at least four elements are required to even be able to restrict the flow of demonic chakra

Rank: A (eight-point seal)

Users: Uzumaki Naruto

Futon: Great Sickle Weasel Jutsu: With a swipe of her fan, Temari unleashes multiple air currents that collide to create vacuum pockets that will slash the opponent, with enough power to slice down many trees in a forest.

Rank: B

Users: Temari

Raiken: A form of taijutsu, otherwise known as the "Lightning Fist" where the user covers their hands in a thin shroud of static electricity. Upon touching an opponent with their charged hands, that part of the body temporarily numbs, for about 10-30 seconds (depending on the opponent). While most hits are non-life threatening, a shot to the head or spinal column could potentially be devastating. Also, a med-nin who is familiar with how the nerves work can significantly reduce the time of the temporary stun.

Users: Hikari

Tree-Binding technique: A common, yet powerful genjutsu common to genjutsu users in Konoha that gives the target the sensation of being ensnared by a tree and restrained, giving the user the opportunity to strike without the opponent being able to counterattack.

Rank: B

Users Yuhi Kurenai, Haruno Sakura

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Author Notes

Okay, so a long chapter (over 11k words). Hope you enjoyed.

First, I hope I didn't mess up Bee's rapping too bad (he really was a tough character for me to write). Also, the very first lines of his rap in this chapter were from his rap from the Naruto Generation's game. The rest were my sad attempt.

Second, I know what you're thinking…Tsunade won a bet, the world's going to end! No, that would normally be the case with Tsunade, but this is Naruto she placed the bet on. Naruto is probably the only person that she can win on and the world isn't going to go to hell.

Third, Naruto's chakra elements, or potential elements. While it is rare, it is not impossible for shinobi to have three or four chakra elements on their own. Kakashi has four with wind being the only one he doesn't have. Naruto has four with Kurama being the ONLY reason he has the fifth (fire). If it wasn't for the Kyuubi, Naruto wouldn't have fire. Also, the earth element in him is extremely weak and, even with his shadow clones, will be extremely difficult for him to learn, let alone master. Does he know he has the potential to use all the elements? No. Kurama is the only one who knows. Will he master them all? You'll just have to wait until later books to find out.

Fourth, Goyaku. Yes, he's a psychotic murderous bastard. Is he dead? Maybe, maybe not.

Fifth, Kirigakure. I am not making Kiri like it is in cannon at this time. That means that Mei is not the Mizukage. Yagura is also long gone as I believe he died years ago. I won't say much on the current Mizukage, but just know that he's not much better than Yagura and Kirigakure is still, in a sense, the 'Bloody Mist'. Don't worry, this will play into a future plotline.

Sixth, Lee and Temari's match. It was meant to be quick. Temari had a bad match up as Lee was obviously superior at close-combat while she was more of a ranged fighter. Lee also possessed the speed to dodge her attacks and close the gap fairly quick, putting her at even more of a disadvantage.

Next chapter will contain the remaining five fights and will cover any events that take place before the second round of matches. Also, I am anticipating five more chapters in this book. There will be some NaruHina stuff in the last chapters along with a little something else.

Please review/comment.


	55. Chapter 55

So, this chapter isn't the original plan I had for it, but as I was writing the previous chapter, I realized that things were more likely to happen this way. I'll explain my reasoning at the end. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** Sorry, I'm not Kishimoto. I don't own Naruto.

Posted: 2/3/13

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**Chapter 55: Boiling Tensions**

Cheers filled the stands as the next two competitors took the arena. This was the second of the three anticipated matches, a Hyuga and Kumo's own taijutsu prodigy. Ever since the Hyuga incident, 10 years ago, the citizens of Kumogakure have practically hated the Hyuga. The Hyuga had killed their head ninja in cold blood on that night and worse of all, when a deal was cut between the two nations, the Hyuga's sent some fake body double of the Hyuga leader, who just so happened to be in Kumogakure at this moment.

However, now was their chance to get their revenge on the Hyuga. There were two genin who they were counting on to have the ability to take care of a Hyuga. One was Yugito, the other was the very person in the arena right now.

In the stands, Naruto could feel it. He could feel all the tension in the stands and all the anger the Kumo population was letting out. It even got to a point where he had to try and cut off the Kyuubi's chakra due to what Kurama deemed 'Negative Emotions Overload'. However, there was one source of negative emotions that Naruto had managed to pick up that really caught his attention…Hiashi.

"Hiashi-sama, is everything alright?" asked Naruto.

"Yes…everything's fine" replied Hiashi. Naruto could easily tell Hiashi was lying, and he didn't even need the Kyuubi to do so.

"I'm sorry, but something's bothering you. I can sense it" replied Naruto.

"What makes you think you can read me, Naruto?" asked Hiashi.

"It's an ability I get from Furball, called Negative Emotions Sensing" responded Naruto. Hiashi's eyes snapped open.

"_So Naruto's managed to obtain that ability"_ thought Hiashi. The only other person he knew who could do that was Uzumaki Mito, the first jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. "Then I don't need to explain anything to you as you can already feel it."

"I can, but why?" asked Naruto.

"Because Kumo has a deep hatred for my clan, and you know the story behind it. I believe Neji told you six months ago" replied Hiashi. Naruto began understanding. "As a clan leader, I've probably made a stupid mistake allowing anyone in my clan to come here, but as a father, I couldn't let my daughter's confidence suffer as she has worked so hard to improve it."

"Well, Hinata will do fine" said Naruto.

Hiashi simply nodded as he still kept some worries secret.

Down in the arena, the two opponents faced each other and Bee signaled the start of the fight as Hinata activated her dojutsu.

Umo made the first move, rushing towards his opponent at high speeds and appearing before her with a clentched fist, taking a shot towards Hinata's solar plexus. Had it not been for the training Hinata had done over the past month, she would not have been able to react quick enough to block it. Hinata brought her hands up just in time to block the attack, as it sent her sliding back.

"What strength!" commented Naruto.

"Yes, he does the same thing that Sakura does, focusing chakra into his arms to increase the strength of his attack" replied Gai.

Naruto cringed slightly, knowing how powerful Sakura could get with her punches. _"Be careful Hinata."_

Back in the arena, that last attack of Umo's had given Hinata some room to be able to prepare a defense and she was now parrying Umo's attacks using the defensive form of the Jyuken while trying to strike at an occasional tenketsu point. However, Umo was quick and dodging most of her jabs. Those that he couldn't dodge, he would block with an open palm, having his hand take the chakra blast instead of the rest of his body.

Umo sent a quick punch at Hinata, who was forced to block this attack, only to have Umo's knee slammed up into her stomach as her defenses suddenly broke down and Umo was able to deliver another blow to the middle of her chest which sent her rolling back. Hinata was able to recover quickly after that, but those two attacks had hurt and she was starting to pant.

As she made her way to her feet, Umo was quickly heading towards her and Hinata ad to act fast before he was upon her. "Protection of the Eight Trigrams!" she called out, moving her hands in a rapid flurry and unleashing her defensive shield.

Umo skidded to a stop before making contact with the shield, but his forearms hit the sphere of chakra and he was left with a few deeper gashes on them due to the cutting nature of the wind chakra. "Jyuken: Eight Trigrams, Sixty-four Palms!" called out Hinata as she went on the offensive striking Umo with 64 rapid strikes to his tenketsu.

"Yeah! Way to go Hinata! That got him!" shouted Naruto from the stands, as Umo was blasted back. If he looked over, he would have seen Hiashi tense up.

"Hehe, is that the best the fabled Hyuga clan has?" laughed Umo, getting to his feet.

"What?!" shouted a surprised Naruto from the stands. "Wait didn't Hinata's attack hit?" Naruto looked over towards Hiashi for answers.

Hiashi was not happy indeed. Umo had somehow found a way to combat the Jyuken. "It did, but before she landed the attack, he was able to exert chakra bursts from his tenketsu. As Hinata's chakra entered his system, they met the chakra bursts and were cushioned to a point where they were no longer at full power" growled Hiashi.

"Then that means…" said Gai.

"Yes, he can fight the Jyuken." Hiashi was not happy at all. _"It's not as good as Neji or Hinata, but he has pretty good chakra control to the point where he can send small bursts from his tenketsu. I hate to admit it, but Kumo's actually found a way that gives them a chance to combat the Jyuken. I'll need to work on a way to fix this."_

Hinata looked on in shock as Umo got to his feet. She was sure she got all 64 hits to hit a tenketsu, yet her Byakugan was only showing maybe 8, 10 at most, tenketsu closed. "Heh, your Jyuken won't work on me" replied Umo. Taking advantage of Hinata's surprise, Umo rushed forward and landed a strong hit in Hinata's solar plexus, throwing the girl back, knoking al the wind out of her, and causing Hinata to cough up a bit of blood. "Now then, about those eyes of your…"

"What?!" shouted Hiashi from the stands. Was her competitor really going to try and take Hinata's eyes in this fight?

"Figures she would be the reason we lose the Byakugan" said Ihro a few rows back. "She always was weak. We should have just had her sealed in the first place. That way, we could just kill her now before her opponent gets his hands on our prized bloodline."

"**Just shut up!**" growled Naruto, getting up from his seat and turning to face the Hyuga elder. The Kyuubi-backed KI that Naruto was focusing solely on Ihro sent the poor elder shivering in fear as he almost vomited. Of course, there were other sources of KI, most notably from Hiashi, Kurenai, and Kiba, and even some form the sweet little Hanabi. "Hinata won't disappoint. –ttebayo!"

"Watch your place, Demon!" threatened Ihro. It was then that Iruka quietly stood up, walked over to Ihro and slammed a good hard punch into the Hyuga elder's face.

"Don't ever talk about Naruto like that!" threatened Iruka. Needless to say, this earned Iruka a round of applause. All the Konoha people present had begun to respect Naruto a lot more after his match and they weren't going to let some stuck-up elder with a stick, larger than his ego, shoved deep in his ass insult Naruto.

Back in the arena, Hinata made her way to her feet, clutching her side. She most likely had a broken rib after that last hit. _"I can't let him hit me. He's too strong to face straight up. And my Jyuken isn't strong enough to defeat him. Naruto…No! I can't give up!" _thought Hinata, steeling herself and turning to face her opponent. Hinata slipped back into her taijutsu stance, only it was slightly different from the traditional Jyuken. Unlike the traditional Jyuken, Hinata had her weight on the balls of her feet and not on the heels. Also, instead of her right hand being at the, it was up in front of her with it tucked into her body and the elbow raised.

"So you still want to fight?" asked Umo. "Fine. I'll beat you up a little more before claming those eyes."

Umo lunged forward with a fist at Hinata, who in her new stance was able to move backwards with much more ease and spin out of the way of Umo's attack. This little dance continued on for a few more strikes, all of which, Hinata was able to stay out of Umo's way.

"Woah, what's Neesan doing?!" exclaimed Hanabi.

"Why don't you tell me, Hanabi" replied Hiashi to his daughter. Naruto also found himself drawn to this conversation as well.

"It looks kind of like she's dancing out there" replied the younger Hyuga.

"That is definitely different from the Jyuken Hiashi-sama, what is it?" asked Gai.

"We call it the Jyuho (Gentle Step). Hinata has always been a failure at the Jyuken, I will admit, but recently we discovered that the reason lay in the Jyuken itself, not Hinata. Gai-san, from working with my nephew, you are familiar that the Jyuken has earth elements in it, correct?" Gai nodded at this. "Well, this form of taijutsu that we've begun developing which takes use of Hinata's natural wind affinity."

"Hmm…I see. Like the wind, she stays just out of reach…" said Gai as he was briefly interrupted.

Umo lashed out with roundhouse kick, which Hinata managed to evade once again. This time; however, she saw her opening as she quickly turned and landed two strikes to Umo's back. Umo saw this coming and braced himself for the incoming Jyuken strike by unleashing small chakra bursts from his tenketsu on his back.

"And striking when an opportunity presents itself" finished Gai. Hiashi nodded.

"**Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."**

"_Huh? What's that?"_ asked Naruto.

"**Sorry, wrong universe."**

"_Okay…weird Fox" _replied Naruto.

As Hinata's attacks landed, Umo immediately grabbed his back in pain and dropped to his knees. _"What the hell was that? I was certain I sent chakra bursts to counteract the Jyuken, but that was like shoving a serrated knife through my side and twisting it"_ thought Umo in pain.

Up in the stands, a certain Hyuga saw what had happened, and he honestly couldn't be happier. "Yeah! Way to go Hinata!" shouted Naruto. "Umm…wait, what just happened there?"

"The true potential of the Jyuho that we realized it possesses. Those two slight attacks of hers have practically destroyed the chakra network in that area, thanks to the wind chakra she infused in her strikes" replied Hiashi, examining Umo's chakra network with his Byakugan. The two tenketsu points that Hinata had hit, one just below his right shoulder and the other just below the ribs on the right side, looked as if they had been diced into pieces. Whether or not they would recover was unknown. While healing the chakra network wasn't impossible, it was something only the best medics could do and even to them, it was extremely difficult.

"Wow!" exclaimed Naruto.

As Umo struggled to his feet, he was trying to comprehend exactly how two mere taps like that could hurt so bad. "That hurt you bitch! You'll pay! Gate of Opening, open! Gate of Healing, open!" Umo shouted as he opened the first two of the Eight celestial gates.

This caused Gai and Lee to raise an eyebrow. "Gai-sensei, did he just?" asked Lee.

"It appears you are not the only one able to open gates Lee" replied Gai.

With the increased flow of chakra through his body, Umo was able to ignore the pain in his side caused by Hinata's strikes. However, that didn't mean that the two chakra points in his right side began healing themselves. While the initial pulse of chakra had opened all the other closed tenketsu, those two remained closed, or possibly destroyed.

With a raging fury, Umo charged at Hinata, forcing the Hyuga heiress to frantically dodge his attacks. If it hadn't been for her speed and agility training these past few weeks, there would be no way she would be able to avoid them, but she found herself able to, even if only barely. Hinata ducked underneath one of Umo's punches, placing herself in a crouching position just below her opponent. "Futon: Pressure Palm!" Hinata shouted, driving a palm of compressed wind chakra into Umo's gut and forcing him backwards to give her some necessary breathing room.

"You know, I've been wondering about that move ever since Naruto used it. It looks very familiar to one of the Hyuga clan's techniques" replied Hiashi, looking towards Naruto and Asuma for answers.

"I'd be lying if I wasn't intrigued by that fact as well, but that jutsu is actually a rather simple wind jutsu that I learned from my sensei. Which makes me think, were there wind users in your clan at any time?" asked Asuma.

"I honestly cannot say for sure. If there were, they'd be from the early days of the clan" replied Hiashi.

"There are no wind users and there never have been. And your daughter's disgracing the clan by using such techniques!" replied the Hyuga elder from a few rows back, earning a glare from…well, most of the people there.

"_What am I going to do about the Hyuga elders"_ replied Naruto. _"They're never going to leave Hinata alone."_

"**Feed them to the big giant fox in your head"** joked Kurama.

"_Hmm…tempting, but no"_ responded Naruto as the two soon found themselves in a debate over what to do about the Hyuga elders.

After pressure palming Umo, Hinata was not wasting any time. She had heard the stories from Neji about Lee using the gates and if she waited any longer, there was a good chance she'd be back in the situation she was before.

Umo lashed out a sweeping kick at Hinata, hoping to catch her in the head, but she just ducked underneath the attack, striking a few tenketsu in Umo's legs and sending the Kumo ninja collapsing to the ground. The chakra in his legs had been severely cut off, with only one path remaining open for the chakra to flow to the legs through. As such, Umo found himself unable to move the legs effectively and was now unable to get himself to his feet.

The match was basically over as Hinata moved towards her opponent and placed a knife against his throat, prompting Bee to call the match as there was most likely no way Umo would give on his own power. The Kumo ninja couldn't help but glare and growl at the Hyuga, having lost after putting in so much time that he thought that he had come up with a way to fight Hyugas.

"Yeah, way to go Hinata!" shouted Naruto with the rest of the Konoha populous joining in.

Unfortunately, they were soon overtaken as the rest of the crowd, most of which were Kumo, began booing and jeering.

"What?! Those bastards!" replied Naruto getting up from his seat, only to be restrained by Hiashi himself.

"I told her that this would be the likely reaction should she win. Ever since that day, any relations between our clan and Kumo have been strained to the breaking point. I believe Kumo saw this as an opportunity to prove themselves better than the Hyuga, and as Hinata was the victor, they are taking out their frustration on her" commented Hiashi.

"_It does not matter if these people dislike me, as long as I make Naruto, Father, Hanabi, and my friends proud"_ thought Hinata before slowly making her way into the stadium to get her injuries checked on.

Up in the stands, Naruto had already bolted away from everyone else to find Hinata. Hiashi followed shortly after, only without as much energy. While the Konoha crowd was happy that Hinata was the victor, Kumo was beginning to fume at the defeat of their taijutsu prodigy to a Hyuga. To make matters worse, they didn't have another chance to beat a Hyuga this round as the remaining two Hyugas were matched up against each other. Oh well, if one of their shinobi couldn't beat a Hyuga, they'd just have to hope either Neji or Shinji kill one another.

Up in the Kage box, Tsuande could feel some heat coming from the Raikage. _"Umo had mentioned about going for Hinata's eyes. Was the Raikage actually hoping Umo would get them?"_ thought Tsuande. If this was the case, then things were not looking good and long buried tensions were beginning to show themselves.

Neji and Shinji took the field. Neji knew what to expect. He knew Shinji would use the seal on him, and honestly he didn't really care right now. The fate of the branch family had always been to cower away at the first mention of the seal, but he was going to defy that fate and stand. Despite having accepted Hinata, Hanabi, and Hiashi, Neji still bore a strong resentment for the main branch families over their treatment for the branch families. If anything, he was determined to make a statement here, that the only thing keeping the branch in their place was the seal itself and once that was gone, those main branch assholes were screwed.

Bee signaled the start of the fight and Neji was off at an unbelievably quick speed, probably just a little faster than Lee with his weights. Before Shinji could even react, Neji was upon him and a few quick strikes were thrown at the main-branch Hyuga.

"You are within my field of divination" Neji called out. "Jyuken: 8 Trigrams, 128 Palms!" Neji struck Shinji with the upgraded form of the 64 palms and Shinji felt the chakra flowing through his body become severely limited. But that wasn't the end of it. "Kaiten!" Neji spun, unleashing his most powerful Kaiten ever, throwing Shinji halfway across the arena.

Shinji was seriously hurting right now. Neji had landed a series of over 130 attacks on him in less than 15 seconds. "How dare that branch member use main branch techniques. No…he will pay!" said Shinji as Neji ran towards his opponent.

* * *

"Hinata!" shouted Naruto, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend. "That was amazing!"

"Ouch…" Hinata cringed in pain a little as Naruto loosened his bear hug on her.

"Sorry" replied Naruto, rubbing the back of his head.

"No, it's okay" replied Hinata.

"No it's not. I completely forgot that you might have broken a rib out there, I should have been more gentle" replied Naruto. "Come on, let's go find Shizune and get you fixed up."

"There you two are."

"Father!" replied Hinata. She could immediately see that her father was proud of how she handled herself out there. He joined the pair as they walked towards the infirmary.

"I am proud of how you handed yourself out there and how well you seemed to adapt well to that new style" replied Hiashi, making Hinata smile warmly.

"Yeah, that was so cool. It was like you were dancing out there. You were amazing!" replied Naruto. Now Hinata was starting to blush.

"T-thank y-you" said Hinata, slipping back into her stutter slightly, completely unsure of how to react. "I felt a lot better fighting like that. It just felt…more natural."

"I see. Honestly, it reminds me a lot of how your mother used to fight, and that's actually where I got the form from" replied Hiashi.

"Wait, I thought Hinata's mother was a Hyuga. If so, then why did she have a different taijutsu form?" asked Naruto as the three arrived at the infirmary that Shizune had set up for the Konoha competitors. While Shizune was bandaging Hinata up and checking her over, Hiashi explained the answer to Naruto.

"Her mother, my wife, was not from Hyuga clan. She was married into the clan. As such, she never learned the Jyuken, nor did she have the Byakugan. However, that form you just saw was her mother's taijutsu form was known as the Maisho (Dancing step). As a fighter, she was one of the few who could go up against a Hyuga in taijutsu. It really was something incredible, watching her fight. It was like she was floating through the air, aloof and untouchable. But when she struck, the results were devastating. Her mother was also the source of her wind chakra. In reality, she is more of her mother's daughter than she is mine, and I have been treating her like she was mine all this time. And for that, I have been a fool" explained Hiashi.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up too hard. Everything's all better now. You love your daughter and she loves you, so that's all in the past now" replied Naruto.

"All better. Just try and take it easy for a few days" said Shizune as she led Hinata out of the room. "Perhaps ask Sakura if she can heal you a little in the evenings if you don't see me. Now I know you want to get back to watching the matches, so go ahead."

"Thank you, Shizune" bowed Hinata.

"Let's go. I bet Neji's kicking ass right now!" declared Naruto.

At that time, they heard a pain filled scream rip through the stadium…Neji's pain filled scream to be exact. "Neji-niisan!" shouted Hinata as she ran off towards the entrance to the field, leaving both Naruto and Hiashi in the dust.

Shinji struggled to his feet as Neji fell to his knees. Shinji had activated the Caged Bird Seal just before Neji could continue on with his assault. "Stay down there" said Shinji in an authoritative voice. "You are nothing more than a branch member. Wasn't it always you complaining about fate? Well this is your fate, no matter how hard you struggle; you will always be beneath me."

Neji's screams could be heard throughout the stadium and a few of the Kumo members in the audience were actually enjoying the Hyuga prodigy's pain. They honestly didn't care who won this match, so long as a Hyuga suffered and it was looking to be that way so far.

As Shinji's words began echoing throughout Neji's head, he did something no one would have expected. Neji stood, fighting the pain of the seal. "I have…learned…that fate is…is not certain…if one is strong, they can forge…their own fate" grunted Neji as the pain in his head intensified.

Suddenly, for some reason, the pain stopped. Had Shinji released the seal, or was he dead were the thoughts going through Neji's head. When Neji managed to look up, he saw Hinata standing infront of him and Shinji on his ass. "Well, isn't this something? The pathetic failure of an heiress come to a measly branch member's rescue" mocked Shinji.

"Call me pathetic, call me a failure, call me a loose, call me whatever you want, but don't you dare insult those close to me!" responded Hinata with more resolve than anyone could have thought possible of her. "If Neji's so pathetic and weak, why did someone as _strong and powerful_ as a main branch member have to resort to using the seal?"

"He needed to be put in his place. And it's only a matter of time before you're in the same place he is" replied Shinji.

"Hinata-sama…why? I could have…" replied a weak Neji.

"No. Even if you somehow managed to beat him, the elders wouldn't have approved and you would be subject to the seal when we return. There is no way I could let you suffer that" replied Hinata. "After all, you are like a brother to me and I care just as much for you as I do Hanabi-chan or even Naruto."

"Hey yo, sorry bros, but I have to call the show" said Bee. "Hyuga Shinji wins."

There was no applause for Shinji. The Kumo that hated the Hyugas were too busy fussing over how the same Hyuga who had beat their prodigy earlier had stopped the suffering of another Hyuga, while those who were more or less indifferent couldn't believe that Shinji had won in such a way that he did.

"I understand. Thank you, Hinata-neesan" said Neji before losing conscious. He was caught by Hiashi before he could fall to the ground.

"_To be able to fight through the seal like that, your boy really is something, Hizashi. I'm sorry, but Jiraiya-sensei is still trying to figure out how to remove it. The moment that comes, I promise I will have Neji's seal removed"_ Hiashi thought, looking up towards the heavens. His attention then turned to Shinji. "The way in which you won was very disgraceful to both you and the clan. I expected better, but it seems I was mistaken. Should you ever activate the seal again, on any member of the clan, I will have you sealed and banished, if not worse."

Shinji cringed at the clan head's threat as he walked off the field. As he walked into the tunnel, he came face-to-face with a red-eyed Naruto. "You'd better pray we don't meet in the next round, because if we do, you'll regret that. In fact, if I were you, I'd really be praying you don't face Hinata. After what I just saw, she'd be the last person I'd want to face in your situation" threatened Naruto, adding a little more demonic chakra to drive the point home with Shinji.

Shinji walked away as Hiashi passed by as well, carrying Neji. Hinata stopped by Naruto and gave him a worrying hug and Naruto saw that she was crying.

"I am sorry that you have to deal with someone like that" said Gaara as he came through the tunnel to his match.

"It's not your fault he's such an ass, but believe me, he will pay. –ttebayo!" replied Naruto. "Now, good luck out there and kick some ass."

"Thank you, Naruto" said Gaara as he walked out into the arena and Naruto and Hinata made their way to the stands.

"So how is Neji?" asked Sakura.

"Father says he'll be fine. He'll need to rest his head for a bit though" replied Hinata.

Down in the arena, the fight started with Gaara sending out a wave of sand towards his opponent.

"Raiton: Electro Pulse!" shouted Gaara's opponent, Yakimaru. By clapping his hands together, Yakimaru sent out a weak pulse of electricity that caused Gaara's sand to drop to the ground. While that attack may not have been powerful enough to do any real damage to Gaara, it was enough to disrupt the chakra in his sand.

Shortly after, Gaara managed to regain control of his sand. "I see" replied Gaara. "Sand Lightning Needles" said Gaara as his sand rose and then showered down upon the field as dozens of forked sand needles stuck into the ground. Gaara then sent his sand towards Yakimaru again.

"Fine, let's try this on for size. Raiton: Static Discharge!" shouted Yakimaru as he gathered electricity in his hands and shot it towards Gaara. However, the bolt of lightning quickly diverged from its targeted path and went straight for one of the sand lightning rods, being absorbed into the ground and a surprised Yakimaru was blasted with Gaara's sand.

"Surrender" replied Gaara as the sand wrapped around Yakimaru.

"Heh, you think this little ball of sand can hold me?" bluffed Yakimaru. Gaara simply clenched his fish and the sand tightened its hold around Yakimaru, maybe crushing a rib or two.

"I'll give you one last chance. Surrender, or I crush you" said Gaara, tightening the sand just a little more for emphasis.

"Owowow. Fine, I give" surrendered Yakimaru. Bee called the match in Gaara's favor. There were a few cheers coming from the Konoha and Suna sections, but otherwise…nothing as Gaara simply walked off the field.

As of now, Kumo was 1-3 and the tension could be felt throughout the crowd. Thankfully for them, Yakuro was up next. He was another prodigy of Kumogakure and surely he could win them another victory.

"Alright! It's Sasuke's turn!" declared Naruto. Everyone heard a deafening shriek coming from next to them and they saw its source as Ino.

"Sorry…force of habit" apologized Ino.

"So Kakashi-sensei, anything you want to tell us?" asked Naruto.

"Yep, watch" said Kakashi. Naruto and Sakura sweat dropped at Kakashi not really saying anything.

Out in the arena, Sasuke and Yakuro faced each other. "You know, I'm not as lame as my teammates. To me, you really are a weakling" commented Yakuro.

"So you may last a few seconds longer, I'm still going to kick your ass" replied Sasuke.

"Let's go! Yeah!" shouted Bee, signaling the start of the fight.

Sasuke activated his eyes as he and Yakuro charged at each other, Yakuro's sword in his hand, and a kunai for Sasuke. As the two clashed, the sound of clanking metal echoed throughout the stadium.

"Katon: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu" said Sasuke as he unleashed a barrage of fireballs at Yakuro.

"Suiton: Water Wall Encampment" said Yakuro as he formed a defensive wall of water in front of him, canceling out Sasuke's attacks.

A cloud of steam erupted when the two jutsu collided and Yakuro came charging through the cloud with his sword at the ready. Sasuke parried the sword and returned a punch to Yakuro's gut, sending the Kumo ninja back.

Yakuro growled. "Suiton: Uplifting Wave!" Yakuro slammed his hands into the ground beneath him and a large surge of water appeared from it, blasting Sasuke back into the wall of the arena. Yakuro then began to walk towards the drenched Sasuke and placed the tip of his sword against Sasuke's neck.

"Told you were weak" mocked Yakuro.

"And you're even more of a baka than Naruto if you thought I'd lose this easily" replied Sasuke. Suddenly, Sasuke began to crackle with electricity as his entire body began to disappear in a flash of electricity. In this flash of electricity, Yakuro got shocked himself as he was standing in the same puddle that 'Sasuke' had been lying in.

"Kakashi-sensei, what kind of clone was that?" asked Naruto.

"Raiton: Shadow Clone" replied Kakashi. "In that cloud of steam, Sasuke went off to set something up while he gave Yakuro a lightning clone to deal with."

Yakuro shook off the electricity just in time to turn and see a barrage of fireballs coming towards him again. "Heh, this again? Suiton: Water Wall Encampment." Like last time, a defensive wall of water was shot out of Yakuro's mouth as it intercepted Sasuke's attacks. However, within the fireballs, Sasuke had concealed shuriken, which managed to make it through the water and Yakuro found himself trying to dodge about a dozen shuriken. Two managed to hit Yakuro, one in his right thigh and the other in his right side of the abdomen.

"Katon: Dragon Fire Breath!" shouted Sasuke from the wall above Yakuro, sending a pillar of flames straight down on the Kiri ninja. Yakuro just barely managed to dodge the attack, burning his right foot slightly in the process.

"Damnit! Take this! Ranton: Laser Circus!" shouted Yakuro as he used his kekkei genkai. From his hands, half a dozen beams of energy shot outward towards Sasuke.

"Hn. Raiton: Epicenter of the Storm!" As Sasuke finished his jutsu, multiple bolts of lightning came down from the sky and surrounded Sasuke as they worked their way outwards, intercepting and blocking Yakuro's attack.

In the Kage box, Tsunade was admiring the stunned look on the Raikage's face. "What?! How the hell did he get THAT jutsu?!" shouted a furious Raikage, slamming his hand into his chair and busting the arm.

Down in the stands, Kakashi couldn't help but smile upon hearing this. "Kakashi-sensei, what was that technique?" asked Sakura.

"Epicenter of the Storm. It was a technique that Kumogakure treasured as one of their secret techniques and one that I managed to copy from a Kumo shinobi back in the Third War" said Kakashi with an eye-smile. "It's an A-rank lightning jutsu that creates a cylindrical wall of lightning, which progresses outwards for a range of about 5-10 meters. While it seems like a defensive jutsu, it's also a good offensive jutsu if your opponent is within those 5-10 meters. Seriously, it's like no one knows what not to do when there's a Sharingan around."

Throughout the stands, a good portion of the Kumogakure shinobi were in shock that one of their beloved jutsu had been stolen.

Sasuke merely smirked at Yakuro's stunned expression. Soon, Yakuro's expression turned to one of rage as he began losing his cool. "Ranton: Laser Circus!" He shouted, even louder this time and focusing more chakra into his attack. This time, about a dozen laser beams shot outwards and struck Sasuke.

"Heh, got you this time, bastard" grinned Yakuro. That grin instantly disappeared when he saw Sasuke just standing there, completely unharmed and smirking back.

"What's the matter? Is that all you have?" taunted Sasuke. Yakuro charged at Sasuke in a blind rage, impaling Sasuke with his sword, only for Sasuke to disappear into thin air.

"And to think, I was actually hoping you'd be a challenge" replied Sasuke. Yakuro turned around to see Sasuke right behind him as he slashed with his sword, only for Sasuke to disappear again once his sword sliced through.

"What?!" Yakuro's eyes grew wider. "I see…genjutsu. Kai!" Yakuro dispelled the genjutsu that Sasuke had placed him under, but it was too late. When his vision finally cleared, he felt a tingling sensation at the back of his neck and the sound of chirping birds right behind his ears.

"Looks like you've finally figured it out. Too bad it's a little too late" said Sasuke. "I suggest you surrender if you don't want to know the sensation of having a thousand birds shoved through your head."

Yakuro could only growl. Sasuke had beat him, and he had done it by not only stealing a jutsu from Kumo, but also made him look like a complete fool. "You're going to pay! Bastard!" Yakuro, being foolish, stepped away, turned and swung his sword at Sasuke. Not actually wanting to kill Yakuro, although it really wouldn't have bothered Sasuke that much, Sasuke cancelled the Chidori, ducked underneath Yakuro's swing, activated his Flame Step, kicked Yakuro into the air, shadowed him and used the Flaming Lion's Barrage to knock Yakuro unconscious, and leave a pretty nasty burn on his stomach.

Bee called Sasuke the winner and Sasuke just walked off, under all the booing of the crowd. At this point in time, most of the Kumo citizens were about ready to grab their pitchforks and torches. This was supposed to be THEIR chunin exams, the exams where their ninja shine, not Konoha's. The first three matches were fine. Yugito, one of their shinobi, had won her match, Naruto had managed to stop a rampaging, psychotic jinchuriki from wiping out half the village with a tailed beast ball, and Lee had won his match against a non-Kumo ninja. The fourth match, in which Sakura won against a Kumo ninja was not too big a loss, but it offset most of the vibes from Yugito's victory. It was Hinata, the heiress of the Hyuga clan, beating their taijutsu prodigy that really began to set things off. It then only went downhill from there as Gaara defeated Yakimaru and now Sasuke defeating their second prodigy in the exams.

The final match of the day was about to begin with Shino of Konoha vs. Omoi. The two competitors took the field and Omoi unsheathed his sword as Shino released some of his insects.

"So Omoi's a kenjutsu fight?" asked Kurenai. Kakashi and Gai both nodded. "Good, this should be a pretty easy match for Shino then."_"So long as his opponent can't sense him."_

"_Man, the crowd's not looking too happy. I better not disappoint them or else they're going to start booing again. And then after that happens, they're going to start rioting because we only won one match, and then the riots are going to get so out of control that they're going to start going on a killing spree, and then…"_ Omoi was snapped out of his thought when Bee signaled the match to start.

Shino began by unleashing a swarm of insects towards Omoi, who jumped backwards away from the cloud of insects. While doing so, he slashed at them with his sword. The insects simply floated around the sword and Omoi already realized that he was at a disadvantage. Almost all of his skills right now, relied on his kenjutsu and from the looks of it, he would have to get directly to Shino to be effective. At the same time, he knew of Konoha's Aburame clan and their use of insects. He knew that he couldn't let the insects get to him or else they would quickly drain his chakra from him.

After a few minutes of running and dodging Shino's insects, Omoi saw an opening and changed his course so that he was heading straight towards Shino. "Cloud-style: Crescent Moon Beheading!" he said as he swung his sword in a crescent-shaped arc that sliced through Shino. However, he was taken aback when Shino turned out to be a bug clone.

Omoi jumped away from the new swarm of bugs, but landed directly in the middle of the swarm that was already chasing him. Shino, who was standing off to the side, ordered his insects to begin draining Omoi's chakra and Omoi soon collapsed on the ground, prompting Bee to call the match…once again for a Konoha ninja.

* * *

Hanabi awoke to find herself tied up and slung over some random guy's shoulder. She wasn't entirely sure what had happened.

The last thing she remembered was that she had returned to the hotel room shortly after the conclusion of the first round. Her father had taken her just before the end of Shino's fight to avoid the crowds and they made it back safely. After returning to the hotel room, Hiashi had to leave the room for a few minutes to go discuss a few things with Ihro and she was sure she locked the door after he left.

As Hanabi turned from the door, to return to the bed where she had some scrolls that she had brought to pass the time, she was suddenly knocked unconscious. When she woke up, she found herself in the situation she was in now, bound, gagged, and blindfolded. Wait, did this person really try to blindfold a Hyuga?

The man that was carrying her then threw Hanabi to the ground. From what Hanabi could see, she was surrounded now by about a dozen Kumogakure villagers and the person who kidnapped her was a Kumo shinobi. "I see you managed to get that little pipsqueak of a Hyuga" said one of the villagers.

"One way or another, we're going to get back at those damned Hyugas and Konoha as well. They have no right to just waltz in here and do what they did. To think they could cheat their way through those matches" said another of the villagers. Yep, Hanabi knew she was in trouble now. Anyone could tell that the citizens of Kumogakure were not pleased with the results of the matches, but who would have thought that they'd stoop this low.

"Well, Raikage-sama will be pleased when we show up at his office, carrying her. We'll let the other mobs take care of the rest of the Konoha ninja" commented another civilian.

Even though she was still blindfolded, she could still see thanks to her dojutsu. Hanabi was desperately looking around now for any sign of help. After a few minutes of searching while the villagers were discussing what sort of reward the Raikage would give them, she was about to give up hope that no one was going to come and save her. That is until she saw a red-tinted chakra up on the roof. The only person she knew with that color chakra was Naruto-niisan and from the looks of it, it was in fact Naruto.

"Hey guys, let's just get her to the Raikage and we'll see what exactly our reward will be" said one of the villagers, ending the discussion. The rest of them nodded and Hanabi was picked back up and thrown over someone's shoulder. However, before they could head out, an explosion of smoke appeared around them. By the time the smoke cleared, the villagers saw that Hanabi had been replaced with a large sack of potatoes on the villager's shoulder.

"Naruto-niisan!" exclaimed Hanabi as she felt her bindings being cut. When she was able to move again, she had un-gagged herself and removed the blindfold.

"Man, this place has gone crazy! I try to get a bowl of ramen, which the chef refuses to serve me, and then I almost get attacked" said Naruto. "And on my way back to the hotel, I find you being thrown around by a bunch of villagers."

"Hey! Get back here with that!" shouted one of the shinobi villagers that Naruto had 'stolen' Hanabi from.

"What the hell is wrong with this place?" asked Naruto.

"How are we going to lose them?" asked Hanabi.

"Don't worry, I've got an idea. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" exclaimed Naruto as about 20 Narutos carrying Hanabis on their backs popped into existence. Immediately, all 21 Naruto/Hanabis split off, going in different directions and leaving the villagers in the dust, utterly confused.

* * *

Every Konoha citizen who was still in Kumo at the time was gathered in a large conference room of the inn they were staying at. Almost all of them had also experienced hostile actions from the Kumo populous after the matches concluded. Most of the hostility was simply in the forms of taunts and insults, however there were a few that were attacked by drunken mobs, and one woman was almost raped. Thankfully, she was saved by Shikamaru's Shadow Possession Jutsu and Ino's feared Kick in the Balls no Jutsu. No one was happy, but there was one person who was beyond unhappy…he was furious and ready to kill.

"Where is my daughter?!" shouted Hiashi as he entered the conference room.

"I'm here father" said Hinata, emerging from the crowds. She had a bruise on her face from a random outburst by a Kumo villager on her way back to the hotel. Needless to say, that idiot that decided to attack her found himself in worse shape when Sakura retaliated, not letting anyone get away with hurting her friend. The bastard was just lucky that Naruto was not there. That there, nearly started a fight within Kumo and the Konoha people barely managed to get out without things escalating too far. "Wait…Hanabi!"

* * *

The Raikage was overlooking the village from his office. After the matches concluded, the entire village went to hell. No one, not even he, was happy about the results. There was no way Konoha could come in and practically kick Kumo's ass. It was impossible. Kumo was supposed to be the strongest of the five great villages and here Konoha made them look like nothing more than a minor village. To make things worse, that Naruto brat turned out to be something more than anyone expected.

Naruto had defeated the Rokubi junchuriki, a member of Kirigakure, and as such, he was hailed by the crowds. In a way, this was fine as his victory was not over a Kumo ninja. It was how Naruto defeated the Rokubi jinchuriki that was the problem. Naruto had won, using an Uzumaki seal, one that only an Uzumaki could use. Ay was certain the last Uzumaki was killed when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha 12 years ago. Before that, Kumo had been a part of the collation of forces that had wiped out Uzushiogakure, leaving only one Uzumaki alive that the world knew of after that. That one Uzumaki was left in Konoha and Kumo had attempted to kidnap her, only to be foiled by the Yellow Flash himself. Ay was broken from his thoughts by a knock on his office door and what appeared to be a frustrated Tsunade.

"What the hell is going on?! I'm getting reports left and right from my shinobi that they are finding themselves under attack by Kumo villagers and shinobi alike!" shouted Tsunade. "How can you let your villagers act like this? Especially in the middle of an international event!"

"And what do you expect me to do? Arrest half my village?" replied Ay.

"I'd at least expect some form of order! My people have been taunted, attacked, nearly raped, and I've just gotten word of a certain girl who might have been kidnapped! You're the Raikage and this is your village. I expect some form of action to put this unrest to rest" demanded Tsunade.

The Raikage just simply sat there, silent.

"Wait, you're not just going to sit there, are you?" asked Tsunade, growing increasingly frustrated with her fellow Kage.

"Like I said, what do you expect me to do? Arrest half my people?" replied the Raikage.

"_He's acting like a spoiled little brat! Is this all because my ninja beat his?"_ thought Tsunade. "I hope you realize that if this keeps up, you'll be in violation of several of the international treaties surrounding the exams and you'll be responsible for whatever actions are taken."

"You think your words can threaten me, Tsunade-hime?" asked the Raikage, raising an eyebrow. "If I am correct, I was not the one who provoked this sort of action."

"Oh so that IS what this is about! Well what do you expect me to do? Have my ninja throw their matches?! Just so I could satisfy your village's overblown ego?!" replied Tsunade in a harsh tone.

Ay slammed his fist down on his desk, breaking it. He then took a deep breath trying to regain his calm. "Tsunade-hime, you saved one of my shinobi a couple years back and if it wasn't for that Uzumaki brat of yours, I would be dealing with an enraged jinchuriki right about now, so I will fix this problem" said Ay. Tsunade let out a small sigh of relief, until she heard what Ay's solution was. "Leave."

"…What?!" Tsunade shouted. "You can't be serious!"

"I said, leave. The people of my village are upset because of the presence of your ninja. The only way I can calm them down, is to have Konoha leave. I'll give you till midnight tonight, after that, I will not be responsible for what happens" said the Raikage.

Tsunade couldn't believe it, she wanted to laugh, but she was in no mood for laughing. "Fine, but the next time someone hands you your sorry ass on a silver platter, or shoves an explosive bug in your comrade's chest, don't come crying to me." On her way out, Tsunade slammed the office door so hard that it shattered and the Raikage turned to continue with his thoughts.

"_I thought we were finally done with those bastards. The night the Yondaime Hokage died to seal the Kyuubi, I thought the plague of the Uzumakis died with him when we heard that the last Uzumaki died on that night as well…"_ The Raikage continued his thoughts, contemplating on the best way to handle the threat of the return of the Uzumakis.

* * *

"Hiashi-sama, you can't. It's too dangerous out there right now" commented one of the Konoha chunin that had come to watch the exams. As of now, he was trying his best to keep the enraged father at bay. Hiashi forced himself out of the conference room and out into the lobby of the inn.

"Well, what do you expect me to do?! I'm not about to leave my daughter out there with those savages!" replied a furious father.

"Speaking of which, where's Naruto?" asked Sakura.

"Knowing him, he probably went out to find some ramen" commented Sasuke.

"Naruto, Hanabi…" was all a concerned Hinata could say.

"Hey, don't worry Hinata. They'll be fine" said Kiba, trying to comfort his teammate.

As Hiashi was about to open the inn's door, a black and orange blur came shooting through, nearly slamming the door in Hiashi's face.

"Man it's crazy out there. I thought the Konoha mobs were bad, but these guys are brutal! I go out for a quick bowl of ramen and I find this being thrown around by a bunch of villagers" commented Naruto, smiling and pointing to Hanabi on his back. Hinata came rushing over wrapping Naruto up in a tight up as Hanabi climbed off of Naruto's shoulders.

"What are you talking about, Konoha doesn't have any mobs like this" commented Kiba.

"Maybe not for you, but because of well…yeah, I experience this at least once a year" replied Naruto. Every member in that room was really feeling sorry after hearing that. Most of them had some idea what Naruto went through each year on his birthday, and yet none of them had really done anything to help. While he still wasn't their favorite person, everyone there did have a newfound respect for the blonde after his fight against the rampaging jinchuriki.

"Naruto, I'm…" replied Kiba.

"No, it's fine. You didn't really know until just recently. But still what the hell is wrong with these people?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, it's like they've all gone whacko" replied Kiba. Before Naruto could add onto the joke, he was interrupted by Hiashi.

"Thank you Naruto, for saving my daughter" Hiashi said, giving Naruto a bow. Hinata also came over and rewarded Naruto with a kiss. A few people awwed, Shinji gagged, and Neji and Hiashi resisted their protective urges to pummel Naruto; however, they would permit it this once seeing as he was the reason Hanabi was safe.

"Break it up, you two lovebirds!" shouted Tsunade entering the room. Everyone could tell she was pissed at something.

"Hokage-sama, what's going on?" asked Iruka.

"Everyone go and pack your bags, we are leaving" ordered Tsunade. There was a dead pause for a few moments before Naruto managed to break it.

"What?!" he shouted. "But Ba…Hokage-sama, why?" Naruto nearly slipped there, but remembered his promise to lay of the Baachan stuff for a few months.

"Just look outside. I'm not about to risk my shinobi all because the Raikage and his village can't keep their inflated egos under control" said Tsunade.

Naruto still looked slightly confused. "What she means is that we kicked their ass in the matches and they are not happy about it" explained Sakura.

"Wait, but what about the other round of fighting? Does this mean none of us are going to make chunin?" asked a concerned Naruto.

"Just go pack and be back here in an hour, ready to leave. I'll decide what we do about the exams once we get out of crazy town" replied Tsunade.

"Shisho, if I may ask, where are we headed?" asked Sakura.

"We're going back to Konoha, but we will need to stop along the way. I want to get out of Lightning Country though, so we'll probably be moving constantly for about two days. We'll probably make it to some town in the north of Hot Water Country. We'll stop there to rest afterwards" explained Tsunade.

An hour later, all Konoha shinobi, and the few civilians, who had made it to Kumo for the exams were gathered in the same lobby, all their gear packed in bags, with the exception of Team 7.

"Look at you three, think you're so cool for sealing your stuff away instead of carrying it on your back" teased Kakashi. All three members of his team let out a little smile.

"Right! Let's get a move on it!" shouted Tsunade. "After all, we don't want to keep from ruining the bastards' parties."

As the entire Konoha collation, consisting of roughly 120-130 individuals left the inn, almost every citizen outside was waiting for them, glaring at them. They were everywhere and there were no paths, save one. A path to the gates of the village. As some would call it, a walk of shame, although the Konoha populous held their heads up high as they realized that pissing Kumo off this bad was an accomplishment, something that had not been achieved since the time of the Yondaime.

* * *

After nearly two days of traveling, the Konoha caravan arrived in the capitol city of the Land of Hot Water, Nagastuchi. Nagastuchi was a rather beautiful capitol city with a rather large palace at the center of the city. However, what really caught most people's attention were the hot springs scattered throughout the city. After a continuous two days worth of traveling, everyone needed a chance to relax and many of this city's luxuries would give them such an opportunity.

Before they could do whatever they want, Tsunade spoke. "Konoha is about a day and a half away if we keep up the same pace we did. We'll leave tomorrow at 1:00pm, giving you plenty of time to rest. After that, it's going to be a straight shot for Konoha. Any questions?" asked Tsunade.

"Yes, I hope it wouldn't be too bothersome if we join you" said a familiar voice coming from behind the group.

"I see you guys got kicked out of Kumo as well?" asked Tsunade. The Sand trio and their sensei nodded. "The rest of you are dismissed, but I want the eight exam participants to remain here for a moment. Gaara, Temari, the two of you may join in as well if you want."

"What is it, Shisho?" asked Sakura. The rest of the Konoha 12, the Sand trio, and their respective senseis had stayed behind to wait for their friends/students.

"Concerning the exams, the 10 of you have 2 options. One, you could call it quits right now and be judged on just the first round. Or two, we can hold one more round of matches in the Konoha stadium and you can give it one last chance to impress the judges, and in front of a more receptive crowd" explained Tsunade. "The choice is up to you, but I need to know now if I should have the stadium being prepped."

"We'll take the second option!" declared Naruto, speaking for everyone.

"Well, looks like the Gaki's speaking for all of you, is everyone okay with that?" asked Tsunade. There were absolutely no objections. "Very well, it'll take at least a week to make all the necessary arrangements, so use that time to rest and prepare. Oh, and speaking of which, there is a wonderful resort on the southern end of this town that has wonderful outdoor springs and excellent food. I suggest you go there if you're hungry."

During the time while Tsuande was distracted, a certain white-haired man used this opportunity to sneak off. After all, this city was known for its hot springs and there were a lot of hot springs that needed 'researching'.

* * *

Jutsu

Raiton: Electro Pulse: A weak radial pulse is sent out from the user. While the attack is not strong enough to affect a normal person too drastically, it does have enough power to temporarily scramble chakra signals to various tools.

Rank: C

Users: Yakimaru

Raiton: Static Discharge: The user gathers lightning chakra in their hands and shoots out a bolt of electricity towards the target. While it does not have enough power to kill, this attack can easily stun an opponent.

Rank: C+

Users: Yakimaru

Suiton: Water Wall Encampment: The user shoots out a stream of water from their mouth as the water forms into a defensive wave.

Rank: B-

Users: Yakuro

Lightning Clone Jutsu: The user creates a solid clone with electricity as the base. When the clone dispels, it sends out a shockwave at its target.

Rank: B

Users: Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Sasuke

Ranton: Storm-release. A rare kekkei genkai that utilizes a combination of water and lightning elements. This is also the only kekkei genkai that exclusively belongs to Kumogakure.

Ranton: Laser Circus: This technique creates several beams and shoots them towards the enemy. The direction of these beams can be altered by the user. As such, this attack can reach multiple targets and even safely bypass hostages and other obstacles.

Rank: A

Users: Darui, Yakuro

Raiton: Epicenter of the Storm: A lightning jutsu where multiple lightning bolts shoot down from the sky, surrounding the caster. The lightning then strikes outwards for about 5-10 meters. This can function as both a defensive jutsu, and a close-ranged offensive jutsu.

Rank: A

Users: Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Sasuke.

* * *

Author Notes

Okay, interesting chapter I hope.

I had originally planned for this to be just a straightforward chunnin exams; however, I realized that how I had the matches probably wouldn't looks so good for Kumo (they only won 1). Kumo thinks they are the strongest of the five villages, but ended up getting their asses handed to them by Konoha and I honestly couldn't see them taking it so well. Also, as I explained in the story, Kumo doesn't like the Hyugas because they 'murdered' their head ninja back during the Hyuga incident and passed off a body-double of Hiashi (yes they eventually figured it out). To them, Umo was considered a taijutsu prodigy and he even devised a way to fight the Jyuken. Honestly, if it wasn't for him not having the Byakugan, Umo is probably the closest thing Kumo has to a Hyuga.

Things only got worse when Sasuke used the Epicenter of the Storm jutsu during his match. This was a Kumo-only jutsu until Kakashi copied it at some point and taught it to Sasuke. You can just imagine how mad Kumo would be after having a rather powerful jutsu stolen from them. Not to mention, Sasuke practically humiliated his opponent who was supposed to be a prodigy as well. Yes, Yakuro does have the Ranton and yes he is Darui's younger brother.

This ultimately increased the tensions within Kumo itself to a near breaking point when most of the citizens became hostile (again, hopefully described in the chapter) and poor Hanabi was even kidnapped (Hyuga incident all over). As such, the Raikage gave Tsunade her best choice, and that was to leave. Yes, I know the Raikage was acting like a sore loser, but then again, he just had his big ego crushed. Also, the exploding bug in one of the Raikage's commrade's chest is referring to episodes 286/287 of the anime.

Before you ask, no this event will not directly result in war between Konoha and Kumo, but it will increase tensions between the two villages and may lead to some interesting plotlines in the future. Also, will it create problems for Naruto? Maybe.

Regarding Hinata, the Jyusho in this story is the Jyuken-derived taijutsu style that she will be using from now on to compliment her wind-natured chakra. Hopefully I explained it well enough in the chapter. If not, let me know and I'll try to clear some things up.

And one last thing about changing the chapter like this, it will make it so I have to add another chapter to finish out this story, allowing me to get to an even 60 (yay!).

There still will be one last round of fights, but these will be held in Konoha.

Think that's about all I have to say for this chapter.

Please review/comment.


	56. Chapter 56

Sweet! Just passed both the 500 review and 500 favourite mark with the last chapter. Thank you to everyone for your support.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

Posted: 2/6/13

* * *

**Chapter 56: Fu **

Tsunade was right, the resort she had recommended to the Konoha 12 and the Sand Trio was amazing. They arrived, hungry and exhausted, after traveling non-stop since being kicked out of Kumo. Not to mention, Neji was still suffering from a pretty bad headache from having the seal used on him.

At first, they were a little depressed that it would take an hour for their meal to be prepared, but a quick bath before dinner instantly put that to rest. There was something about the mineral content of the springs that just made them so relaxing and soothing. And if it wasn't for Chouji's stomach, the probably wouldn't have gotten out at all.

The food only helped make the night more enjoyable.

"You know, I'm kind of starting to like these group dinners" said Sakura. "It's actually nice just to sit down and have fun every now and then."

"Yeah, and that means we should piss off Kumo more if this is what we get for doing so" commented Naruto, earning a laugh from most of the table.

"Speaking of which, what do you think happened to everyone else?" asked Sakura. "I mean, Gaara and Temari are with us, leaving just the Kumo ninja and Fu. I honestly don't see that Goyaku guy moving any time soon after what Naruto did to him."

Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, it's not my fault he went berserk" defended the blonde. "Anyways, I still can't believe you guys did that to Kumo. I mean sure, you kicked their ass, but that shouldn't give them any right to just throw us out."

"That was most unyouthful of them" commented Lee.

"At least, Tsunade-sama said we could finish the exam at home" added Neji.

"Yosh! I look forward to testing my youth against any one of you!" exclaimed Lee.

"That's the spirit Lee!" called out Gai from the next booth over where all the jonin were sitting.

"Oh brother…" said Tenten, face palming herself. "Anyways, Sakura's right. Stuff like this is enjoyable and it's kind of like what we did after the second exam."

Even Sasuke had to agree with that. This was rather relaxing and best of all, he no longer had to worry about screaming fan-girls as Ino had given up on being a fan-girl.

"Yeah, I'd suppose the only one missing would be Fu. She seemed like a nice girl. I really hope she does well" said Hinata.

"Oh my God, that flying ability of her's was so cool!" said Ino. "I wonder how she does that?"

"*munch*…maybe we could visit her…*munch*…in Taki some…*munch*…day" Chouji said, while stuffing himself with food.

"Naruto? You okay?" asked Hinata. The moment Chouji mentioned Fu and Taki, Naruto tensed up for some reason.

"Yeah…I think so. It's just…never mind" he replied.

"What's the matter? Is this about Fu? She wasn't that bad and Hinata's right, she's actually kind of nice" commented Ino.

"It's got nothing to do with Fu, although it kind of does" said Naruto.

"Perhaps it would be best to tell them" said Shino, grabbing Naruto's attention.

"Are you sure?" asked Naruto.

"Yes. We all consider her a friend, right?" Everyone nodded, slightly confused, at Shino's question. While they didn't know her all too well, they all saw her as a rather nice and friendly person, even if she did keep to herself a little. "Then you should know as her friends. That would only help her to know that she has true friends somewhere out there."

"What do you mean? It's sounding like she has no friends in Taki" said Sakura.

"Sakura, you remember that mission? You know, the one that went horribly wrong. We had to escort Shibi, the leader of Takigakure, back to the village" said Naruto.

"Yeah. I'd rather not, but what does this have to do with Fu and not having any friends?" asked Sakura.

"Shibi was the only person in Taki she could call a friend, until Orochimaru had to be a bastard and take him away from her. In Taki, she has no friends and everyone hates her. They see her as something else, something that she carries and that they all fear" said Naruto.

"Why is this conversation sounding familiar?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah, it's like we just had it a month ago, only Naruto was referring to himself…wait, you don't mean" a few people suddenly realized what Naruto was referring to. They had in fact heard this conversation before. Naruto had told them practically the same thing when he told everyone that he was a jinchuriki.

"Gaara's the jinchuriki of the Ichibi, I'm the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. But you all knew that" said Naruto. "Fu is in fact, the jinchuriki of the Nanabi. Actually, that's where she gets her flying ability, kind of like Gaara's sand and my regeneration." To say everyone was stunned would be an understatement.

It was at this time when the jonins joined the conversation after hearing the word 'jinchuriki'. "She's really a jinchuriki?" asked a surprised Kurenai. Naruto and Shino both nodded.

"Now that you think about it, that explains the incident back in the Konoha prelims when that red chakra began to emerge" commented Kakashi.

"Damn, if her life is as bad as yours was, then I can't help but feel sorry for the poor girl" said Kiba.

"Is there anything that could be done to help her? I can't imagine having to live in a village where everyone hates you" asked Tenten. Both Naruto and Gaara shot her a look. "Sorry."

"I actually wish there was. If she were a normal ninja, there would be more options, but if she's a jinchuriki, then that makes things much more complicated" said Asuma.

"What the hell do you mean? How does being a jinchuriki complicate things?" asked Kiba.

"It just does. Most of the people in a village simply see us as the plague and want us to disappear" explained Gaara. "However, there are those, usually in a position of power within the village, that will never let that happen. To them, we are nothing more than 'ultimate weapons' and they won't let us get away."

"That's just…wrong. How could people be so unyouthful?" asked Lee.

"I'm sorry, but it's true. There are even people in Konoha that would have tried to turn me into a mindless weapon had it not been for Sandaime-jiji" explained Naruto. At some point in time, Jiraiya had explained to him that an old politician/war-hawk named Danzo had tried to turn Naruto into a soulless puppet to be used as a weapon. Needless to say, Naruto wasn't happy to hear that there were actually those kinds of people in Konoha, but he began to understand the reason why his agreement with the Kyuubi was being kept a secret, even if the secret was slowly getting out, but those who knew were trusted friends.

"As for why the rest of the village wants to get rid of us, it's because they see us for what we contain, not who we are. We live our lives, wondering why everyone hates us, searching for something to fill the emptiness. That loneliness is enough to drive one insane. But all you need is that one person. Someone to open up and show you just an ounce of compassion. I consider myself lucky because I have all of you, and you've even opened up to Gaara here. But Fu, she's got no one" explained Naruto.

"Wow…just wow…" said Kiba. No one could ever imagine Naruto to be so deep. Hinata tightened her grip on him. She knew his pain to some extent as her entire family had practically shunned her when she was younger. It was Naruto that kept her going and not giving in. Sasuke was also aware of how that pain felt after his entire clan was murdered. After that, he was alone, and thought that no one understood his pain. As such, he kept everyone out and some people began to avoid him until Naruto came along and he began to open up. While it wasn't to the same extent as Naruto, both of them had a small understanding of what Naruto was talking about. The only person who could say that they had it worse was Gaara, and that was because even his own family had tried to kill him.

"Asuma-sensei, is there anything we can do for her?" asked Ino.

"Without straining relationships between our two villages, no. And even then, I doubt Taki would let us help her. Not to mention, no one from our village has even set foot in Taki and they don't go about allowing outsiders into their village" said Asuma. "Don't get me wrong, I want to help, but this is an incredibly complicated situation now."

They desperately wanted to help their new friend. They didn't care if she was a jinchuriki. She seemed nice and there was no way she could be worse than Naruto. They realized that she would return home and suffer. Any bonds that she may have formed over the past month would not be allowed to grow. And that was the most likely scenario. The entire Konoha 12, the Sand Trio, and their senseis wanted desperately to help the poor girl, but found that they would be powerless to do so unless some bizarre twist of fate occurred.

* * *

After a very relaxing night, and some deep conversations, the entire Konoha caravan was waiting outside the gates to Nagastuchi, with the exception of two individuals.

"Where is that Gaki and his perverted teacher?!" shouted Tsunade.

"I think I know where Naruto is, I'll go find him, Hokage-sama" said Iruka. Tsunade gave him a quick nod.

"Tsunade-sama, you do realize where we are" said Shizune.

Tsuande face palmed herself. "Shizune, Sakura, have a stretcher ready. That pervert had better not be doing what I think he's doing."

"Tehehe. Very nice, yes very nice indeed. The ladies here are perfect" said Jiraiya with a perverted smile on his face. "This research will be perfect for me to start on my next book."

Jiraiya had hit the peeping gold mine at the city's largest hot spring. The girls in the hot spring were some of the prettiest he had ever seen and their…'assets' were just what he needed for the inspiration to get started on his new book. But if there was one that truly caught his attention, it was this one woman. Jiraiya couldn't make most of her appearance out due to the steam from the spring. However, the one thing he could see, which was the most important of them all, was her rather large chest. If he didn't know better, he would say it was almost as big as Tsunade's. And then said woman began to move closer to the hole he was peeping through. _"That's it, come a little close. Let Jiraiya get a good look at you. Oh yes, you'll be perfect inspiration for the main woman in my next book."_

As she got close, Jiriaya could better make out the feminine beauty that was coming towards him. _"Oh yeah, that figure is just to die for. It's just like Tsunade's. And that innocent smile on her face, so sweet and cute, just like Tsunade. And those breasts. Oh damn, she's a fine lady indeed. I'd say her chest might even be as big as…Oh crap!"_

Before Jiraiya could turn and run, a fist came slamming through the wall and into Jiraiya's face. "Pervert!" There were a few shrieks coming from inside the hot spring, but once the other women realized what Tsunade had done, they were thanking the busty Hokage.

At the very moment that Shizune and Sakura had their medical equipment set up, a battered Jiraiya came crash landing into the center of the caravan, where Sakura and Shizune were waiting.

"Naruto!" shouted Iruka, looking for his favorite blonde student. Thankfully, Naruto wasn't too hard to find. The previous night, he had heard Naruto talking about this amazing ramen stand in the capitol of the Land of Hot Water. And sure enough, there was Naruto.

"Naruto, we've got to get going" said Iruka.

"I know, but I almost forgot to get the special ramen for my passport. Please, can I just get one bowl?" begged Naruto.

Iruka sighed. "Fine" he said, pulling out a familiar book and handing it to the chef. "Make that two bowls of the special."

"Coming right up" said the chef.

"Wow! You have one too?" asked Naruto.

"_**What the hell is up with all these ramen addicts?"**_ thought Kurama.

"Of course I do! And now that I know you have one, that means we can enjoy the Ichiraku special one of these days" smiled Iruka.

"Heh, I'm looking forward to that. Only 45 more ramen dishes and then it's Ichiraku" said Naruto.

"Wait, you're telling me you haven't gotten the dish from Ichiraku?" asked Iruka.

"No, I've decided to save it for last" replied Naruto. "Have you had it?"

"Of course I've had it. And before you ask, no I will not tell you. You're just going to have to wait until you finish the rest of that book" lectured Iruka.

"I know. It'll only make it so much better. Can you at least tell me this though. Is it better than the Uzumaki-style ramen Teuchi makes?" asked Naruto.

"You have no idea. I will say though that it is so much better than anything I've ever tasted" said Iruka. Sadly, that only made Naruto's mouth drool. He couldn't wait.

Finally, after some waiting, the chef set their bowls down and Iruka and Naruto shared their first ramen in what felt like months. What really stood out with this ramen was the broth. The water used in the broth actually came directly from a special spring in the mountains, just north of the city and gave the ramen a rather unique, yet delicious flavor.

After finishing their ramen, Naruto and Iruka returned to find a very bruised Jiraiya and a satisfied Tsuande. Naruto already knew what happened. After the few small distractions, they were off, back to Konoha.

* * *

The caravan of travellers arrived in Konoha in the evening of the following day. Tsunade was impressed that a group of that size was able to travel with such speed. Thankfully, the civilians that were accompanying them were assisted or carried by the shinobi of the group, allowing them to travel at the pace that matched the rest of the group. In a sense, it was good to be back in Konoha after spending a month in crazy town.

"You're all dismissed. I want those of you participating in the exams to be in my office at 3:00pm tomorrow afternoon and I'll fill you in on the arrangements that have been made. You will have until the fights off to prepare and rest" said Tsunade dismissing everyone.

The following day, Naruto had gone to Ichiraku for lunch, bringing along Team 8 and the rest of Team 7 with him. Both Teuchi and Ayame were intrigued by the stories everyone had to share, especially with how they got kicked out of Kumo. In fact, that was the talk of the town was how the Konoha shinobi were kicked out of Kumo. The entire village found it hilarious that 8 of their shinobi had made up the majority of the final round and managed to piss Kumo off that much. It also gave them something to celebrate at the same time.

"I still can't believe you guys got kicked out of Kumo" laughed Teuchi. "I hope you got your passport stamped there, Naruto. If not, then I don't see you completing it any time soon."

"All good. I got it taken care of the very first night I was there" grinned Naruto, holding up his passport. "That makes four; one from River Country, one from Greens Country, one from Kumo, and I just got the one from Hot Water Country yesterday. Only 45 more and I'll be back for your special dish. –ttebayo!"

"Heh, and I suppose that trip you're leaving on with Jiraiya-sama will give you quite a few more" said Teuchi.

"That's right, you're leaving soon, aren't you?" asked Kiba. "How long will you be gone?"

"Ero-Sennin said 2-3 years. And he said we'd be leaving sometime shortly after the last round of matches" said Naruto. This only managed to deflate poor Hinata a little. She knew Naruto would be leaving soon, yet she didn't want to face the fact that she would be without Naruto for that long, and Kiba only managed to remind her that that time was coming up pretty soon. "Hey Hinata, what's wrong?"

"N-nothing" she said. Naruto recognized the slight stutter. While her stutter was practically gone, she did stutter when she was depressed or sad. "I-I just don't want you to leave."

Now Naruto was feeling depressed. "Hey, don't worry. I know it's for a few years, but I'll be coming back. I don't necessarily want to leave for that long either, but I have to if I'm going to get stronger" said Naruto, trying to cheer her up. "I'll tell you what. After the matches and before I leave, we'll go on one more big date, okay?"

"Well…I guess" she said, teasingly and smiling .

"_I can't believe I almost forgot about that. Naruto's leaving for a few years and Kakashi-sensei's taking Sasuke away for a few years as well. All while I'm cooped up in the hospital" _thought Sakura. She looked over towards Sasuke, who was enjoying his own ramen. _"I wonder if Ino was right. I wonder if Sasuke really does have feelings for me."_

"**Help, can anyone hear me?"** Naruto's head popped up as he heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Naruto?" asked Hinata. She tried to get her boyfriend's attention, but Naruto had entered some sort of trance.

"**Choumei? Is that you?"** asked Kurama.

"**Kurama…Tha…ami…"**said Choumei's voice. However, it was really broken and Naruto and Kurama could barely piece it together.

"**You're coming through pretty weak"** said Kurama.

"**Fu…danger…dying…"** was all that could be heard before the mental link was severe.

"Naruto?" asked Hinata again, giving Naruto a nudge. She figured he was talking to the Kyuubi as he usually did this whenever they were in the middle of some sort of conversation. Naruto then snapped back. "Is everything okay?"

"No, we've got to hurry. I just got a message from the Nanabi. Fu's in trouble and she's dying apparently" said Naruto.

"What?!" shouted the remaining five members of the group.

"If she's dying, we must find her" said Shino.

Naruto nodded. "Shadow Clone Jutsu" he said as a clone poofed into existence. "Go tell Baachan about this and tell her to be ready. We'll send some kind of signal when we find her."

The clone nodded and the six of them raced towards the west gate of the village. Racing past the gate, this startled the bored Izumo and Kotetsu, who had been placed back on guard duty. "What was that?" asked Izumo.

"Looks like Teams Kakashi and Kurenai, but where are they going?" said Kotetsu.

"Should we inform the Hokage?" asked Izumo.

"I don't want to, but we probably should" said Kotetsu as he darted off towards the Hokage's office.

A little way out of the village, the group of six stopped and Hinata took to the tallest tree around, hoping to be able to see something with her Byakugan. Shino unleashed his insects to search for any hint of Fu's chakra. Naruto created around a hundred clones and had them fan out. They weren't sure where Fu was, but Naruto was sure she had to be somewhere in the general area for Choumei and Kurama to make a mental connection.

"Hey guys, I can smell a small hint of blood" said Kiba, pointing in a direction to the northwest of where they were standing. Hinata focused her Byakugan in that direction. She had about a 5km range that she could extend her vision up to. Thankfully, she found what she was looking for in that field of vision and it wasn't good. "You see anything, Hinata?"

"Yes, 3km northwest. At the bank of a river. She's not looking very good" said Hinata.

"Right! Let's hurry!" shouted Naruto, but Shino was well ahead of them. His insects had picked up on the Nanabi's chakra.

"Tsunade-sama!" shouted the Naruto clone, bursting into the door.

"What is it brat! I wasn't supposed to be bothered for another few hours!" shouted a cranky Hokage.

"Hokage-sama! Report from the west gate. Teams Kurenai and Kakashi were spotted leaving the village" reported Kotetsu. Now Tsunade looked at the Naruto clone with interest.

"You're a clone, aren't you" she asked. The Naruto clone nodded. "Then spill it, why is your team and Team 8 leaving the village without my orders?"

"Sorry, but one of our friends is in danger and we couldn't wait" said the clone.

"Danger? Who? And what sort of danger?" asked Tsunade.

"I'm sorry, but can he leave? This is kind of personal" said Naruto, pointing towards Kotetsu. Tsunade motioned for the chunin to leave, along with the four ANBU she had stationed around the office.

"Okay Naruto, what's going on?" asked Tsunade.

"You know Fu from the exams?" asked Naruto.

"That green haired flying kunoichi from Taki?" Naruto nodded.

"Well, she's also the jinchuriki of the Nanabi and well, I kind of got a distress call from the Nanabi saying that she was dying. If Furball and the Nanabi can make a mental link, that must mean they are close by so Boss and the others went off to try and find her. He said to be ready for some sort of signal when they do find her" explained the clone. "Please, she's a friend of ours since the exams. We can't let her die."

Tsunade sighed. "Fine. Shizune!" she barked. A few moments later, Shizune came barreling through the doors, carrying Tonton. "Prepare a medical squad to head out at the first signal."

"Tsunade-sama, what exactly are we looking for?" asked Shizune.

"A…friend is injured and Naruto's gone to find her. I don't know what the signal is, just look for anything unusual" said Tsunade.

"Hai!" said Shizune as she bowed and left to get the medical squad prepared.

"You're lucky Brat, I'll let you and your friends actions slide this time because I know you're doing it for a good cause, but I don't want you racing out of the village without my approval again, got that?" asked Tsunade.

"I won't do it again and I'm sorry, but I couldn't wait" said the clone before dispelling.

"There!" shouted Hinata as the six of them came into a clearing on the side of a river. Lying along the bank of the river was a certain green-haired girl that they were looking for.

Being the medic, Sakura was the first one over as she began examining Fu. The girl was in really bad shape with two kunai embedded in each side of her upper back, a third one on the back, just below the rib-cage, and a fourth one lodged into her stomach. Not to mention, she had what appeared to be a broken nose as if someone had punched it.

"How is she still alive? These injuries should have killed her and Taki is a good day and a half up the river" said Sakura.

"Kyuubi says it's probably because of the Nanabi. While she doesn't have my regeneration, the Nanabi's struggling to keep her alive" said Naruto.

"Is there anything you can do?" asked Sasuke.

"I don't know. She's fading and I don't know if normal medical jutsu will be enough" said Sakura.

"Wait. Use my chakra, or actually Furball's chakra. That might be enough to heal her. It was enough to heal the hole in Sasuke's chest after those Sound freaks were killed." As he said that, a one-tailed cloak enveloped him, definitely surprising Kiba and to a smaller extent, everyone else.

"So you really do seem to have control over the Kyuubi's chakra" said Kiba. Naruto nodded.

"Like I said earlier, he's not what everyone thinks about him" replied Naruto.

"Naruto come over here. I'm going to try and channel your chakra into her wounds. At the very least, we can stop most of the bleeding, but she needs to get to a hospital if she's going to have any chance at living" said Sakura. Naruto came over and placed his chakra tail over Fu's wounds as Sakura did her best to guide the chakra to where it needed to be.

"Katon: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu!" shouted Sasuke as he shot a giant plume of fire, shaped like a dragon's head upwards towards the sky. "Hopefully they see that. I'll send another one up in a few minutes."

A few minutes passed and Sakura had done the best she could on the wound to Fu's stomach. He now moved upwards to heal one of the wounds in Fu's shoulder, which most likely punctured the lungs.

"What the hell happened to you?" asked Sakura to herself.

"I don't know, but if any of those bastards in Taki did this to her, they're going to pay" threatened Naruto.

"It's amazing she's been able to hold on this long" said Sakura. At this time, Sasuke sent up another fire dragon flare. If the medical corps were coming they should be here any minute now.

"Like I said, it's the Nanabi. She may not give her the same regeneration powers as the Kyuubi, but she's most likely the thing that's keeping her alive right now" said Naruto.

As Sakura finished up on the right shoulder, she moved down to the wound that most likely punctured Fu's liver.

"Naruto! Sakura! They're here" said Kiba as he could smell the medical team getting closer. A few seconds later, Shizune and two other field medics appeared at the river bank. Sakura hurried to get some patch work done on the liver and the other shoulder before Shizune and the other medics took off towards the hospital.

A few hours later at the hospital,

All 12 members of the Konoha 12, Sand Trio, the jonin senseis, Jiraiya and Aburame Shibi were waiting in the waiting area of the hospital when the operation light turned to green, indicating that surgery was over. A few minutes later, Shizune emerged wheeling a gurney table with Fu lying on it, a good sign that she would survive. Tsunade followed shortly after.

"How is she?" asked Sakura.

"She'll live, but it was a close one. Your clone was probably right, Naruto. If you guys hadn't left immediately, it might have been too late" said Tsunade.

"So what's going to happen to her?" asked Kiba. That was something that all of them wanted to know.

"Let's talk about that in private" Tsunade said, leading them into a private meeting room. Jiraiya activated the privacy seals for the room. "So thanks to the loudmouth blonde over there, you all know that he is the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi and I think you all have a better understanding of what really happened on that night. But that's not why we're here. As I'm sure you've all been made aware of, thanks again to a particular loudmouth blonde…"

"Hey!" pouted Naruto.

"…Fu is the jinchuriki of the Nanabi. We also believe that is the reason she survived her injuries" explained Tsunade. "Now, I am making this an S-rank secret. None of you are to discuss Fu's status as a jinchuriki with anyone else. I'll leave 'who should know' up to her and myself. Now, because of her status, that makes what'll happen to her a little foggy. But I do have some suspicions."

"She won't be going back to Taki though, will she? They all hate her there!" exclaimed Naruto.

"As I said, I don't know what her future holds. We are going to have to wake up and hear from her what exactly happened. Once we know what happened, we'll go from there" said Tsunade. "The politics surrounding jinchurikis are tricky. You can probably attest a little to that Naruto."

Naruto's head lowered. "Yeah…I know" replied Naruto.

"She'll probably be awake in two or three days. I'll call you in when that happens. Now, you're all dismissed, but those of you in the exams can meet me in my office" said Tsunade.

The nine chunin hopefuls proceeded to Tsunade's office in the Hokage tower, finding an irritated Hyuga Shinji waiting outside. Naruto nearly gagged at the sight of him, and just about everyone else there wanted a piece of the Hyuga's ass after the stunt he pulled on Neji.

Tsunade led them inside her office to discuss the terms of the next round. "Right, so I have made the necessary arrangements for the exam. They will be in five days from now, starting at 1:00pm in the stadium. Now, I have some good news. While our final exams consist of an elimination tournament, which would mean Neji and Temari are unable to continue, I was able to persuade the shinobi council that since the exam originally begun under Kumo's rules, we should continue to follow the format that Kumo uses. That means that as long as Neji and Temari are able to fight, they are allowed to continue" explained Tsunade. Neji and Temari let out a huge sigh of relief. They were unsure if they would be allowed to continue and they were pretty sure that their matches did not last long enough to impress the judges. "Seeing as there are 10 of you, there will be 5 matches and those matches will be chosen at random just before the start of the matches. I will say, some of you have already secured your promotion and some of you will need to convince the judges a little more. I suggest you all prepare to fight your hardest. You have until the matches off to prepare and I recommend using your time wisely. I will see you in the stadium in five days."

* * *

Outside the tower, everyone went their separate ways, leaving Team 7 to themselves. "If it ain't Kakashi's brats." Team 7 turned around to see Zabuza and Haku standing behind them.

"Haku! Zabuza!" exclaimed Naruto, greeting the former Demon of the Hidden Mist and his apprentice.

"Hear you guys pissed of Kumo pretty bad. Nice job" complimented Zabuza. "I also heard you kicked that Goyaku-bastard's ass pretty hard."

"Heh, we might have done something like that" grinned Naruto. "So what have you two been up to?"

Haku and Zabuza lifted their sleeves to reveal a red ANBU tattoo, indicating that they had made the hunter-nin division of ANBU. "We were afraid our first assignment would have to be to hunt you three down after you bolted out of the village" said Zabuza, reaching for his sword. Team 7 let out a nervous gulp before Zabuza released his grip.

"We are also preparing for the Jonin Trials that are coming up in a few months" said Haku.

"Yeah, I've had enough of being a chunin. I want my jonin rank back, that way I can go on more exciting missions" complained Zabuza before his attention was diverted towards something, well…"Oh shit!"

"Huh? Is something wrong?" asked Naruto. Immediately, Zabuza took off, running as fast as he could.

"Haha! Yosh! Have any of you seen my youthful eternal rival?! I wish to see how his flames have grown in the past months!" said Gai, running towards the four members of Team 7. Everyone's sweat dropped. All of them decided to cut Zabuza a break this time and point towards the direction that he didn't go as Gai ran off proclaiming about youth.

* * *

Three days later,

"Huh?...Where…where am I?" said weary green-haired girl. At first, the lights in the room began to strain her eyes, but after a few moments, they began to adjust. "Am…am I…dead?"

"Oh, you're awake" said a female voice. Fu slightly turned her head to see that a nurse was standing in the same room as her. "That's good, the Hokage will want to know. Is there anything you need first?"

"_Hokage? Am I in Konoha?"_ Fu thought.

"**Yes, we are in Konoha. It was pure luck that I managed to get a hold of Kurama before it was too late"** said Choumei. **"But hey, I am the Lucky Seven."**

"How did I?" asked a still weary Fu.

"I'll let the Hokage explain that to you when she gets here" said the nurse. "Is there anything you need before I go get her?" Fu asked for a cup of water and the nurse went to notify Tsunade that her patient had awaken.

"_I can't believe they tried to kill me back there. My own team. I thought I was making progress in Taki…I guess not"_ Fu thought. She turned her head and had a view out the window. It really did look like she was in Konoha. What caught her attention was a bunch of 'Get Well Soon' cards on the table next to her. However, if anything moved her, it was a picture with her all bandaged and asleep in the hospital bed with the members of the Konoha 12 lined up along the side, smiling and for some reason, holding up seven fingers. Immediately, she recognized the seven fingers as a sort of code. Basically that and the smiles amounted to something like 'We know, and we don't care. We're your friends no matter what'.

"_Friends. I actually have friends here. People who don't want me to disappear or die. There are actually people who really do care for me here. I really am dead, aren't I?"_ thought Fu as she laid back in the bed.

About thirty minutes passed. The nurse had returned once more during that time and informed Fu that the Hokage would be down shortly. It was then that Tsunade came through the door. "So, how are you feeling?" asked Tsunade.

"Sore, but…is this a dream? Am I asleep and dying?" asked Fu. "Am I really in Konoha?"

Tsunade chuckled a little at this. "No, you're not dying and last I checked this isn't a dream" said Tsunade. "If it was, then Jiraiya would have given up on peeping already."

"Huh?" asked a confused Fu.

"Never mind. Hopefully you'll never find out, but sadly I doubt that" said Tsunade.

"Do they know?" asked Fu, pointing at the framed picture.

"Yeah, Naruto told them. He thought they wouldn't look at you any different, and I think he was right" said Tsunade, giving Fu a lot of relief. "They're a special bunch of kids, I'll give them that."

"_So it's true. They really are friends"_ she thought. Tsunade gave Fu a quick look over.

"You guys can come in now!" she shouted towards the door. At that time, all 12 members of the Konoha 12, their senseis, and even the Sand trio came into the room. Thankfully, Fu's room was large enough to accommodate all of them or else they would be cramped. It was a warming sight as she could say that there were people who cared about her for the first time since her late grandfather figure.

"Hokage-sama, what's going to happen to me? You're not going to send me back to Taki are you?" asked Fu. This was something she was worried about as she didn't want to go back.

Tsuande sighed. "That'll depend on what exactly happened that landed you here. You're a jinchuriki, which could complicate the situation, which is why I need to know every detail on what exactly what happened. I promise I'll try to make something work, but I need to know."

Fu began to tell her story, although it worried her to no end. It sounded like there was still a chance she could be sent back to Taki, something she most definitely didn't want.

*Flashback*

Two days had passed since the end of the first round of fighting and things around Kumo were beginning to calm down. As both Suna and Konoha had been kicked out two days ago, the Raikage thought it would be best if he just made the final round of the exams between Kumo ninja only. At least that way, he would have an excuse to promote more than just Yugito.

Fu was sitting in her room of the inn where she was staying at, thinking of the match she had just fought and the match that was coming up. The expulsion of Konoha from Kumo was also fresh on her mind. They had been some of the first people to treat her normal. While she wouldn't train with them during the few weeks of training, there was the occasional night where she would run into a few of them and they would offer if she wanted to join them for dinner or something. It made her feel welcomed and normal, if only for a few hours at a time.

Despite losing against Yugito in her first match, she still felt like she accomplished something. By being there, she had managed to prove that she was something and was hoping that Shinuki and the other Taki citizens there would look at her differently. However, that match backfired on her. What they saw was the demon inside her trying to take over. She had been talking to the Nanabi more and more ever since Naruto suggested it, and Choumei wasn't as bad as everyone thought. She was just misunderstood, kind of like her vessel. Yet, the people in Taki couldn't wrap their heads around the fact that Fu wasn't the Nanabi or that the Nanabi wasn't the monster they had thought she was.

She quickly learned that Choumei seemed like a happy being altogether, even if she was obsessed with luck and a little too energetic at times. Choumei was also the only one willing to train Fu a little, giving the green-haired jinchuriki the ability to grow wings out of the middle of her back and fly, something that Fu immediately began to love. If fact, if there was anything about being a jinchuriki that she actually enjoyed, it was that ability. However, to the people of Taki and her teammates, this only reinforced their view that Fu was in fact the Nanabi.

As she was in the middle of thought, Fu heard a knock on her door and the voice of her teammate Takaru on the other side. "Pack up your things, we're leaving, freak."

Fu let out a depressed sigh. She didn't want to go back to Taki. In fact, if there was anywhere she wanted to go, it was Konoha. She had friends there and at least two people who knew about her status as a jinchuriki and didn't care.

A few minutes later, she headed down to the lobby of the inn, to find her team, sensei, and Shibuki discussing something. They shot her a glare and she was beginning to have thoughts about what exactly they were discussing. She didn't like said thoughts, but she would have rather preferred them over returning to Taki, where there was a good chance she would be confined away for 'being influenced by the Nanabi'.

They left in the early afternoon of that day and by the end of the day when they stopped to make camp, they were out of the Land of Lightning. The stopped to make camp in the Land of Frost and were about two days from Taki.

The next day, they passed through the Land of Hot Water and headed slightly south on the path towards Taki. The farthest south that they would go was actually the Valley of the End, on the border of Fire Country and Rice Country. During the entire trip, she had thought about just taking off, and hoping that no one caught up to her and to be honest, if she flew, she could probably pull it off. However, if she did that, then she would most likely be labeled as missing and one way or another, returned to Taki if she was caught. It was at the Valley of the End where what she had been fearing all along happened.

As they were crossing the gap, jumping across the two statues of Senju Harishima and Uchiha Madara, Shibuki made the jump first with Fu second and her team last. As Shibuki landed, he pushed off the statue back towards Fu with a look of killing intent in his eyes. Before Fu was able to react, Shibuki had driven a kunai deep into her gut, punching her in the face as well. Three more sharp pains immediately followed as her sensei and teammates drove their kunais into her back, two into her lungs and one into the liver.

"_They really did do it. They really did kill me"_ thought Fu as she plunged down the waterfall and into the river below. Shibuki and her 'team' stood at the top of Madara's head looking down with a satisfied look on their faces. To them, they had finally managed to get rid of Taki's demon. Those spots had all been 'kill spots' on the body and they were certain there would be no way she would survive that.

About a quarter mile down the river, Fu finally resurfaced, struggling to catch her breath as blood filled her lungs. She managed to keep consciousness for a few seconds before slipping into darkness. She was dying.

Unbeknownst to her, Choumei had begun filling her system with demonic chakra in hopes of keeping Fu alive long enough to get help. While Choumei and her weren't really that close, the Nanabi had shown Fu some respect for enduring what she had and the last thing she wanted to see was Fu tossed aside like this to die.

"**Help, can anyone hear me…"** the Nanabi called out, letting out a small burst of her chakra to carry her message. Night came and Choumei was doing everything she could to keep Fu alive while the green-haired kunoichi drifted down stream. It was at this point where she wished she had the regeneration abilities of the Kyuubi.

Morning came and Choumei was struggling. If help didn't come today, Fu was most certainly going to die. **"Help, can anyone hear me…"** the Nanabi called out for probably the last time.

"**Choumei, is that you?"** Choumei's call was responded this time by another biju who managed to pick up the same frequency. Thankfully for her, it was Kurama, someone who would actually come to her rescue.

*End Flashback*

"…and that's where my story ended. I thought I was dead but apparently not" said Fu. Silence filled the room until a massive KI took over. Everyone's attention turned to see a chakra cloak begin to envelop Naruto. This was not Naruto calling on the Kyuubi's chakra. No, this was a pissed off Biju who wanted nothing more than to rip Taki a new one nine times over.

"Shit! Hold him down before he does something stupid!" ordered Tsunade. Immediately, everyone there dove on top of Naruto, pinning him to the ground.

"_What the hell are you doing?!" _shouted Naruto in his mindscape.

"**What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to go kill those bastards!" **declared Kurama.

"_Just stop it!" _ordered Naruto.

"**And why should I do that? I know you want to kill them as much as I do. I can feel it"** said Kurama.

"_I'm not saying just to let them go, but if you force your way out now, there's no way in hell Ero-Sennin will ever release this seal and you'll never get your freedom"_ argued Naruto. _"Just wait. The time will come when we can show them not to mess with us."_

Kurama let out a slight growl. **"Fine. I'll hold off for now, but the day will come when I will kill them without mercy. I will feast upon their pathetic village and laugh, as they learn what happens when you piss off a demon."**

"_Honestly, I don't blame you. I want a piece of their ass as much as you do. But I'm just saying it would do more harm than good right now" _said Naruto. Outside his mindscape, the chakra cloak began to receded and Naruto was let up from being restrained. "Heh, sorry about that." Naruto let out a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his head.

"Furball's pissed. Am I correct?" asked Tsunade. Naruto nodded.

"With all respects, I think we are all pissed at what Taki tried to pull" spoke Kiba. Akamaru growled as well and then hopped over to Fu's bed and curled up on her lap.

"Well anyways, that solves that problem" said Tsunade.

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Sakura. "Is this regarding what's going to happen to Fu?"

Tsunade nodded. "I hate to use this analogy, but it's the best one that fits. One village's trash is another one's treasure."

"What's that supposed to mean? Fu's not trash!" retorted Ino.

Tsunade simply laughed, but it was Shino who spoke up. "It means that when Taki tried to kill her, they forfeited all rights to her as a shinobi of Takigakure. To them, she is trash that they simply threw away, but to us..."

"So does that mean…" exclaimed Fu, getting an excited smile on her face.

"Yep, welcome to Konoha" replied Tsunade. "Now, before all of you run off and celebrate, there's a few things we need to get straight. I'll work out some form of living arrangements later, but I assume you're going to take up the duties as a shinobi of this village?"

"Hai!" exclaimed a happy Fu.

"Very well" said Tsunade, pulling out a Konoha head protector from her cloak and tossing it to Fu. "You will be starting off as a genin. I would allow you to join in on the final chunin fights for a chance at a promotion, but you'll be lucky if I even let you out of here to watch the matches."

"That's fine" she said.

"I'll also get you assigned to a team here shortly and you can begin once you're cleared for active duty. As for your status as a jinchuriki, we're going to be keeping that a close secret. The only people who will know are those in this room right now and anyone I deem it's necessary that they know. I don't want to give you the impression that this is a jinchuriki paradise because it's not. Just ask Fox-boy over there, an angry mob nearly tried to kill him on his last birthday because of his status. Although I will admit that things are getting better for him. However, by keeping your status as a close secret, that should allow you to live a normal life here" explained Tsunade.

"That's fine. I would be lying if I said I didn't expect that. As long as I've got people who I can actually call a friend" said Fu, looking around at everyone and getting a bunch of smiles in return. "I'll be just fine."

"Good, and I don't want the rest of you talking about it either. Just use some sort of code like Naruto does" said Tsunade. "And I'm also going to have to have Jiriaya take a look at your seal, make sure it's stable so we don't have the Nanabi creating chaos."

"Actually, she's not that bad. She can be a little energetic and hyper at times, but it's not like she wants to destroy your village or kill anyone" said Fu.

"_**Except those bastards in Taki"**_ thought Kurama and Choumei at the same time

"_Looks like we've got two jinchuriki who won't have too much of a problem controlling their biju's chakra"_ thought Tsunade. "That may be, but I just need to be sure. I'm also going to have to book you an appointment with Inoichi. I need those memories of what happened documented incase Taki comes poking their heads around."

Sadly, all good things must come to an end as Tsunade kicked everyone out so that she could do a proper check-up on Fu's wounds. Still, the tan, mint-green haired kunoichi couldn't be happier right now.

* * *

Everyone scattered fairly quick, leaving Naruto and Hinata alone in the middle of the street, which was fine. Naruto actually had to go shopping for clothes as the outfit that he had gotten in Kumo was of fairly low quality and was already starting to wear.

Hinata dragged Naruto to the clothing store where she got his jacket that one year and the one that her family frequently shops at. Naruto hesitantly entered, fearing he would get kicked out like at every other store that he went into, but he was surprisingly mistaken.

"Well, if it isn't Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Hinata. Those were some great fights the two of you had" said the store owner. Naruto was slightly confused he wasn't getting shoved out of the store or charged for even stepping foot inside the store, but it was apparent that the owner had actually witnessed Naruto's fight in Kumo. The owner was a male, probably in his early 30's with short brown hair and a pencil mustache above his upper lip. "Don't worry, I'm not going to throw you out. After seeing you stand up to that monster, I want to say that you've earned my respect and I do want to humbly apologize for any misconceptions I may have had in the past."

"Umm, thanks uhh…" said Naruto.

"Sorry, I'm Fazaku Michigo. Owner of the best clothing store in Konoha. And if I'm correct, the origin of that orange jacket you used to wear. By the way, what happened to it?" asked Michigo.

"It kind of got destroyed when I took an acid ball for a friend in the exam" said Naruto. "I am impressed that it lasted that long and took something like that to destroy it."

"Well, I would certainly hope so, my clothing lines for shinobi are the best after all. Now, what can I do for you?" asked Michigo. "Are you here for kimonos for the Festival of the Budding Leaf that's in a little over a week away?"

The Festival of the Budding Leaf was effectively the celebration of the founding of Konoha, and unlike the Kyuubi Festival, Naruto was left alone on this night. He just never went because that event was usually an event where families and friends went to; however, he actually had friends that he could go with this year. And based on the way Hinata was squeezing his arm, it was obvious that she really did want to go with him.

"Actually, I came here to get a new ninja outfit. I kind of got this one after my jacket was destroyed in Kumo, but it's wearing already" said Naruto. Michigo took a quick look over the blonde.

"Hmm…poor quality indeed. I'm not surprised Kumo would give you something like this" he said.

"I was wondering if you have this same outfit, only one that won't wear away" asked Naruto.

"I think I can hook you up with something" said Michigo as he went in the back room of the shop. At that time, Naruto's eye was drawn to a kimono display, in particular a certain design that was also his size. It was a burnt orange kimono with a black flame pattern at the base that faded into the rest of the kimono. It wasn't a formal kimono or something he would wear if he was ever invited to dinner with Hinata's family. It was a more casual design, perfect for festivals.

"Find something you like?" said Michigo, appearing out of nowhere with a smile on his face and startling Naruto. Before Naruto could react, Hinata was pulled into him by Michigo. "You know, the festival is a perfect night for couples." This caused the two to blush slightly.

"Well…I don't know…" said Naruto hesitantly. "You see, I'm kind of leaving sometime soon after the final matches, but I don't know when."

Naruto then did the one thing that will make any man succumb, he looked down at Hinata with her round, pleading eyes and what appeared to be the beginning of a tear. "Fine, I'll talk with Ero-Sennin and make sure we're not leaving till after the festival" sighed Naruto. Hinata wrapped herself around Naruto with a big smile on her face.

Naruto left the store having spent what he used to spend for clothes after all the shops over charged him, only this time he had three pairs of black ninja pants, three long-sleeved orange shirts, a black vest that resembled the one he had in Kumo, only it had scroll pockets on the front instead of two large pockets and he also got the red Uzumaki swirl embroidered onto it. He also ended up with that orange Kimono and a happy Hinata after promising to go with her to the festival. All in all, he spent about 4,000ryo, the same he used to pay, only he got about 4 times as much clothes and they were better quality. Now, all they had to do was find Ero-Sennin.

He was actually much harder to find. Naruto's first choice to look was at the hot-spring, but Jiraiya surprisingly wasn't there. It took nearly an hour of he and Hinata running all over Konoha to find him coming out of the hospital after having his jaw looked at and checking on Fu's seal.

"Ero-Sennin!" shouted Naruto.

"Gaki…" growled Jiraiya. He still didn't like Naruto calling him 'Ero-Sennin' in public. "So what's up with you two?"

"Hey, I wanted to ask if we could leave after the festival that's coming next week" said Naruto.

Jiraiya got that perverted look on his face. "Oh, and I suppose you two wanted to go, hehe" giggled Jiraiya.

"Gah! Stop thinking like a pervert!" shouted Naruto as Hinata began to blush a little. "Well, seeing as me and Hinata wouldn't see each other for years, we were hoping you could cut us some slack and not leave until after the festival."

"Hmm…Fine, we'll leave two weeks from now. Meaning two days after the festival. That should give you plenty of time to…" Jiraiya glanced towards Hinata and got that perverted look on his face, only flustering Naruto more and turning Hinata red.

"_Damn pervert" _thought Naruto.

* * *

The following day, Fu was sitting in her hospital bed. The doctors had said that she was healing good, and that there was a good chance that she would be permitted to attend the finals in two days. She was slightly disappointed that she wouldn't get to participate, but that disappointment completely vanished whenever she turned her head to either look out the window or look over at the stuff on her bedside table.

The picture and get-well cards were signs that there were people who actually cared for her, something she had lost when Shibi had died. It was actually a funny coincidence when Shino and his father, who was also named Shibi, came to visit earlier. Next to the picture, rested her new headband. For her, it was more than just a headband; it was a sign of hope. Even though she had nearly died, she defied the odds and was able to get away from the hellhole that was Taki. It signified a new chance for her, one where she could have a chance to start over and where there would actually be people who care for her.

A knock came on the door and Shino stepped inside. "Hello" he said. "How are you doing today?"

"Shino, nice of you to stop by" said Fu, letting a slight smile come onto her face. "I'm actually doing much better. So what did you stop by for?"

"I came to offer you a proposition" said Shino.

"Huh?" asked Fu tilting her head and looking at him with a slightly confused look. "What are you talking about?"

"My clan would like to offer you a place to stay at our compound" said Shino.

"Huh? And why would they do that? Is it because of what's inside me?" asked Fu, now a little taken back.

"I won't lie and say that is not a reason. They are curious about the Nanabi. I have told you about my clan's practices about us being living hives for our insects and while that is normally the case for anyone living in our compound, they have agreed to make an exception for you" said Shino. "But that is not why I requested that you be allowed to live there. I asked because I see you as a close friend and I felt that it would honestly be best for you. I believe that my clan and I can be beneficial to your development and also that we are some of the only people in Konoha who may be able to relate to you, besides maybe Naruto."

Due to their clan practices of implanting a colony of insects into their children at birth, the Aburames were often seen as weird and even treated as outcasts by some of the non-shinobi population. However, this didn't bother them as they were supported by the rest of their clan. Still, they had some idea of the way jinchuriki were treated, even if it was to a lesser extent than an actual jinchuriki.

At first, Fu wasn't quite sure what to think. She didn't want to stay there because of the Nanabi, but began to think differently when Shino gave the second half of his reasons. "Are you sure there aren't any other reasons why you want me to live with your family?" asked Fu, almost teasingly.

"Are there? Yes. To me, you are a close friend and I feel this will only help strengthen our friendship" said Shino.

Fu smiled and even managed a slight blush. I guess she saw this as Shino's way of flirting with her. _"He may seem kind of weird at first, but he's a good guy and even kind of cute"_ thought Fu. "Thank you, I'll consider it."

"Please do. Now, I am sorry, but I must go and prepare for the matches tomorrow" said Shino before leaving.

* * *

To say the stands were packed would be an understatement. For Konoha, this was a huge treat for them. They weren't expecting another chunin exam in almost 2 years and the most recent exam was interrupted when Orochimaru attacked. What only made things better was that these 10 competitors had done what most couldn't believe…they had pissed Kumo off more than anyone in Konoha, save the Yellow Flash, had done. And it didn't stop there…

Word had spread about Naruto's victory over the jinchuriki of the Rokubi. At first, most people ignored it, but word spread rapidly and now people were beginning to ask the question: Who really is Uzumaki Naruto? And for the first time, some people saw the blonde as something other than the 'Demon Brat'. What some of them saw was a young ninja with a ton of potential, standing against a raging jinchuriki, and come out the victor.

In fact, if there was anyone who was a 'Demon Brat' right now, it would probably have to be Hyuga Shinji. If there was one thing that had spread around Konoha faster than news of Naruto's victory, faster than Konoha's triumph, faster than even the last Uchiha's victory, it was the shameful stunt that Shinji pulled. There were people all over Konoha calling for Shinji to be sealed, but the only thing saving him was his main-branch status in the Hyuga clan. Of course the main-branch Hyugas always get away with everything.

Over in the Lords' box, there were already some preliminary bets going around, even before the match-ups had been generated. Most of Lords in the area had dropped everything they were doing to come and watch these exams. After all, who wouldn't pass up this opportunity to gamble with one another?

The energy in the stadium suddenly erupted as the 10 chunin candidates were led onto the field. The time that everyone had been waiting for had arrived. The 10 candidates arrived in the middle of the arena and turned to face the crowds as Genma walked onto the field to begin.

"Congratulations all of you. You all accomplished something that even I never thought would happen" Genma said to the competitors. "Now, you all know the rules. These will be one-on-one matches. Anything goes but the match ends when I say it ends. As there are 10 of you, there will be 5 matches."

Genma held out a sack in front of everyone. "In here are 10 numbered balls. Each of you will draw one, and that will determine the matchups." The sack was passed around and everyone took their ball. "Now, starting with one, please read your numbers off."

"One" said Shinji.

"Two" said Hinata.

"Three" said Sakura.

"Four" said Temari.

"Five" said Lee.

"Six" said Neji.

"Seven" said Shino.

"Eight" said Gaara.

"Nine" said Naruto.

"Ten" said Sasuke.

"Very good" said Genma. "The matches will go as followed:

Match 1: Hyuga Shinji vs. Hyuga Hinata.

Match 2: Haruno Sakura vs. Sabaku no Temari.

Match 3: Rock Lee vs. Hyuga Neji.

Match 4: Aburame Shino vs. Sabaku no Gaara.

Match 5: Uzumaki Naruto vs. Uchiha Sasuke."

* * *

As Hiashi was moving to his seat, he found himself confronted by the three Hyuga elders. Hiashi didn't like this. He could tell the elders were up to something. "Hanabi, why don't you go and find our seats" he said, motioning to Hanabi. "And so what do I owe this pleasure to? You three aren't up to anything, are you?"

"Come now Hiashi, what would make you think that?" asked Harabi, shaking his son's assumption aside. "In the spirit of this event, we felt it would be more interesting to…make this match more than just fighting for some silly promotion."

Hiashi could definitely tell something was up. He wasn't the Hyuga head for nothing. He knew how to read people and right now, the Hyuga elders had trickery and deception written all over their faces. However, he decided that he would at least hear them out. "What is it that you have in mind?" asked a cautious Hiashi.

"We feel that if Hinata is not able to win this match, then she is not worthy of being in the main branch. While we initially agreed to wait until she was 16, we saw this as a good opportunity to measure her potential. Surely you must agree that if she cannot win here, you would just be wasting your time on her over the next three years." said Moriko.

"_So that's the game they are playing"_ thought Hiashi. This was simply another one of their ploys to brand Hinata.

"What do you say, do we have ourselves a wager?" asked Ihro.

* * *

Author Notes

Well, there you have it. I have officially brought Fu to Konoha.

Regarding Fu, I will be taking her age at around 13 (almost 14) making her about the same age as Neji, Lee, and Tenten. While she won't be on the same level of a relationship with her biju as Naruto and Kurama, Fu will have at least a respectable relationship with Choumei (Nanabi). That doesn't mean that Choumei will be buddy-buddy with Fu, but the Nanabi will help out when she's absolutely needed, as seen when she kept Fu alive.

All jinchuriki have some sort of ability that they get, whether their biju likes it or not. This is part of being a human sacrifice. As Naruto's ability is regeneration, and Gaara's is the sand, Fu's ability is flight. Choumei only helped Fu learn to use this ability. More abilities can possibly be accessed depending on the relationship between jinchuriki and biju, which is why Naruto also has the Negative Emotions Sensing.

As for these mental links that allow biju to talk to one another, they function very much like radio. The biju emits a small pulse of chakra from their jinchuriki (only if the jinchuriki either allows it or is too weak to resist it) that can be picked up by other biju. The range is a few km.

Now, Fu will become the 14th member of what will be the Konoha 15. Currently, there is Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Neji, Lee, and Tenten (Konoha 12). Haku makes the 13th member. Fu will be the 14th. Sai will become the 15th in the shippuden book. And yes, I will be adding Sai. There is just too much comedic potential to pass him up.

I know I have kind of pulled Haku away from the story, but I will bring him back for a little bit before the story ends and he'll be seen much more in the Shippuden book.

One quick word regarding my writing, I initially started off by saying I wouldn't be using the more familiar honorifics (-chan, -kun, -san, ect.). I am finding myself wanting to add them more and more. I will begin implementing honorifics beginning in the second book.

Lastly, the Naruto vs. Sasuke fight I've got coming up…yes, I had to.

And for those of you who have just read the latest chapter of the manga, I seriously can't believe that the Shodaime and Nidaime would ever act like that. It's freaking hilarious!

Any ways, till next time.

Please review/comment.


	57. Chapter 57

Wow…just wow. Probably within the first 12 hours of posting the last chapter, I got more comments than any previous chapter. You guys are awesome!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

Posted: 2/10/2013

* * *

**Chapter 57: Rivals**

"So what do you say, Hiashi, do we have an agreement?" asked Ihro.

Hiashi turned his head away. Normally, he would have immediately backed down the offer, but why wasn't he now? His attention then turned to the field and to his daughter. Why? He actually wanted to accept the wager, but why? After trying so hard to keep Hinata away from being sealed, why did he want to risk it now?

"So? What do you say? You'd better speak now before the match starts" provoked Harabi.

Still hesitant, he continued to look down as his daughter and the other 9 competitors basked in the welcomes and cheers of the audience, something they had been deprived of in Kumo. Was he really thinking of putting his own daughter's future on the line? It was then that Hinata looked up, directly towards him. Now he knew why. For the very first time, he could saw without even the slightest doubt, that he truly believed in her. Long gone was the shy, timid girl that he had seen as a disappointment. What now stood there was a young woman who had complete confidence in her abilities and one he had prayed so hard to finally see blossom.

Hiashi could see the way the elders were drooling over this opportunity. For one reason or another, they held a deep hatred for Hinata. Then again, they never liked her mother either. When the two of them had first started their relationship, the elders had been so adamant about the two ending it, and as a result, they married one another. The first four years of their marriage had been difficult, with the clan and the elders always upon them, but they enjoyed their time spent together and loved one another with no limits. And then Hinata was born. She looked just like her mother and honestly, Hiashi couldn't have been happier. When he began training her, yes he was strict, but he was also fair and loving with Hinata outside of the dojo. All three of them were never without a smile on his face. Even after his brother's sacrifice, he was truly grateful that his brother had allowed him to spend more time with his family.

Two years later, Hanabi was born, but at a terrible price. His wife had suffered from complications from giving birth and passed away shortly after. Ever since then, his once warm heart began to grow cold towards Hinata as she reminded him too much of the woman who was taken away from him, and turned his attention to Hanabi, the last gift she ever gave him. For the next six years, Hinata's confidence suffered tremendously and he began seeing her as a weak failure. In all honesty, he was maybe a week at most away from having her sealed and banished from the clan until he heard that she had made the final round of the chunin exams. Following that, bit by bit, the shell that Hinata had encased herself in was slowly peeled away, and the result was directly in front of him. The funny thing though, is that this was all due to a certain blonde-haired boy, who bore a striking resemblance to his late teammate.

His thoughts were taken back to when his wife first told him that she was pregnant. He remembered back to one night in particular when he had told Minato and the two of them spent an evening on top of Minato's own head, celebrating and cracking jokes. If there was one that he now remembered the best, it was the two of them joking about the possibility of their kids ending up together, assuming one was a boy and the other was a girl. Knowing Minato, he was probably cracking up right about now, wherever he was.

Hiashi's mind was brought back to the current situation. This was yet another of the many attempts by the elders to separate his family and honestly, he was getting tired of such disgraceful acts. _"Fine, I'll play their game one last time"_ thought Hiashi to himself as he immediately began concocting a plan that would ultimately save his family.

"Very well, I'll accept your wager" said Hiashi. The grins on the elders' faces grew to a point where the only one in the village who could beat them in the grin department was Naruto. "But…Should Hinata win, you will never threaten her with the possibility of being sealed again. You will never seal her, nor will you even think about sealing her. Those are my terms."

The elders' smirks disappeared instantly. They had been expecting Hiashi to counter with something that would simply buy him more time, but not this. While this event was unexpected, they had come prepared to win, so it didn't matter. Either way, they would have her sealed by the end of the day. Harabi pulled a scroll out from inside his robe and handed it to Hiashi, stating the terms of the wager. Hiashi scribed in his own terms…full immunity from the Seal for Hinata. He then bit his own finger and signed the scroll with his own blood seal as the elders did the same. This way, neither side would be able to back away or try anything afterwards.

"Very well" said Harabi. "Doranji, please go and prepare the Brand." Doranji, son of the elder Moriko merely bowed and left. Hiashi glared at them as he went and took his place next to Hanabi, who was next to Ino and the rest of Team 10 while the remaining Konoha 12 and their senseis were in the row in front of them, including one Yuhi Kurenai who was now shooting him a dirty look. Apparently, she had overheard his little bet, and if Hinata was sealed because of this, he'd have hell to pay.

"Father, why?" asked a concerned Hanabi. She had read his lips using her own Byakugan to see behind her and knew exactly what Hiashi had agreed to.

"Because, I have absolute faith in your sister. She will win and everything will be fine, I promise you" said Hiashi.

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep, Hiashi" commented Moriko, a few rows back.

"I don't" replied Hiashi with a stern tone.

"Will Hyuga Shinji and Hyuga Hinata please remain down here while the rest of you can proceed to the waiting area" said Genma.

"_So Hinata's the one who gets to kick Shinji's ass. As much as I was hoping to do so, it's best if she does it" _thought Naruto. _"Besides…"_ Naruto looked over towards Saskue and received the same look back. It was really happening. _"In just five matches…'_

"Hinata…" Naruto said to her. Hinata merely responded with a look that told Naruto everything. Shinji had hurt and insulted the ones that were closest to her and there was no way she'd let him get away with that.

As it was now just Hinata and Shinji down on the field, Genma started the match.

"I feel honored. I get to be the one to show everyone just how pathetic you really are" taunted Shinji.

"As I said before, call me whatever you want, but I will not let you get away with what you have done to Neji-neesan!" declared Hinata, activating her Byakugan and slipping into the Jyusho stance.

Shinji did the same, only using the Jyuken stance as the Jyusho was 'below him'.

Shinji made the first moves, lashing out with a Jyuken strike at Hinata, who easily moved out of the way. Shinji sent a few more strikes towards the heiress, who managed to float just barely out of his reach. Shinji struck again with an extended arm and this time, Hinata spun around his attack and struck his upper arm with a wind-infused strike.

Shinji managed to move away just in time to avoid another strike. As he gained some room to breathe, he clenched his arm in pain. While he had seen what Hinata's strikes were capable in her previous match, he had not expected them to hurt this bad or do as much damage as they did. Examining his own tenketsu in his upper right arm, it was easy to see that the tenketsu was shattered beyond recognition and even he doubted that he would ever be able to use that tenketsu ever again. _"Damn, those attacks of hers really are troubling"_ thought Shinji as he began to realize just what he had gotten himself into.

Shinji made the next move, charging towards Hinata, but stopping just before he reached her and unleashing a Kaiten on her that was able to knock her back before she could move out of the way. Hinata was able to recover herself with a hand spring as Shinji engaged her, gaining the upper hand. This time, Hinata was forced to parry the blows and Shinji was able to get a few tenketsu on her arms.

Hinata jumped backwards, faster than Shinji could move forward, buying herself enough room to retaliate. "Jyusho: Protection of the Eight Trigrams!" Hinata called out her ultimate defense. Shinji found himself unable to break from his current collision course with the cutting sphere as he collided head on before being thrown back. This earned him a good number of severe cuts throughout his entire body.

"Yeah! Go Neesan!" cheered Hanabi from the stands, earning a few glares form the Hyuga elders. Hanabi simply put an innocent look on her face. Catching this out of the corner of her eye, Ino was now resisting every urge to scream out 'kawaii' and pinch the younger Hyuga's cheeks.

Shinji, in pain, forced himself to his feet. He needed something or else there was no way we was going to win. Thankfully, he still had his trump card.

"Hehe, this ought to be interesting" he said, making a one handed seal that every Hyuga was familiar with. "Activate!"

"_What's he doing? He knows the seal won't work on…Neji-niisan!"_ thought Hinata as she frantically turned around to a scream echoing from the contestant box.

"Neji!" shouted Naruto, Lee, Sakura, and well…everyone who realized what was going on. However, mere moments after the pain started it stopped, but the activation of the seal had achieved its purpose.

"Jyuken: Eight Trigrams, Sixty-four Palm!" shouted Shinji as he took this opportunity to strike Hinata with 64 rapid consecutive strikes.

"Hinata!" shouted Naruto from the box.

Hiashi looked over at the elders, who had massive grins plastered on their face. That was a dirty trick, playing on Hinata's concern for her brother-figure like that.

Before Hinata could collapse to the ground, Shinji lashed out with a chakra-laced palm straight to her chest, sending a burst of chakra through Hinata's heart. Hinata dropped to her knees and began coughing up blood.

"I told you it was worthless. Proctor I suggest you call the match now before her condition gets any worse" said Shinji, noticing her heart began to convulse irregularly.

Genma stood silent. He very much wanted to smack Shinji hard after that little stunt.

"No!" Hinata shouted out, coughing up blood. "I…will not…give…"

"Pathetic. You're a failure now, and you'll always be a failure. I wouldn't be surprised if you're sealed after this match. Perhaps then, you'll finally learn your place" mocked Shinji.

"No…It's time…you learn…yours…" with those words, Hinata disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"What?!" shouted Shinji. He had completely forgotten about Hinata's ability to use shadow clones from the prelims.

Hinata came dashing towards Shinji from the trees that lined the outside, where she had been hiding while her clone was toying with him. By the time she was within the 50m range that Shinji could see the full 360o in, he was out of time to react and Hinata slammed a massive wind-infused palm straight into his stomach, which caused Shinji to bend over and clutch it in pain.

"Yeah! Kick his ass Hinata!" shouted Naruto, Kiba, and many others with similar comments.

"Where have I seen that trick before?" asked Neji. He had recovered quickly from the seal as it had only been activated for a mere few seconds.

"Seriously?" asked Sakura. "That's practically the same move Naruto used on you during the last chunin exams." Everyone looked momentarily at Naruto, who had a huge grin on his face as he rubbed the back of his head. "Although you actually managed to counter it with your Kaiten."

"Jyusho: Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms!" called out Hinata, unleashing the Hyuga move, only adding in wind chakra to the attacks. The results were more devastating than anyone could have ever imagined. Shinji collapsed to the ground, his entire body in immense pain as he felt the chakra circulation throughout his body dwindle to almost nothing.

Hiashi looked down from the stands and couldn't help but manage a slight smile. He focused his dojutsu on Shinji's chakra network…or at least what was left of it. While not all of Hinata's strikes had connected with tenktsu, all of them hit some point in his chakra network, shredding it to the point where there was barely enough chakra flowing through his chakra network that his body would be able to perform only the basic functions. Hiashi counted 45 tenketsu completely destroyed, 10 tenkentsu heavily damaged, and 10 more places along the chakra network where the connections had been severed. However, if there was one area that had sustained heavy damage, it was Shinji's tanden. That first massive chakra burst that Hinata had sent through his stomach hit the tanden, the very core of a person's chakra, shredding many of the chakra pathways that wrapped around the very center of Shinji's chakra. There was one thing Hiashi new for sure, at the very best, his days as a shinobi were over. Not even Tsunade had the ability to heal the damage his chakra network had sustained, assuming she would be willing to.

"Winner, Hyuga Hinata!" called out Genma as medics came to collect the broken Shinji.

Roaring applause was heard throughout the entire stadium as Hinata was not sure what to do now. Hiashi practically had to force himself not to look behind him at the Hyuga elders' faces, or else he would have made a huge scene by bursting out in a fit of laughter 'unbefitting of a Hyuga'.

Hinata looked up towards the contestant box to see Naruto dangling upside down with Neji and Sasuke trying to reel him back up. Needless to say, Naruto had a little too much energy at that point and sent himself flying over the edge of the rail. Sakura was on her way down as Temari simply floated over top the dangling Naruto, gliding to the arena on her fan. Despite everyone's celebrations, that was only the first match and there was more yet to come.

The stadium quieted down as Sakura entered the arena. "What took you so long? I was afraid I'd have time to go buy my own pink wig" taunted Temari a bit.

"You have a problem with pink?" asked a slightly ticked Sakura. She was getting tired of everyone questioning her hair.

"Oh dear, she made fun of the hair" commented Haruno Kizashi from a few rows back of the Konoha 12. Everyone turned to see Sakura's parents but was shocked to see that it was her father that Sakura got the pink hair from. "Last time someone did that, I was afraid we'd have to remodel the block."

"Oh come now dear, just be quiet and watch our daughter" commented Sakura's mother, Mebuki.

Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome" he said.

"What was that?!" shouted Temari from the arena, directing her voice directly at Shikamaru.

"Begin!" called Genma before this turned into an all out cat-fight.

Sakura made the first move, running at Temari with a cocked fist and driving it forward at the Suna blonde. Temari just smirked and moved her collapsed fan to block. While she was nowhere near Lee's taijutsu level, she could handle herself against some little, genjutsu using girl. That is until Sakura's fist made contact with Temari's fan and a shock wave ripped through the Suna kunoichi's body and sent her sliding back a few feet.

"_Damn, what the hell was that? She hits harder than that Lee kid"_ thought Temari as she opened her fan before Sakura could make her next move. Temari made a quick spinning motion that whipped up a tornado that threw Sakura back away from Temari and resulted in a few minor cuts on her skin as a result of the wind.

Sakura immediately rebounded and threw a volley of senbon towards Temari just as the blonde stopped spinning. Temari, however, saw this coming and whipped her fan just in time, creating a wall of wind to knock away Sakura's attack.

"Futon: Tornado Scythe!" Temari swung her fan, creating a rather large tornado that twisted and ran towards Sakura.

"Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!" shouted Sakura, blowing a large fireball that shot towards the tornado and intercepted Temari's attack, resulting in a flaming whirlwind that soon dispersed as the two attacks canceled each other out.

When Sakura could see through the flames, Temari was gone. Before Sakura could get a bearing on her opponent, she found herself blasted by a strong gust of dust and sand that blinded her.

"Futon: Sickle Weasel Technique." Temari's gust of cutting wind caught Sakura unaware, blasting her into the air. As Sakura fell to the ground, Temari smirked. She wouldn't be getting up after that. Looking over, Sakura was out like a log…literally.

Temari looked up to see Sakura coming down upon her and Temari collapsed her fan to block the incoming fist as she braced herself with chakra. Sakura's fist met Temari's fan in a downward strike, sending yet another painful shockwave through the kunoichi and causing the ground to buckle beneath Temari.

"Damn, Billboard-brow's got some strength" commented Ino. She had agreed to stop calling Sakura by her nickname, but old habits die hard.

"Troublesome" replied Shikamaru, earning a ticked off expression from Ino.

Temari had managed to get away from Sakura. That last blow had hurt and she could feel it in her legs. Both opponents were staring at each other from across the crater in the ground.

Sakura merely let out a small smirk as she charged head on towards Temari. _"She doesn't think she can win like this, does she?_" thought Temari as she used the same move from before, spinning and creating a tornado around her that blew Sakura back. Only it didn't blow Sakura back. As Sakura made contact with the wind, she bust apart into countless sakura blossoms that began to swirl with the tornado Temari had created.

A few of the sakura blossoms approached Temari who started off by blowing them away with her own fan. Only, instead of blowing them away, the blossoms split into even more petals. Temari felt a few stinging sensations on her arm and before she knew it, she collapsed to the ground unable to move her body and the flurry of blossoms stopped with Sakura standing behind her and smiling.

"Hmm…that one's new, kind of" commented Kakashi.

"We took her Cherry Blossom Blizzard and upgraded it. It was originally a C-rank genjutsu but I'd say it's now B or maybe even B+. It's much harder to dispel and every failed attempt at dispelling it only multiples the number of cherry blossoms" commented Kurenai. "That technique still has some potential to be developed even further though. She really does have some amazing genjutsu potential. If she can find some way to train that while training her medical jutsu over the next few years…damn."

"_Sakura's got a lot of work cut out for her it looks like"_ thought Kakashi.

"Let me know if you want to trade students any time, Kakashi. I'm sure Kiba won't mind" said Kurenai.

"Hey! That's mean, Kurenai-sensei!" retorted Kiba. Everyone laughed at the jonin's little joke while Kiba pouted a little.

"Kurenai-sensei, don't be so mean to Kiba" defended Hinata, who was standing at the top of the stands.

"And there she is. Our little winner" said Kureani, going up to Hinata and giving her student a hug.

"Neesan!" shouted Hanabi as she ran to her sister. Hinata made her way down the stairs, either oblivious of or just simply ignoring the looks the elders were shooting her. She took a seat next to Kurenai and in front of her father. Hiashi looked down at his daughter, and then over to Hanabi. He had saved one, and he already knew how to save the other. It was only a matter of time before the elders tried to make their next move and he would make his.

Back in the arena, Genma declared Sakura the winner as Temari was unable to move due to the paralytic poison in her system. For Sakura, there was a loud applause, not as much for Hinata, but enough where she didn't know what to do besides just stand there and smile.

"Yosh! Sakura's flames burn as bright as ever!" shouted Lee. It was time, his match was finally here and it was against the one person he had been dying to fight ever since he became a part of team Gai, his own eternal rival Neji.

Neji had already made his way down to the arena the moment he saw that Sakura had Temari and Lee followed shortly after the match was called.

Up in the stands, everyone could feel the tension around them rise. The source of this tension…Gai.

"Umm, Gai…is everything okay?" asked Kakashi.

Tears began streaming from Gai. "I'VE WAITED FOR THIS DAY TO COME EVER SINCE I GOT MY TEAM! MY STUDENTS WILL FINALLY BATTLE IN A CONTEST OF YOUTH THAT KNOWS NO BOUNDS! TODAY, THEY WILL BURN BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN ITSELF AS THEIR YOUTHS SOAR TO EVEN GREATER HEIGHTS!"

"If that happens, they'd probably burn down the village" commented Kakashi.

Gai clenched his fist and a sparkle appeared in his eye at the time when Lee and Neji took the field. "LEE! NEJI!"

Lee turned up towards the stand. "Gai-sensei!"

"_Oh hell no!_" thought Neji. One Team Gai group hug was enough, and that was to convince Lee to get the surgery. Unless Lee was going to have another life risking operation, there was no way he was going to get in the middle of the two green-clad shinobi.

"Yosh! Now show everyone your spectacle of youth!" shouted Gai, causing everyone within hearing distance (hearing distance being the five elemental nations and even a few continents beyond that) to sweat drop.

"Neji! He is right. I have waited for this day since the very moment I was placed on your team" declared Lee. "I look forward to a most excellent match."

"I have to, Lee. I admit I was wrong in the past, but now I understand. I see you now as a worthy rival and have been looking forward to the time when I can prove to myself just how strong I have become" said Neji. He then pointed at Lee's legs. "Take them off."

"What? But Gai-sensei told me never to" replied Lee.

"I don't care what Gai-sensei said. I expect nothing short of your very best, so take them off" said Neji.

Lee, unsure of what to do but after looking at Neji, he understood. As such, Lee bent down and removed his weights, throwing them aside as if they were nothing. The weights crashed into the ground, shaking the stadium upon impact and leaving a horrified expression on almost everyone's face. They knew Gai was extreme, but those weights were just plain ridiculous.

"Begin" said Genma, jumping out of the way before he could get caught in between them.

Lee and Neji both assumed their positions and it was Lee who made the first move. Lee dashed off towards Neji at speeds that only a shinobi could follow.

"Konoha Senpu!" shouted Lee as he lashed out with a sweeping high kick. Neji blocked Lee's initial kick and used that as a springboard to push him over top of Lee's lower kick and Lee himself.

Neji struck at Lee with a few Jyuken strikes that Lee barely parried.

Lee saw a slight opening at Neji and struck with a hard fist. Neji barely managed to block, but this resulted in him skidding back a few feet.

Immediately, Lee was off. He began running around Neji, becoming a blur that looked as if her was everywhere. While doing so, Neji kept his calm, relying on his Byakugan to keep an eye on where Lee would be coming from. Then, Lee made his move.

"Kaiten!" called out Neji, catching Lee in his defense before Lee could land a blow. This sent Lee flying back towards the wall. "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!" As his rotation came to a halt, Neji thrust his hand forward, sending a blast of compressed chakra towards Lee. Lee just barely managed to push off the wall in time to avoid the small crater that Neji's attack made.

"Now I actually do see what you were talking about now, Hiashi-sama" commented Asuma, referring to when Hiashi was inquiring about Hinata and Naruto's Futon: Pressure Palm. "You're absolutely certain that there were no wind users in your clan before?"

"Hmm…" Hiashi honestly wasn't so sure.

"There never have been any wind users in our clan!" replied Harabi with a harsh voice as he glared at Hiashi, and then down at Hinata. Hiashi could tell that something wasn't quite right about that statement though.

"I'll look into it, Asuma-san" replied Hiashi.

Back in the arena, Lee and Neji had been engaging one another in taijutsu for a few minutes now and they were going at each other hard. Neji had landed a few palm thrusts on Lee, but at the same time, Lee's attacks were slowly beginning to wear on Neji. Neji had either managed to dodge or parry most of Lee's attacks, but the ones that he was forced to block were beginning to strain his arm, even after reinforcing it with chakra.

Lee used Neji's next palm thrust to push him away from Neji, a considerable distance for him to prepare himself for what was next. Lee began unwrapping his bandages and everyone who knew Lee knew what was coming. "Gate of Opening, Open!" Lee shouted, opening the first of the Eight Gates.

He took off towards Neji at blinding speeds that only a few select people in the audience could see him. Sasuke even needed his Sharingan now to be able to clearly watch Lee. Before Neji could react, Lee slammed a foot into Neji's stomach sending him into the air. Lee then shadowed and wrapped Neji up in bandages before he began the spiraling decent into the ground.

"_Damn. I need something quick or he's going to spiral me into the ground" _thought Neji. _"Wait…spiral!_"

As Lee and Neji barreled towards the ground, Neji unleashed a strong burst of chakra from his tenketsu. "Kaiten!" The blue dome of chakra managed to form and Lee was forced away from Neji, throwing him across the stadium and into the far wall as Neji still continued to fall towards the ground, creating a crater when he and the Kaiten met the ground beneath them.

Neji struggled to pick himself out of the crater. The Kaiten had broken most of the fall, but he still sustained some damage. First, there was his right arm. That arm had taken quite a beating already, and the way in which he landed, he was pretty sure it was fractured, if not close to broken already. There was also a limp in this right leg, indicating that his hip was injured as well. The last of the more significant injuries was a trickle of blood coming from beneath the side of his forehead protector, indicating some sort of head injury.

Lee wasn't much better off. Normally, he would have disengaged Neji just before impact and landed safely; however, Neji's Kaiten threw him off in an uncontrollable flight directly into a stone wall. Like Neji, Lee struggled to pick himself out of the hole in the wall and the entire stadium was on edge.

"_Neji, you truly are a worth rival. You have found a way to counter my __Initial Lotus__ and use it against me. Forgive me, Gai-sensei, but I must use it. I must prove to everyone that I can be a splendid ninja"_ thought Lee. Neji looked on as Lee gathered himself and a massive chakra pulse was felt throughout the stadium as Lee opened the next few gates. "Gate of Healing, Open! Gate of Life, Open! Gate of Pain, Open!" Lee's skin turned red and many people gasped.

"Gai-sensei, is Lee really going to…" asked a concerned Tenten.

Gai let out a breath. "Looks like it. That counter of Neji's took a lot out of both of them. Lee's always seen Neji as his rival and with this match, they are willing to push each other to the very limit. I wouldn't be surprised if it ended here." _"Please let it end here."_ While Gai wanted to see his students fight to his very best, they were already pushing themselves way past a safe limit.

"That Baka! I told him no more than one gate!" shouted Tsunade. She was still monitoring Lee's progress after the operation and was still concerned about how much stress his body could take at this point. One gate was pushing it, but four…

Neji took the time that Lee was using to open the gates to center himself and gather chakra.

Lee shot towards Neji, at speeds that made his previous speed look like a turtle. He shot his fist towards Neji as Neji unleashed his attack. "Kaiten!" A smaller, yet more condensed and stronger sphere of chakra enveloped Neji as he spun and a massive explosion ensued that sent a blur flying back into wall.

"Hyuga-sama, what was that? That wasn't Neji's normal Kaiten" commented Gai.

"You're right, it wasn't. Ever since Naruto bested Neji in the previous exams, Neji has been constantly looking to improve himself and the Hyuga absolute defense. What you just saw was the result of his endeavor" explained Hiashi. "He gives his chakra an earthen nature before expelling it, hardening and reinforcing it. He also condenses it as well for added strength, which is why the dome is much smaller than normal. His normal Kaiten most likely would have failed to an attack of that power, but…"

Down in the arena, Neji stood in the middle of a large crater that was created by the explosion. He was panting heavily and down on his knees. When the dust settled at the wall, Lee was lying in a pile of rubble unconscious as Genma came to check on Lee.

"I declare Hyuga Neji the winner" said Genma.

Cheers erupted through the stands. That had been a good match and both fighters were worthy of praise afterwards. Neji collapsed even further, his entire body exhausted and in pain. Lee, the one who he used to see as a failure who should just give up on being a ninja, had managed to push him, the Hyuga prodigy, to the very edge. Had this fight dragged on for just a moment longer, it was very likely that Neji would have lost. He had used up the remaining chakra in that last defense, his body was shaken from the following explosion, and he was pretty sure he had a broken arm amongst other things.

"We will be taking a 30 minute intermission to repair the field" announced Genma as a few ninja came onto the arena, most likely earth-users. The previous matches, primarily Lee and Neji's, had torn the field to shreds with a series of craters and uplifted ground.

Gai was down in the arena moments later as he came to Neji's side and placed a hand on Neji's shoulder before helping Neji over to Lee. "How is he?" asked Gai. Tsunade had come down to check on Lee's condition to make sure no permanent damage had been done to the bushy eyebrowed genin.

"He's lucky. Nothing permanent was done, but he's not going to be leaving the hospital for a few weeks while he recovers" diagnosed Tsunade.

"Uhg…Gai-sensei…Tsunade-sama…Neji…" Lee said as he slowly regained consciousness. "Did I?"

"I'm sorry Lee, but this match is mine" replied Neji.

"I see…Gai-sensei, I am sorry" replied Lee.

"Nonsense! I'm so proud of you Lee! You fought with all your heart and you proved yourself out there today!" shouted Gai with tears flowing anime-style from his eyes.

"Lee. You pushed me farther than anyone has ever pushed me. You fought an excellent match today and I am proud that I was your opponent. You truly are becoming a splendid ninja" said Neji.

"Neji…" said Lee, looking straight at his teammate. "Yosh! I will redouble my training efforts and next time we meet, I will come out victorious! If I do not, I will…"

"Can it!" growled Tsunde. "You won't be leaving the hospital for the next few weeks while your body recovers."

"Don't worry Lee, rest today. Your youthful flames have burned so bright today. Rest them now, and we will make them burn even brighter tomorrow!" declared Gai.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

Neji began backing away slowly.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

Before Neji could get far enough away, Gai had him in a head lock as he and Lee embraced one another with an ocean sunset in the background.

"Poor Neji" sighed Tenten as she witnessed Neji getting caught in the very center of whatever sort of genjutsu Gai and Lee were creating. Every ninja in the stands was trying their best to dispel it, but to no avail.

Neji and Lee were taken away to receive medical treatment and the earth-users began their work on repairing the stadium.

"It was at around this time that Hyuga Doranji had returned to the stadium. "Harabi-sama, I have prepared the sealing brand for Hinata."

"What?!" shouted everyone within hearing distance. The most shocked of them all was Hinata herself. The jonin were glad that Naruto wasn't around to hear that, or else Konoha might very well be dealing with a second Kyuubi attack this very moment.

"S-seal?!" replied Hinata. She knew that if she was sealed, just about any hopes she had of being with Naruto were gone. She looked pleadingly towards her father. Had he really just given the go-ahead to have her sealed?

Dorinji's attention was turned to the elders, who were fuming at the very thought.

"Thank you Dorinji, but that won't be necessary. However, if you would modify the seal for a male, about a year older than Hinata, then that would be perfect" said Hiashi.

"F-father? What's going on? Are you really having me sealed?" asked Hinata, as a few tears came to her eyes. Hiashi sent a reassuring smile at her daughter.

"No, not today and not ever" said Hiashi, producing the scroll that had the bet between he and the elders. Hinata read it over and was shocked at her father. "I had absolute faith in you. And I was getting tired of those old fools trying to break up my family."

"I wouldn't say that Hiashi. Seeing as Hinata can no longer be sealed, we are forced to have Hanabi sealed. After all, no family can have more than one unsealed child" said Ihro, turning his attention towards a particular brown-haired Hyuga girl.

"No…" gasped Hinata as she looked towards her younger sister, who now had a horrified look on her face.

Ihro smirked. "Of course, we could always spare Hanabi, should Hinata volunteer herself willingly." Even after they had lost the bet, they would get her. There was no way the kind and gentle Hinata would let her sweet little sister be sealed.

Hiashi merely laughed at this, something that was rarely seen from a Hyuga. Check and mate. "You really wouldn't seal the heir to the Hyuga clan now would you?" laughed Hiashi.

"Heh, not bad at all" said Shikamaru. If anyone got what Hiashi was thinking, it was the Nara chunin.

"What are you talking about, Hiashi?" barked Moriko.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. After all, you've been asking me to make a decision for the past 4 years. I've decided and as of now, Hanabi is and will be the heir to the clan" explained Hiashi.

"What?! But that's Neesan's position" argued Hanabi. It was true that she did in fact want to be the heir of the clan, but Hanabi wasn't willing to let it be taken away from her sister like this.

All this time, poor Hinata's head was spinning. First she thought her father was proud of her for becoming strong. Then she finds out that the elders have prepared the sealing brand for her. Afterwards, her father tells her that she is not going to be sealed and that he made a deal to grant her immunity from being sealed. Just moments after that, the elders claim they're going to seal Hanabi unless she takes Hanabi's place. And then her father declares Hanabi the clan heir, right in front of her. By doing so this would mean that she get's branded into the branch house, but…ohh. Now she got it.

Hinata rested her hand on Hanabi's head. "Don't worry Hanabi-chan. Everything will be alright. Besides, you were always the one who wanted to be the future clan head anyways" said Hinata. It was true. Hinata honestly didn't care about becoming clan head. The only reason she didn't just forfeit it willingly was because she would be sealed and any chances at her having a future with a particular blonde would be sealed away with her.

"But Neesan! If I'm clan head, then that means you're going to be…" rambled Hanabi until Hinata held up the blood-bound contract in front of her. "Ohh."

"Wait. What the hell is going on?!" shouted Kiba.

Hiashi grumbled. He still hadn't fully forgiven Kiba for that one incident, although things were looking better between those two. "Fine, I'll explain. The bet I made before Hinata's fight stated that if she won, she would be granted full immunity from being branded. If she lost, then she would be branded. I decided to accept, because I can honestly say that, for the first time, I have absolute faith in Hinata's abilities, that and I was getting tired of the elder's constant attempts to have her branded. Seeing as Hinata won, she's now immune from being sealed. Now, up until this point, I have not officially declared the clan heir. It should have gone to Hinata by birthright, but because of my foolish actions, that birthright was stripped from her and she would have to earn it when she turned 16 if I had not declared a clan heir by then. However, I have decided now that the elders were right about something and that Hanabi would make the better clan heir, thus making her immune from being sealed."

"So…in other words…" thought Kiba for a moment.

"The elders won't be laying their fingers on either of my daughters any time soon" said Hiashi, sending a glare that only a father who was protective of his daughters could send. Hiashi had the elders by their rotten tongues and they did the only thing they could do now, make a hasty retreat back into whatever hole they crawled out of and scheme up their next plot.

"I see, I shall go put away the Brand right away sir" said Doranji.

"Like I said, that won't be necessary. Someone will be sealed, but they have done everything to deserve it" said Hiashi. Everyone knew who Hiashi was referring to. He then pulled Doranji away for a moment. "I need to ask you a question and I need you to answer me honestly. Your wife is pregnant, isn't she?"

"Hai, Hiashi-sama" responded Doranji. He had honestly been hoping to hide that fact for a while.

"And you do in fact love your family and the child your wife is about to bear, am I correct?" asked Hiashi.

Doranji seemed very upset by Hiashi's question. "Why would you even ask that? Of course I love my family…" he soon realized where Hiashi was getting at. His wife was currently only 2 months pregnant with their second child. A second child in the Hyuga main branch, meant that he would have to have one of his children branded at some point.

"You see where I'm getting at, don't you" asked Hiashi. Doranji nodded.

"You were always hesitant when following your father's orders, but you did so because he is your father. Perhaps it's time you start doing what you want to do. You love your family, I know you do. And I know you don't want to see anything happen to them" said Hiashi, placing a hand on Doranji's shoulder. "Change is coming. I can feel it. And when it comes, I would very much appreciate your support."

Hiashi began to walk away, leaving the main branch Hyuga to his thoughts. "Hiashi-sama…" said Dorinji in a quiet tone. Hiashi paused for a brief moment. "Will…will my family be able to remain just that? A family?"

"If everything works out right, then yes" replied Hiashi with firm voice.

"If whatever's coming will help my family, then I'll help" replied Doranji.

"Good. For now, nothing will happen. I'm still missing a big piece. But be prepared, that time will come shortly" replied Hiashi as he returned to his family.

Both Hianta and Hanabi were still celebrating their father's victory over the elders. Perhaps now, they could truly act like sisters without worry about the other.

Moments later, the stadium began to cheer as Genma announced that the fourth match would now be starting. In a flurry of sand and bugs, Gaara and Shino took the field.

"Oh good, I didn't miss it" commented Fu, who had just arrived at the stadium, being escorted by Shizune. The two had managed to pick up Sakura somewhere along the way through the stadium.

"Yeah, Lee and Neji did a number to the field and they had to take an intermission" commented Kiba.

"How have the matches gone so far?" asked Fu.

"Hinata here won hers" said Kurenai, pointing to a smiling Hinata. "Sakura won hers as well against Temari. And Neji won his, but barely."

"But Shino's opponent is going to be hard. I honestly wouldn't want to go up against Gaara" added Kiba.

Genma looked at the two competitors before signaling the start of the match. For what seemed like the first minute, the two just stared at each other in silence as everyone anticipated the first move.

Shino and Gaara just looked at each other before dispersing in a cloud of insects and sand. Both were a bug and sand clone, respectively, and both had been thinking the same thing. The real Shino and Gaara came out from their hiding spots as they were now surrounded by their sand and bugs.

Gaara lashed out with his sand which Shino found himself dodging. Over the past months, if there was one thing Shino had been working on it was his agility and ability to better defend himself as that was probably his biggest weakness. While Shino was doing this, his insects were sent towards Gaara, who was fending them off with blasts of sand.

What was happening here was that Shino's bugs were sucking the chakra out of the sand, rendering it useless for Gaara until he could re-infuse it with chakra. However, at the same time, the blows Shino's insects were taking from Gaara's sand would kill a few of them each time they got his.

Shino continued his back pedaling until he ran into a wall of sand that Gaara had established behind him, cutting the Aburame off. Shino soon found him encased in Gaara's sand cocoon. "I suggest you surrender" said Gaara, making a fist and squeezing slightly on his sand for emphasis.

"It would seem you have captured me, but you can never be sure" said Shino as the sand surrounding him began to crumble away. The moment Shino found himself captured, the insects he kept on himself immediately went to work draining the chakra out of Gaara's sand to a point where the sand was weak enough to break free from.

"Ninpo: Hidden Beetle Sphere" called out Shino as a mass of his insects erupted from ground beneath Gaara and surrounded him, encasing Gaara in a sphere of insects.

"Sand Shuriken!" called out Gaara as countless sand blasts came shooting out from around Gaara, knocking Shino's insects away and even catching Shino with one or two. Before Shino was able to surround Gaara with his insects, Gaara had surrounded himself with enough sand and acted quick enough to use it to repel the insects. Had he have waited too long, Shino's insects would have renered the sand useless.

Gaara had to admit that Konoha did in fact have some worthy adversaries. However, he was ready to end this match. Gaara slammed his hands onto the ground beneath him. "Sand Tsunami!" As he called out his next move, a massive tidal wave of sand ripped from the ground underneath Gaara and crashed towards Shino, catching him and all of his bugs in the wave of sand. "Dessert Burial!" shouted Gaara as he pushed down onto the ground, compressing the sand and crushing almost everything beneath it. Out of the sand rose another sand cocoon. That sand tsunami wasn't meant to kill Shino, just the bugs so Gaara simply captured Shino. "I'll say it again. Surrender or your insects won't be the only things I crush."

Sensing something behind him, Gaara immediately turned around to see Shino running towards him. Shino's last remaining bugs shot out of his arm and towards Gaara, who swatted them away and wrapped the real Shino up in sand. He then opened the top of the sand coffin that he initially thought had Shino in it, only to reveal that he had captured a bug-clone. Before Gaara could crush the bug-clone, Shino spoke.

"Wait, I surrender" said Shino as Gaara stopped himself before crushing Shino's insects and releasing them from his grasp. "I thank you for not crushing them. They are the last of my hive and are worth more than this match."

"I see" said Gaara as he gathered his sand back into his gourd. "That was a good match. You were most certainly a stronger opponent than most I have faced."

"Winner, Sabaku no Gaara" announced Genma as the audience cheered.

"So, what do you think?" asked Asuma.

"Shino fought a good match and it was obvious, but that Gaara's just too strong of an opponent" commented Kakashi.

As Gaara and Shino cleared the field, Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other one last time before heading down. It really did come down to this. All their past contests had been just that, contests. Who could climb the tree first, who could learn a jutsu first. But this, a full out battle between the two of them. They would finally find out who was truly the stronger.

"So what are you thinking, Kakashi?" asked Asuma. "They are your students after all."

"Hmm…" Kakashi thought for a moment while everyone tuned towards the one-eyed jonin to get his opinion. "If I know those two, they'll probably end up killing each other. This should be interesting." Kakashi smiled and a horrified look overtook everyone else's face. Couldn't he have a little more faith in his students?

They saw Naruto and Sasuke take the field and a deafening shriek, that only a banshee mother would be proud of, ripped through the stands. It's source…Sasuke's fanclub. These were the useless fan girls who had flunked out of the academy after realizing their precious Sasuke would no longer be there. However, now they were about to watch their precious Sasuke put Naruto-baka in his place, just like every spar from the academy, or so they thought.

"So this is really happening" said Naruto as he turned to face his opponent.

"Naruto!" Sasuke called out and their eyes met. "I acknowledge you, I have always acknowledged you, which is why out of everyone, you're the one I've wanted to fight the most. You'd better not hold back, Dobe."

Naruto smiled. "And if there was anyone who I wanted to acknowledge me, it was you. It's about time we get this chance to settle things. You'd better not disappoint me, Teme."

"Begin" called out Genma. Before he could get out of the way, Naruto and Sasuke had bolted towards each other at speeds that even Lee would be jealous of. Naruto threw the first punch, which Sasuke blocked with his palm and retaliated with a knee that Naruto blocked with his free arm. Sasuke then quickly placed his foot down for balance and used the other foot to kick Naruto on the side. Naruto saw this coming and place his now free hand in the path of Sasuke's sweeping kick, removing his fist from Sasuke's hand and using the kick to disengage the two of them.

Sasuke pulled out a kunai, Naruto doing the same and they went at it again as the sound of clanging metal was heard throughout the stadium. Sasuke blocked Naruto's following swipe, but leaned back just in time to avoid the real attack. Naruto wasn't using a regular kunai, he was using the tri-pronged kunais, enhanced with wind chakra. As a result, Naruto's kunai sliced clean through Sasuke's kunai, and nearly his head if it hadn't been for his reaction time and the Sharingan. Now it was Sasuke's turn to disengage.

"_Damn. That kunai's going to be a pain in the ass"_ thought Sasuke, looking at the foot-long wind blade coming out of Naruto's kunai. That weapon gave Naruto an advantage at close range as a wind blade wasn't something Sasuke could block all that easily. Sasuke was already thinking of a way to get that kunai from Naruto. He knew Naruto had more than one, three if he remembered correctly, but if he could get one off of Naruto, then that would take away Naruto's weapon advantage.

Sasuke unleashed a few shuriken at Naruto and Naruto grinned when Sasuke's attack missed. But then Naruto remembered that Sasuke would normally use ninja wire with his shuriken in this case and swiped with his kunai, cutting the wire that Sasuke had attacked to the shuriken before he could do anything.

Sasuke merely grinned as he flicked his finger and one of the shuriken that Naruto had not cut wrapped itself around Naruto's kunai. Sasuke then tugged back on the string, pulling the tri-pronged kunai from Naruto's grasp and into his own.

Naruto growled as Sasuke smirked. "I see, so that was your target" commented Naruto as he pulled out his second tri-pronged kunai.

"I will admit, these knives are pretty nice. Perhaps I should keep this one" said Sasuke ticking Naruto off a little. He channeled some chakra into his and making it glow red-hot. He had made sure to use fire chakra in the knife instead of lightning due to the elemental advantage fire has over wind.

The two ran towards each other again, chakra pulsing through their kunais. The two kunais clashed and the mixing of wind chakra and fire chakra sent a flare straight into Naruto's face. Sasuke used this distraction to give Naruto a good strong kick in the stomach, sending his blonde rival kidding back.

By the time Naruto got to his feet, Sasuke was going through hand seals and Naruto raced through his own.

"Katon: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

"Futon: Wind Dragon Bullet!"

The two jutsu met in the middle, creating a giant fireball that forced the two opponents back. The audience, unless they were an Aburame who already wore sunglasses, was forced to shield their eyes at the intensity of the blaze in the middle.

Sasuke looked on as the blaze began to die but was caught when a barrage of over 100 shuriken hurled towards him. Unlike most ninja, who would normally panic at this point, Sasuke kept his calm, analyzing the incoming Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu with his Sharingan. With a few quick motions of the chakra kunai, Sasuke managed to block or deflect every single kunai that was heading towards him.

"EEEKKK! Sasuke's the best!" shrieked his fan club after Sasuke had shown how 'smooth' he was in blocking Naruto's assault. Ino and Sakura looked over towards the hopeless fan girls and sweat dropped.

"Please tell me we were never like that" asked Sakura to Ino.

"Are you kidding me? You two were the queens of the fan girls" commented Kiba. That was probably something he shouldn't have said as he felt two hard fists slam into the top of his head. Ino and Sakura smiled at each other and turned their attention back to the fight.

On the other side of the fireball, Naruto grinned. He knew no one that had taken that jutsu head on and made it out completely unscathed, so it came as a surprise when Sasuke came bursting through the smoke in the middle and knocked Naruto to the ground, hard. Sasuke placed the kunai near Naruto's throat and Naruto could feel the heat radiating off of it.

"Looks like I win" commented Sasuke.

"Yeah? The day that happens will be the day I kiss your ass" retorted Naruto disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke 'tsk'ed. To be honest, he was expecting something like that. Now the question was, where is the real Naruto? He looked around; trying to pick out any source of chakra around the field, but the only other source of chakra was the knife he was carrying. Immediately, Sasuke's eyes snapped open as he tossed the knife aside. However, he was too late. Before the knife could leave his hands, it poofed back into Naruto and Sasuke felt a fist connect with his face.

"Wait! That transformation wasn't a genjutsu!" stated a surprised Kurenai.

"You're right. Which probably explains why he had such a hard time learning a jutsu as simple as a Transformation" commented Iruka. "I recently discovered the reason why Naruto could never pull a normal transformation back in the academy was because his chakra reserves were always too large to allow for a jutsu that only required such a small amount of chakra. I was ecstatic the moment Naruto actually pulled off a decent Transformation but I had no idea until I brought him back for Show-and-Tell Day that is transformation was actually a True Transformation."

"Iruka-sensei, what's a true transformation?" asked Ino.

"It's an advanced transformation that actually transforms you into the targeted object, not just a simple genjutsu. It's also a jonin level skill. Everyone thought Naruto was a complete and utter failure as a ninja, yet he actually graduated with two jonin level skills under his belt" commented Iruka.

"Why? If Naruto was actually that skilled, then why was he the Dead-Last?" asked Ino.

Iruka remained silent. "Because, he was sabotaged by his teachers" commented Kakashi.

"Sabotaged?!" shouted all the genin there. "Why would someone try to sabotage Naruto?"

"You all know the reason why" commented Kakashi as he turned to a now surprised Iruka. "Yes, they know. And don't worry yourself. You were the first teacher to actually come around and truly care about Naruto's education, but there was nothing you could have done about the other half dozen or so teachers Naruto had, including one who even tried to have him branded as a traitor."

They all turned their attention back to the fight to see Naruto create three clones which charged at Sasuke. While Naruto was making them, Sasuke caught the slight change in hand signs and knew he couldn't let those clones get near him. As such, he began retreating, but the clones were getting closer and by the time Naruto felt they were close enough, they exploded.

Naruto smirked. That got him. That had to have gotten him. Naruto's, and everyone else's, eyes shot wide open when as a brilliant flame erupted from the center of the smoke as a flaming bird shot forth into the sky.

"Katon: Ascension of the Phoenix!" called out Sasuke as the giant flaming phoenix shot forth towards Naruto, igniting the very ground beneath it.

"W-what's that?" asked Sakura.

"I didn't think he'd actually use it. That, is the most powerful fire-jutsu that Sasuke has at the moment. It's an A-rank jutsu that even I don't know, as it's an Uchiha clan technique. Katon: Ascension of the Phoenix" commented Kakashi.

"Naruto!" cried out Hinata.

Naruto shook off the surprise and pulled out a different kunai from his side pouch. At first glimpse, this was just an ordinary kunai, but if one looked close enough, they could see that it was covered in a sealing matrix. Naruto then began going through a series of hand seals that no one even recognized.

"_To, Sha, Zen, Retsu, Zai"_ thought Naruto, making the necessary hand seals. "Uzumaki Fuinjutsu: Absorption seal, Fire!"

As the phoenix closed in on Naruto, the kunai Naruto had in his hand began to glow and an Uzumaki-style seal erupted from it in front of Naruto. The phoenix and the seal met head on and everyone watched as Sasuke's fire jutsu swirled with the seal, until the seal had absorbed it entirely, resulting in a smirking Naruto and wide-eyed Sasuke.

"What was that? I didn't even recognize those hand seals" said a surprised Kakashi.

"An Uzumaki fuinjutsu" said Jiraiya, rubbing the bruise on the side of his head. Naruto's little clone stunt had reminded Tsunade to punish the one who taught Naruto that jutsu, and as such Jiraiya needed to move away from the Kage box, where he was previously, to spare him of any more injury. Everyone turned to Jiraiya for answer. "And those hand seals were a part of a 9 hand seal set unique to the Uzumaki-style fuinjutsu."

"How could a clan-less loser stop a brilliant jutsu like that of my precious Sasuke?!" squealed one of the fangirls.

Jiraiya sighed at the fan-girl's outburst. "Jiraiya-sama, what did you mean by an Uzumaki fuinjutsu?" asked Tenten.

"It's exactly what I meant. An Uzumaki fuinjutsu, a fuinjutsu of the Uzumaki clan. And a very useful one at that" said Jiriaya.

"Uzumaki clan? You mean Naruto has a clan?" asked Ino.

"Well, kind of. To be honest, Naruto's the last of his clan. The Uzumakis were once a very powerful clan from Uzushiogakure no Sato that had close ties with our village. In fact, the Shodaime Hokage's wife was an Uzumaki. Uzumaki Mito to be exact" said Jiraiya.

"Were they really a powerful clan?" asked Kiba.

"Yes. And you just saw what made them powerful. They were a clan of fuin-masters and this made them feared throughout the elemental nations" said Jiraiya.

"But what happened to them? If Naruto's the last one, then something had to have happened" asked Chouji.

"Didn't you guys learn about this in the academy?" asked Jiraiya. Everyone shook their heads and even Iruka gave Jiraiya a confused look.

"There was nothing regarding an Uzumaki clan in the curriculum at all" said Iruka. "I may have mentioned the name when lecturing on the Shodaime, but nothing."

"_There's something funny going on here"_ thought Jiriaya. "I'll explain the rest after the match. Looks like Naruto and Sasuke are starting to get back into it."

Sasuke grinned at Naruto. Naruto had just brushed away his most powerful fire jutsu like it was nothing. The 'Dobe' was indeed more of a challenge than Sasuke had ever hoped for.

"That the best you've got, Teme?" taunted Naruto.

"Hn, you wish, Dobe" replied Sasuke.

"Katon: Dragon Fire Breath!"

"Futon: Great Breakthrough!"

The two jutsu met in the middle again and Naruto and Sasuke pumped more power into their jutsu, battling for dominance and increasing the size of the fireball in the middle. However, it was then that Sasuke canceled his jutsu, giving Naruto control over the gigantic fireball and sending it in Sasuke's direction.

The moment Sasuke released the jutsu, he started going through another series of hand seals. "Katon: Dragon's Wrath!" Before the fireball could get to him, Sasuke unleashed yet another fire jutsu, aimed straight towards the oncoming super-charged fireball. The two jutsus met and yet another explosion ensued. As Naruto looked on, out of the smoke came Sasuke's jutsu, shaped like a large dragon's head, only much more powerful than any other dragon-head shaped jutsu that Sasuke had yet to unleash.

Quickly, Naruto activated the absorption seal to take care of Sasuke's fire jutsu. The jutsu and seal met and the seal won as it absorbed Sasuke's jutsu. As soon as the sealing was complete, Naruto dropped he kunai. The one downside to that absorption seal was that it could only absorb so much fire jutsu before it overheated to a point where it was beginning to glow red hot and Naruto's hands were burning just by touching it.

"Raiton: Lightning Cannon!" called out Sasuke as he formed the sphere of condensed electricity in his hands and shot it towards Naruto. Naruto reacted just in time to grab his tri-pronged kunai.

"Futon: Wind Cutter!" shouted Naruto, driving his kunai straight into the oncoming jutsu. The beam of lightning that was aimed at Naruto split as the wind jutsu and Sasuke's jutsu collided, sending the remnants of the jutsu safely on either side of Naruto.

All throughout the stadium, similar thoughts were going around. There was no way these two competitors were only genin. The way they were fighting, people were thinking if these two were competing for the rank of jonin or something even higher.

"What's the matter? Don't have one of those fancy seals for lightning?" grinned Sasuke. Naruto returned the grin.

"Heh, only had time for fire. I was too busy working on the suppression seal to beat that slug-teme. Still more than enough for you though" replied Naruto.

Sasuke smirked and activated his Flame Fist, which was the same as his Flame Step, only with the fire surrounding his hands. Naruto readied his wind blade and the two engaged in close combat once again. Naruto and Sasuke dodged each other's blows until Naruto caught Sasuke's upper right arm, stopping the flaming fist from smashing into his face and Sasuke grabbed Naruto's wrist to stop the wind blade from slicing through his neck. The fist that Sasuke caught Naruto's wrist was still on fire and Naruto cringed as his skin burned.

"What's the matter, can't take the heat?" asked Sasuke.

Naruto smirked back before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Sasuke had been sparring with a clone all this time. The real Naruto came from behind his clone, using it to shield himself from Sasuke's gaze.

"Futon: Pressure Palm!" shouted Naruto as he shoved a palm holding compressed wind chakra towards Sasuke. Sasuke reacted just in time to block with his still flaming fist. The two jutsus clashed and both competitors were thrown back by a violent explosion of flames from the meeting of fire and wind.

Both competitors stood facing each other, singed and panting. The use of multiple high ranked jutsu by both of them were beginning to take their toll. However, they weren't going to give up just because they were a little tired.

"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" shouted Naruto as two dozen clones appeared and rushed Sasuke.

Sasuke fought off the clones with ease. "What's the matter? You're not getting tired on me are you?...!" Sasuke's attention was sent towards Naruto, who had just completed a long series of hand seals. Sasuke jumped back quick enough to avoid the 20 foot diameter column of pressurized air that Naruto had sent shooting down towards him.

Both Naruto and Sasuke collapsed to one knee, feeling the fatigue of this fight start to wear on them. "So you are getting tired on me…Come on…even Kakashi's workouts were easier…than this" said Sasuke.

"Heh, you should see yourself…you can barely…stand" commented Naruto.

"So it's come to this" commented Sasuke, forcing himself to a standing position.

"Heh, it's not over yet" replied Naruto, doing the same. The two competitors locked eyes and they knew it was going to come down to one last move. It was time to find out who truly was stronger.

Sasuke went through a few more seals and grabbed his right wrist while the hand was pointing down. The sound of birds filled the stadium as Sasuke activated his Chidori.

Naruto held out his palm and formed the spiraling chakra sphere that had been passed onto him from his dad to his perverted teacher and finally to him. The Rasengan formed in a blue sphere and the two were ready.

"They're not serious, are they?!" gasped Kurenai.

"I said they'd most likely kill each other, didn't I?" chuckled Kakashi.

The entire stadium was on the edge of their seats as the two made one last dash for each other, their most powerful jutsus in hand.

"Naruto!" gasped Hinata.

"Sasuke!" gasped Sakura.

Naruto and Sasuke thrusted their hands towards each other and the two jutsu met as a massive explosion ensued.

"Rasengan!"

"Chidori!"

* * *

Jutsu

Sakura's Upgraded Cherry Blossom Blizzard (yes, I know I'm lame for not giving it a name yet): This is an upgraded form of Sakura's genjutsu, Cherry Blossom Blizzard. Unlike the original, this genjutsu is much more difficult to dispel and for every failed attempt to dispel it or fight it off, the number of cherry blossoms surrounding a target multiplies. Kurenai stated that this genjutsu still has potential to be advanced, and as such it not complete.

Rank: B+ (currently)

Users: Haruno Sakura

Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm: A similar, but more pinpointed version to the Kaiten. To use this, the user precisely pinpoints the vitals of an enemy and releases a high speed palm thrust. A 'vacuum shell' compressed using the Jyuken is formed to attack the opponent's vitals from a distance with enough force to blow them off their feet and even put a dent in a concrete wall. It should be noted that while the Jyuken is primarily an earth-based taijutsu style, this attack may have traces of wind in it, although it is not confirmed.

Rank: B

Users: Hyuga Neji, Hyuga Hiashi

Sand Tsunami: Gaara uplifts a massive amount of sand from the earth beneath him. This results in a massive wave of sand that spreads out from him and buries anything in its path. This technique is often used in conjunction with the Dessert Funeral.

Rank: B

Users: Gaara

Dessert Funeral: After Gaara has buried a target underneath a large amount of sand, he presses downward, causing the sand to compact and crush anything buried beneath it.

Rank: B+

Users: Gaara

Katon: Ascension of the Phoenix: A very powerful fire jutsu and technique of the Uchiha clan. The fire takes the form of a phoenix rising up from out of the flames. As it shoots towards it's target, it ignites everything in its path.

Rank: A

Users: Uchiha Sasuka

Fuinjutsu: Absorption Seal: An Uzumaki-style seal that is able to absorb a certain type of chakra, depending on the seal. The seal is usually inscribed on some sort of tool, such as a kunai, and when activated, the seal expands in front of the user and seals away any and all of a jutsu that uses the type of chakra that matches the seal. The only downside of this jutsu is that each inscribed seal can only absorb one type of chakra and if it's absorbed too much in a certain period of time, the seal becomes practically impossible to use, as seen by the red-hot sealing kunai that Naruto had to throw aside.

Rank: A

Users: Uzumaki Naruto.

Katon: Dragon's Wrath: A powerful fire jutsu that is an upgraded version of the Katon: Dragon Fire Bullet. The fire is inherently hotter and stronger to a point where it can overcome a wind-backed fireball and use it to increase it's own power.

Rank: A-

Users: Uchiha Sasuke

Futon: Wind Cutter: After channeling wind chakra into a blade, the user slashes through the air with it, sending out a blade of wind that's even capable of cutting through other powerful jutsu.

Rank: B

Users: Sarutobi Asuma, Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

Author Notes

Yep, ending it on the classic Rasengan/Chidori clash.

Hopefully the battles lived up to their expectations. I do realize that the Neji/Lee match may have been kind of short, but realize that it was mainly a taijutsu match until Lee started powering up, and once he did that, the match would end quick as the gates requires a lot of energy.

Also, hopefully I listed all the new jutsu correctly, or at least the ones that need explanations.

The _tanden (_also called_ dan t'ian) _ that I referred to in Hinata's match is the energy core o a human located around their navel. This is the core of the very chakra network from where chakra originates and Hinata's strike heavily damaged that area as several of the chakra pathways that collect chakra from here were destroyed.

Those hand seals that Naruto used are from Kuji-in. I honestly didn't like the idea of the Uzumaki seals using the general 12 hand seals of normal jutsu so these will be used for the Uzumaki fuinjutsus. wiki/Kuji-in gives an idea into what Kuji-in actually is and what the hand seals are for those who are interested.

I will not be going over Jiraiya's explanation about the Uzumaki to the rest of the Konoha 12 as he will basically explain everything that he's told Naruto up until this point. A more detailed explanation/story on the Uzumaki clan will come at some point in the next book (which is now only 3 chapters away).

I do apologize for this, but when writing on the Konoha 15 last chapter, I honestly forgot about Yakumo since I only mentioned her once or twice. I have decided that it will be the Konoha 16 with Yakumo as the 16th member. This will actually allow me to reform the 16 of them into 4 groups of 4 in the future. Also, just want to get a feeling for this idea, but how do you feel about a Lee/Yakumo pairing?

I think that's it for now. Next chapter will be the decision on who gets chunin or not. Ch 59 will probably be the festival and one or two other things and the final chapter (ch 60) will finish off the story and wrap up any necessary loose ends.

Till next time,

Please review/comment


	58. Chapter 58

So I take it the matches in the last chapter were good. And also everyone hated the cliffhanger :p

Warning: This chapter does contain council bashing. If you, for one bizarre reason or another, love the civilian council, then I recommend getting your head checked. Inoichi is currently accepting appointments at this time.

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own Naruto

Posted: 2/14/13

* * *

**Chapter 58: Promotions**

"Uhg…where…where am I?" said a dreary Naruto as he opened his eyes. He slowly tried to pick himself up from the lying position he was in, but his entire body hurt like hell. Naruto could tell he was lying in a bed and from the looks of it, he was in the hospital.

Still, despite the pain, Naruto found he was able to move his head without much effort and he began looking around more until he found a bed placed opposite of his on the other side of the room. In it was Sasuke, and like Naruto, he was bandaged up as well and sleeping from the looks of it.

"Sasuke" called out Naruto. No response. "Oi. Sasuke!" Still no response. Naruto looked around to the table next to him. Sitting on the table were a few cards, a box of candy, and a fruit basket. Naruto figured he'd start with the candy first as he struggled to toss the pieces at Sasuke. A few pieces of the candy hit Sasuke on the face. Still nothing. Naruto needed something heavier and those apples in the fruit basket looked like they would do the job.

"Ouch! What the hell!" shouted Sasuke as an apple landed smack dab on his nose. Sasuke shot up to see an innocent-looking Naruto across the room. He sent a glare at the blonde before looking around to see that they were in the hospital. "What happened?"

"I don't know. Last thing I remember was using the Rasengan and it colliding with your Chidori. You?" asked Naruto.

"Same here. I used the Chidori against your Rasengan and the next thing I know, some idiot pelts me with an apple!" Sasuke glared directly at Naruto, who was trying his best to look innocent while rubbing the back of his head. Unfortunately, the fruit basket on the table next to him didn't help much.

"Oh good, you two are awake" said Tsunade as she entered the room. She was smiling and in an unusually cheerful mood. Tsunade walked over to Sasuke and smiled at him before smacking him upside the head. Naruto burst out in laughter before being smacked as well.

"What was that for, Baachan?" yelled Naruto as a tick appeared on Tsunade's forehead. Apparently her time of not being called 'Baachan' was up.

"Quiet Brat! And that was for nearly blowing each other up!" yelled Tsunade as Naruto and Sasuke shrank back into their respective beds at the sight of an angry Tsunade. "You guys can come in now."

Hinata and Sakura were the first ones in and they were immediately beside their boyfriend's/crush's bedside. The remaining members of the Konoha 14 followed along with the jonin senseis and Jiraiya.

"Damn, that was some fight the two of you had" commented Kiba.

"Speaking of which, who won? I kicked Sasuke-teme's ass, right?" asked Naruto.

"Tsk. Like you could ever kick my ass, Dobe" replied Sasuke.

"Yeah?! Come over here and I'll gladly kick it for you right now!" replied Naruto.

"Enough!" shouted Tsunade. "The match was called a draw as that blast from the Rasengan and Chidori slammed you both back into the wall and knocked you both out. A stupid thing to do. You're both lucky you weren't killed!" Naruto and Sasuke merely grinned nervously at Tsunade.

Neither Naruto nor Sasuke liked the fact that their match was called as a draw, but they had to accept it for now. "Heh" Naruto was the first one to speak. "I guess that mean's I'll just have to train even harder so I can kick your ass around the village 100 times when I get back."

"Pft. You mean I'll be kicking your ass around the village, right?" retorted Sasuke. Everyone in the room merely sweat dropped. They knew it would be too good to be true. If anything, that previous match had only made their rivalry more intense. Sasuke was the first to calm down. "Three years, huh?"

Naruto also regained himself. "Yeah" replied Naruto. No one was happy that either Naruto or Sasuke would be leaving for three years, especially a certain pair of girls. Hinata had finally gotten Naruto and they had grown close over the past months, but now he was going to be leaving. Sakura, while she had dropped the useless fan-girl attitude ages ago, she still had deep feelings for Sasuke, something that Ino mentioned Sasuke was starting to return, if only a little. Both of the girls would be without the ones they cared about for three years, and one might be left unsure of the feelings her crush had towards her.

"Just promise me you won't come back a useless loser. I want to fight you again, but only after you've become stronger" smirked Sasuke. Naruto returned the grin.

"I'll fight you any time you're ready to lose. And it'll be you who's left in my dust" replied Naruto.

"_Troublesome"_ thought the obvious choice.

"Speaking of time, how long were we out?" asked Naruto.

"You've been out since yesterday afternoon" replied Tsunade. "Actually, I expected Sasuke to be out for at least another day."

"Yeah, well it's pretty hard to sleep when you've got a knucklehead baka pelting you with apples" retorted Sasuke.

"So does that mean you announced who get's promoted? Am I finally getting promoted? Come on, tell me Baa-chan!" asked Naruto in 'annoying-brat' mode. The energy returning to him. "Calm down. And no, I have not announced the promotions yet. As I told everyone else, you'll find out tomorrow after the council and I discuss the results of the exam. Speaking of which, I have a council meeting to attend" said Tsuande. "Naruto, you're free to go after an initial check-up. We all know how fast you can recover. Sasuke, seeing as you don't have a giant fox sealed inside him, you won't be cleared to leave until at least tomorrow and even then you're going to be taking it easy for the rest of the week."

Tsunade left the hospital towards the Hokage Tower as Naruto was taken into another room to be checked over. As usual, he was healed for the most part now thanks to the Kyuubi's chakra in his system and was allowed to leave. However, he would have to take it easy for a few days.

After a little more talking when Naruto can back, everyone began to leave. Sakura would be the last one out, leaving Sasuke and Kakashi to discuss a few things. "Sakura, can you stay for just a moment?" Sasuke called out. He looked towards Kakashi and the one-eyed scarecrow nodded before leaving. Now that the exams were over, after everything that had happened, he figured a moment or two alone might be good for them.

On the way out of the hospital, Naruto passed Hiashi coming out of a hospital room, most likely Neji's. Neji and Lee were the only two who hadn't come to see him as they were both hospitalized. Neji had a broken arm, fractured hip, and a minor case of chakra exhaustion. Lee had a dislocated shoulder and multiple torn muscles from using the gates. Both would be in the hospital for the rest of the week before being released. For a brief moment, Naruto stopped into Neji's room while Hinata went on with her father to find Hanabi. Apparently, Hanabi wanted to go kimono shopping with Hinata.

The festival was exactly a week from now, and honestly Naruto couldn't wait. He had honestly never been to a festival. There were three main festivals in Konoha: New Years, which began on the eve of the new year and continued through the next day. Then there was the Festival of the Budding Leaf, commemorating the founding of Konoha, held on March 21 of each year. The final big festival was what some villagers called the Kyuubi Festival, held on October 10. In reality, the festival was called the Yondaime Festival to commemorate the Yondaime's sacrifice.

Naruto had missed the most recent festival, New Years, because he was with Jiraiya in Uzushiogakure and this would be his last chance at attending one for nearly three years. The reasons why Naruto never went to a festival varied. Why he never went to the Kyuubi Festival was obvious, but the other two were because he never had anyone to go with. Especially at this time of year, he had always been reminded of what he didn't have, friends and family. But this year was different. He had friends and he even had a date to go to the festival with. Exciting him for once about a festival.

Naruto talked to Neji for a few moments before leaving. He was going to stop in to see Lee, but cries of youth coming from Lee and the sound of another voice, which was most likely Gai-sensei, had him thinking otherwise. It was then his stomach began to grumble, looked like ramen time.

* * *

Tsunade entered the council chambers. Seated around the table was the Shinobi Council, comprised of Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, Akamichi Chouza, Inuzuka Tsume, Aburame Shibi, Kurama Unkai, Sarutobi Asuma, Hyuga Hiashi, Jiraiya, and finally Senju Tsunade.

"Very well, let's get underway with the deliberations regarding the chunin exams. As follows, everyone at this table gets a vote on whether or not a chunin candidate will receive a promotion. I myself will have three, two as allowed by law to the Hokage and one as the representative of the Senju clan. In order to receive a promotion, a chunin candidate requires 7 or more votes" announced Tsuande. "Now, I feel we should just go through this alphabetically, which means Aburame Shino."

"Based on the exam results, the boy does demonstrate a high degree of tactical knowledge and skill. I will support his promotion to the rank of chunin" said Shikaku.

"Even though he lost his second match against Gaara, he does show the skills befitting of a strategic thinker" added Inoichi. "Seeing as no candidate is required to win a match, let alone both of them, I find that Aburame Shino has indeed met the requirements of chunin."

As they went around the table, Shino received approval from everyone and by the time it got back to Tsunade, her votes no longer mattered. "Very well. I see no issues. Aburame Shino will be granted the rank of chunin. I believe next would be Haruno Sakura."

"My understanding is that she's well versed in genjutsu and medical ninjutsu. I have heard about the medical ninjutsu from my team when she healed them after an unfortunate encounter with the jinchuriki of the Rokubi. For only studying it for a few months, she already is showing some amazing potential in that area. The genjutsu, I have had the pleasure of witnessing in battle and she was able to use it well to out maneuver her opponents" commented Asuma.

"That genjutsu she had used in her recent battle against Temari was surprisingly strong for a chunin candidate. I even had trouble at first seeing through it with my Byakugan. Of course it was easy to do after I increased the power, but still impressive for someone of her age" commented Hiashi. He had added that last part about finally being able to see through it to save himself a little, but he did find it difficult to see through the genjutsu until he focused a good amount of chakra into his Byakugan.

"She is cleaver. And she has even helped my daughter refocus herself" said Inoichi.

Again, the votes were unanimous for Sakura. "Haruno Sakura will be granted the rank of chunin" said Tsunade. "Next I believe is a string of three Hyugas. Let's start with Hinata. Anything to say, Hiashi?"

"I do not wish to give her praise simply because she is a member of my clan, let alone my daughter, but the skills she displayed in the arena, primarily against her opponent in the first round were impressive" commented Hiashi.

"Hyuga-san, if I may. That style she used at the exams is not the Jyuken and it was interesting to see how she changed to it during her first match to adapt to the fight. Would you mind explaining a little?" asked Shibi. Hiashi explained some of the very basics to Hinata's style, the Jyusho.

Unkai then spoke up. "My problem with her performance was that she seemed to rely too much on taijutsu techniques" said Unkai. As his clan was comprised of genjutsu users, he naturally favored those with talent in genjutsu, such as Sakura. Then again, this was also the argument he made against every Hyuga and taijutsu-user who was put up for promotion.

"What's wrong with getting up close and personal?" argued Tsume. As usual, the Inuzuka head and Kurama head got into a bit of an argument and Tsuande noticed a familiar look on Jiraiya's face, one that was focused downward and not on the current conversation. She stood up and walked around the table to look over Jiraiya's shoulder, only to find that he had a certain orb and was giggling pervertedly.

"Pervert!" she shouted, slamming her fist into his head and his head into the table before collecting the crystal ball from him that he had focused on the local hot springs.

"Troublesome" sighed Shikaku. Inoichi and Hiashi just nodded in agreement. They were wondering how long it would take before something along these lines occurred and there was always something. It was common for Tsume and Unkai to get locked into some sort of heated debate like this. Seeing as the meeting wasn't going to be back underway any time soon, Inoichi pulled out a bag of candy and began lobbing pieced towards Hiashi, who managed to deflect them with chakra bursts while Chouza tried to catch the incoming candy with his mouth. These childish antics continued for about 15 minutes before Tsunade had everything back in order.

"Hyuga Hinata will receive the rank of chunin" said Tsunade. Hiashi was mentally cheering. Hinata's flak jacket would be another thing he could rub in the elder's faces. "Hyuga Neji is next."

"Great, another taijutsu user" commented Unkai, earning a glare from Tsume.

"That aside, Neji is indeed skilled. It's a shame he had to lose his first match the way he did" commented Shikaku as he looked over towards Hiashi. "However, that can't be helped. It's not his fault he has some sort of seal on him."

"That seal is trouble. It's interlocked directly with the neurons in the brain and every method I know to remove it has failed" commented Jiraiya.

"You're trying to remove it?" asked Chouza. Everyone looked towards Hiashi for some sort of reaction.

"Yes, we are" said a stern Hiashi. No one could honestly believe that the Hyuga head was actually trying to remove the Hyuga Seal.

"Anyways, back on topic…again" said Tsuande. "Hyuga Neji, promotion or no?" The votes went around.

"Hyuga Neji, promoted to chunin" commented Tsunade. "Next, Hyuga Shinji."

"No" said every member simultaneously.

"Wow, that was fast. Not even going to discuss?" asked Tsuande, trying to hold back the laughter.

"What else is there to say, he got his ass handed to him by Neji and the way in which he won was most shameful. Not to mention the little stunt that he pulled in his second match" commented Tsume.

"Anything to say, Hiashi? He is from your clan after all" asked Asuma.

"Yes. I can firmly say that Shinji's actions were most shameful. He will be punished by our clan. Also, if I am correct, any promotion, which I agree he does not deserve, would be wasted on him as Tsuande-sama here has informed me that he will never have the chakra levels to perform more than normal civilian tasks" said Hiashi.

"Very well, Hyuga Shinji will not be receiving a promotion. Hiashi, I'll talk to you later about his punishment. He did break the rules by using the Seal on Neji during his and Hianta's fight" commented Tsunade. Hiashi nodded. "Rock Lee would be next."

"Taijutsu user" scoffed Unkai. Tsume shot him a glare and Shiukaku sighed.

"My concern with Lee is that he's too attached to Gai and a little to rash" commented Asuma. "He may be a good fighter and good kid, but he's too Gai-like for his own good."

"Although, he does have quite a bit of power" said Tsume. "Being able to open four of the Gates like that is an incredible feat for someone his age."

"I think the question here is does he possess the mind of a chunin, not the skills. I think we all agree that his skills in taijutsu are without a doubt, chunin-level if not greater" said Hiashi.

"He has inherited the same attitude as his mentor. No concern for his own body so long as he can see his dreams through" said Tsunade.

"And what, if I may ask, are his dreams?" asked Unkai.

"He wants to prove that despite not being able to use nin- or genjutsu, that he can become a splendid ninja who can protect his friends and comrades" said Tsunade.

"It's not that he's a taijutsu user by choice, although he seems quite happy with it. It's that taijutsu is the only path in becoming a ninja that he can take" said Jiriaya.

"Still, he has some potential to think as a chunin. He took advantage quite well of Temari's attacks, using them to take his own weights off when he couldn't" added Shikaku. "I'll give him my vote."

"While I do agree that he has potential, I regret to say that I don't think he is ready for the duties that so I must withhold my vote from him" said Asuma. He had nothing against Lee, just that he felt Lee was currently a little too reckless for a chunin at the moment and felt the bushy-browed genin needed to mature slightly.

"I don't know, I like the kid and he's got the guts to go far" said Tsume. "I'll say yes."

"Being a chunin requires more than just taijutsu and 'guts'. If he cannot use nin- or genjutsu, I don't see him going far" said Unkai. "I'm going to say nay."

"As a medic, I can't agree with some of his actions that normally land him in the hospital, but he does have the will to carry on as a chunin. I'll give him one of my votes, but withhold the others" commented Tsunade, giving Lee three of the necessary seven votes.

"I will give him mine" said Chouza. Inoichi followed and Hiashi did the same.

"While I agree he might be a bit reckless, the kid does seem willing to go the distance for his comrades. He has the attitude to see to his commrade's wellbeing. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on this one" said Jiraiya. Shibi simply remained silent and nodded, indicating he was giving his vote.

Lee received 8 votes, the fewest of anyone passing so far, but still passing. "Very well, Rock Lee will receive a promotion."

"Next I believe is Uchiha Sasuke" said Tsunade.

"If I may, I would like to discuss Sasuke and Naruto together" said Hiashi. Tsunade nodded, but not before hearing rusting outside the room and the door open.

"Sorry we're late, but apparently we weren't informed about the meeting" commented a women by the name of Ruchika Hatika. Tsuande and the rest of the Shinobi council groaned. They were hoping to get through this without the Civilian Council intervening.

The Civilian Council consisted of Ruchika Hatika, Konoha's Director of Civilian Affairs, Katazana Rochi, Konoha's Finance Minister, Kutichi Renza, Konoha's Secretary of Education, Ichira Takamo, Konoha's Secretary of Commerce, and the two elected representatives Fuzakani Amira and Hicho Kotanichi. Along with the village advisors, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homaru, and Shimura Danzo, these individuals made up the civilian portion of the Konoha Council.

The Shinobi Council saw these individuals as a bunch of power-hungry, ignorant people who only had their best interests at hand instead of the village. They had honestly been hoping to get through the promotions without them showing up as they always made the promotion process more difficult, even though they didn't have a say in who gets promoted.

Tsuande saw why Hiashi wanted to discuss Naruto and Sasuke together. The Civilian Council would most certainly oppose Naruto, while strongly support Sasuke and Hiashi must have seen them coming thanks to his eyes.

"Now Tsunade, why have you called us here?" asked Ruchika in a disrespectful tone. Tsunade's eyebrow twitched. "We have important things that need to be done."

"We were just going over the results of the chunin exams; however, if you have more important things that need to be done, of course you are dismissed to see to them" said Tsunade.

"Nonsense, this is important" said Fuzakani as most of the Shinobi Council cursed under their breath. "I hope you haven't come to any rash decisions without our input."

"Currently, Aburame Shino, Haruno Sakura, Hyuga Hinata, Hyuga Neji, and Rock Lee have all been approved for promotions. Hyuga Shinji has been denied and we still have yet to deliberate on Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke" said Tsunade, trying to catch the ignorant fools up to speed.

"Oh Uchiha-sama most certainly deserves to be promoted. He should have been promoted last exam, but sadly his match was interrupted by Orochimaru" said Ichira. The way in which he referred to Sasuke told the Shinobi council everything. These buffoons only truly cared about getting on Sasuke's good side, even if Sasuke hated them almost as much as his fan girls. Speaking of fan girls, a good portion of Sasuke's fan girls were, by pure coincidence, related to the Civilian Council.

"However, we don't understand why you've even brought that Thing into this conversation. He doesn't deserve to be a ninja, let alone a chunin" spoke Hicho.

"I believe you have your decision, Tsunade. Sasuke-sama is to be promoted while the Thing should be kicked out of the ninja program all together. In fact, he should be executed for trying to kill Uchiha-sama during their match!" said Ruchika, raising her voice for the last part. There was a loud crash in the room and everyone looked to Tsunade, whose hand was imbedded in a splintered table.

"**Enough!**" shouted Tsunade. "I don't know where you all got that arrogance, but I should remind you that the promotion of shinobi is a power granted only to the Shinobi Council!"

Everyone on the shinobi side of the council could feel the tension in the room rise and they were all smart enough not to interfere. However, the same couldn't be said for Ruchika, who Tsunade had by the shirt collar.

"Why I've never…How dare you talk to me like that Tsunade. Show some repect. I am a member of the Village Council" yelled Ruchika. "I demand some respect!"

"You are a member of the civilian council of a SHINOBI VILLAGE. A shinobi village that I just happen to be the Hokage of, making ME the leader of said village" growled Tsunde. Right now, every fiber of her being wanted to pummel the stuck-up lady, but it wouldn't look good. "You say I don't know my place? You don't know yours. I don't know how Sandaime-sama ever gave you so much breathing room, but you are the civilian council and you are only to concern yourselves with civilian affairs. What happens to MY shinobi is none of your concern and you'll do good to remember that." Tsunade shot a large amount of KI towards the civilian council, making all but the three advisors keel over in fear. "Oh, and you WILL refer to me as either Tsunade-sama or Hokage-sama from now on. Now take your seats and remain quiet until we are done with the exam results."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama" growled out Ruchika.

"Good. Now back to the proceedings. Let's see, Uchiha Sasuke" said Tsunade.

"While I am tempted to have him fail, just to see the looks on the council's face, that is not fair to Sasuke. In the past, I had doubts about him and his stability" said Jiraiya. "I was afraid that he was going to turn out as some stuck-up prick who thought he deserved everything just because of his heritage and everything that happened, ultimately leading to him defecting the village in search of someone who would simply hand him power with no regards for the price of said power. But, he has proven me wrong and has really matured as a shinobi of this village."

"If I'm correct, during the second exam, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke fought off a group of 15 Iwa ninja" commented Chouza.

"That was all Sasuke's doing" blurted out Katazana. Tsunade shot the elder finance minister a glare that said 'shut up before I rip your throat out' and the civilian member was silenced.

"I looked through Sasuke's mind when we returned to Konoha when I had a chance and I will say that all three of them worked well to protect each other" said Inoichi. He had also seen the reason why the Iwa ninja attacked, but was ordered by Tsunade to keep that silent and just say that Iwa had a general grudge against Konoha. "All three of them deserve equal credit for surviving something like that."

"I will admit that he is very skillful in his combat and that last match showed that he is at least high-chunin in that regards, if not low-jonin" said Shibi.

"He did show that he does have tactical knowledge out on the field in both matches and that he could also react quick enough to changing conditions" said Shikaku.

Tsunade called for votes and the results were well in Sasuke's favor. "Uchiha Sasuke will receive a promotion to rank of chunin. I believe that leaves Uzumaki Naruto."

"Before I actually saw it, I was skeptical that Naruto truly was an Uzumaki. However, those seals that he performed in the midst of battle leave nothing to doubt" said Asuma.

"A genin being able to use fuinjutsu of that level is just unheard of" said Inoichi. "And his ninjutsu skills can't be denied either. I would also say that they are on par with the Uchiha's."

"If there is one skill set that I've noticed from him lately that he's skilled in, it's his use of shadow clones and how he uses them to gain a tactical advantage" commented Shikaku. "The use of disposable clones to create openings and get his comrades out of tough situations is clever."

Already, the civilian council did not like where this was going. "He cheated! He must have cheated! It's his demon trickery! The Demon's trying to fool you all!" shouted Kutichi. She was thrown out of her chair immediately and slammed up against the wall, staring into eyes that would make even the Kyuubi tremble in fear.

"**DON'T EVER REFER TO HIM AS A DEMON AGAIN!"** yelled Tsunade before releasing her grip on the poor woman. These civilians needed to learn their place in this shinobi village and that was going to happen today. For too long, they had given her a headache and she was almost certain that they were the main cause of why her sensei's efforts as Hokage had gone to waste. She turned back to the shinobi council. "Anything else to say? Or should we just go right into a vote?"

"There's nothing more that can be said to change my vote. I vote yes" said Jiriaya immediately. Hiashi was a close second followed by the remainder of the council.

Tsunade smiled. "Uzumaki Naruto, promoted to chunin."

"Tsunade! You can't be serious?!" argued one of the civilian members before he was forced back into his seat and restrained by Shikaku's shadow.

"Uzumaki Naruto is a shinobi of this village. He has proven himself as such more than most and has earned his promotion. You will do no such thing to keep him from that which he has rightfully earned" said Shikaku.

"Fine, but you'll all regret that decision when he finally shows what sort of monster he truley is" said Ruchika. "Now, what are these other matters that we need to talk about?"

"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about" said Tsunade, throwing down a teaching manual for the Academy that had a copy of the curriculum in it.

* * *

Sasuke sat in his bed in the hospital. He was bored. After everyone had left, he had pulled Sakura aside for a little, but even she had to leave eventually, leaving him alone. Sasuke sighed.

"Yo." Sasuke turned his attention to the window to see Kakashi sitting on the window sill.

"Hn. What do you want?" asked Sasuke.

"Figured I'd finally talk to you after that match of yours" said Kakashi.

Sasuke looked down. "I'm sorry I used the Chidori like that. I know you told me never to use it on a comrade, but…"

"Don't worry, I'm not mad at you. I guess I would be disappointed in myself if I thought you weren't going to use it or Naruto wasn't going to use his Rasengan" said Kakashi, sitting on the end of Sasuke's bed. "Actually, on the contrary I'm proud with how you did during this exam. You stuck with your team the entire time, not doubting either of them, and you three survived a test that would have killed most others. And at the very end, you and Naruto fought on a level I honestly didn't think you two were capable of. Even I would have been hard pressed there had I been fighting either of you. I knew the moment your match was drawn that you and Naruto were going to throw everything at each other and I accepted it. The two of you really needed that match, an opportunity to go all out against one another and to see where you measure up against each other."

Kakashi could still see that Sasuke was worried about something. "Don't worry, there's no doubt that you made chunin this time around."

"I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about whether or not I actually earned it" said Sasuke. "Ever since that night, the Civilian Council has done nothing but pamper me and hand everything over to me. Honestly, they're just as annoying as the fan girls from back in the academy. I hate it. It's like they never give me an opportunity to actually do something for myself. I bet they even set up my training with you…"

Kakashi placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "True, they did request to have you trained privately for three years. Initially, they had tried to have Jiraiya-sama train you, but I offered myself to train you and give you the skills necessary to protect your friends. Not because the council required it, but because I felt you earned it. You proved to me that there was more than just a revenge-seeking emo avenger in there. You showed that you genuinely cared for your comrades and you even think of them as family." Sasuke looked at Kakashi confused. "Don't tell me Naruto doesn't remind you of that annoying little brother that you just can't live without."

Sasuke actually let out a slight chuckle at that thought. It was true, he did see Naruto as a brother. Naruto was the brother he always wanted, not Itachi. Itachi was simply the one who was trying to take away everything that he had left.

"See. Trust and friendship is something that can't simply be given to you. It's something you have to earn yourself. You earned my complete trust the moment you put your life on the line to try and save them and I felt you finally understood what would be required for you to truly become strong. I didn't agree to train you simply by the council's whim, I did it because I don't want you to have to suffer through what I had to" said Kakashi as the look on his masked face saddened. "I didn't truly understand the meaning of comrades and friendship until it was too late. By then, I had already witnessed my father take his own life and the one I would call a brother sacrifice himself for me." Kakashi uncovered his eye. "This Sharingan was given to me by Uchiha Obito in his final moments. We were like you and Naruto are, only by the time we realized what we meant to each other, Obito was dead. Shortly after, I lost my other teammate and close friend Rin. I had promised Obito I would protect her, but at that time, I was still too weak."

Kakashi stood up, facing out the window towards the memorial stone. "No matter what happens, you've earned my respect and everything you have now." Kakashi then turned around to Sasuke with a 'look' on his face. "So how'd it go?"

Sasuke sent a victorious smile to Kakashi. "Good. We'll leave shortly afterwards then. That should give you plenty of time to settle things here" said Kakashi.

Boom! Kakashi and Sasuke looked out the window to see a large explosion coming from one of the training grounds.

* * *

Naruto found himself being dragged across the village. He had just finished his ramen by the time Tenten had managed to get her hands on him. With her own team in the hospital and Hinata taking care of her own business at the moment, Tenten saw this as a perfect opportunity to try and get Naruto to show her a few tricks with fuinjutsu and in Tenten's defence, he had promised to show her a few things awhile ago.

"So what is it you want to know?" asked Naruto.

"Well, I know you promised me that you'd show me those seals that you used on your gloves and perhaps you have something else" asked Tenten. Naruto quickly showed Tenten the storage seals for weapons that he used on the gloves and she tried, failing the first few times until she actually made one that worked and could hold kunai. It also helped that she already knew some fuinjutsu whereas Naruto had to start from the very beginning before figuring out how to make those storage seals.

Tenten asked if Naruto had anything extra and Naruto thought for a moment. "Well, I do have these that I've been working on" he said, pulling out what looked to be a small ball of wrapped seals. Naruto went to the middle of the training ground and placed the small ball there. "You may want to duck behind a tree."

Tenten looked at Naruto confused, but heeded his warning as Naruto did the same. "Release!" called out Naruto. The small ball exploded in a small puff of smoke and about 100 kunai shot outwards from it, embedding themselves all around the area. Tenten was foolish enough to peek out from one of the trees as the ball exploded and a kunai came sailing towards her, cutting off a sizable portion of one of her hair buns. "Sorry, I'm not quite done with that one" apologized Naruto. "I'm kind of trying to get the kunai to release in a single direction."

"Are you kidding me? That was awesome!" exclaimed Tenten. Naruto shot her a confused look. "You're telling me that Konoha's 'King of Pranks' hasn't thought of what that can do?"

Naruto shook his head. Tenten sighed. "What you've just created was kind of like an explosion of shrapnel, only you're using in-tact kunai, which are much more powerful than simple shards of metal. If you were to throw that into the middle of the enemy unit, just think of what it could do."

"…Wow!" said a wide-eyed Naruto. Suddenly, he got an idea. "And if I attach explosive notes onto the end of the kunais…"

"Please teach me how to make that!" begged Tenten, drooling from the mouth. Naruto gave in and gave her the basics on how to make it. He wasn't going to explain everything as he didn't quite have that time, but he figured that Tenten could figure out the rest. "You know, Jiraiya-sama told us about your clan, the Uzumakis. I already knew a little about them before, but I can't believe that they were never mentioned in the academy."

"Yeah, I didn't know about them until Ero-Sennin took me to Uzushiogakure" said Naruto, taking out his small black sealing book. "It was there that I first learned fuinjutsu. I found out about my family and how they were all fuin-masters. I found this book which has all of my grandpa's sealing knowledge in it…oh, and I also found this."

Naruto turned to the last pages of the sealing book. There were a few empty pages, probably for Morio's descendants to add their sealing knowledge. On the last page, Naruto had replicated a few blood seals where he kept everything else that he had found in Uzushiogakure. He bit his thumb and wiped it across one of the seals and his sword was unsealed. "And I also found this!"

Tenten's eyes shot wide open. "Th-th-th-th-th-th-that's…"

"**You know, I think she's officially beat your vixen in the stuttering department now"** commented Kurama. Naruto sweat dropped as he looked on at Tenten, who was now frozen.

"Tenten? Umm…Tenten?" asked Naruto, poking the weapon using kunoichi.

"Wow…Where the hell did a Gaki like you get that?" exclaimed Zabuza, who was standing on a tree branch above where Naruto and Tenten were. Zabuza was missing a chunk of his hair as well, and it was likely that he had been training nearby when Naruto set his kunai-shrapnel bomb off and a stray kunai clipped his hair. Zabuza then went on to search for the one responsible when he stumbled onto Naruto unsealing that sword.

"Huh? Zabuza?" asked Naruto. Zabuza jumped down from the tree and picked up the sword from in front of Naruto. He unsheathed it and took a good look at it.

"The Uzumaku Shio no Ken. I don't believe it. This sword was thought to be lost" commented Zabuza in disbelief. At around this time, Tenten's brain finally rebooted.

"Well, I kind of found it. It was in a blood-sealed locker that belonged to my ancestor" said Naruto rubbing the back of his head. Zabuza looked down at the blade to examine it more, but found that it was gone, now in Tenten's hands.

Tenten was admiring the sword. Despite having been lost for a century, the sword was in immaculate condition. The hilt was red, wrapped in black with a small Uzumaki crest at the base of the hilt. The hand guard was also a black Uzumaki spiral. From it, the blade extended outward with a mirror finish and a faint, yet intricate sealing matrix on the blade.

"Hey, so you seem to know a little about this sword. Ero-Sennin said it has some sort of special ability. Do you have any idea what it does?" asked Naruto.

"Not really Brat. I know that it's some sort of sealing sword, but that's about it. If you found that sword, then I'd imagine you found some sort of kenjutsu scrolls as well. I'd guess that there is something in there that tells you what the sword does" said Zabuza. "Still, I can't believe it still exists. And I bet you don't even know how to use it."

"Hey!" pouted Naruto. "Ero-Sennin said he'd show me during our trip."

"Zabuza-sama" called out Haku, landing on a branch above them. "We are to report to the briefing room, we've got an assignment."

"When you get back, you'd better be able to use that cause you and I are going to fight like true swordsmen" said Zabuza, pointing to the sword in Tenten's hands. Haku pulled an ANBU mask over his face, resembling the one he had when Naruto and he first met. Zabuza did the same, only to Naruto's surprise and slight amusement, Zabuza's mask was a rabbit.

Naruto took the sword back from a pouting Tenten. "Man, why do you get all the cool toys" said Tenten, crossing her arms like a kid denied a trip to the candy store.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find something" said Naruto. "Hey, speaking of which, I just thought of something." Tenten looked at Naruto curiously. "Why don't you go and ask Baachan. I'm sure she has something that can help you out."

"What? But I'm not like Tsunade-sama. I mean sure, I want to be as strong a kunoichi as she, but I don't have the same talents as her" said Tenten.

"Maybe not, but I think you're a lot like her grandmother, Uzumaki Mito" said Naruto as Tenten's eyes widened again. She had heard of the legendary wife of the Shodaime. "But I thought Jiraiya-sama said that only an Uzumaki could learn the Uzumaki techniques. There's no way I could learn her techniques."

"That's not true. A lot of the seals from the Uzumakis can actually be used by anyone. It's just the most powerful seals that are restricted. Those seals that I'm talking about are sealed inside my book by blood seals, but this…" said Naruto. He pulled out a scroll that wasn't originally sealed inside the book. "This is a basic Uzumaki explosion seal, one that anyone can make. And there are plenty of other seals too that anyone can use."

Tenten followed the instruction on the scroll, making the tag. "So Naruto, how powerful are these?"

"I don't really know, let's find out" said Naruto as he went to a rock. They both hid behind a tree and Naruto activated the seal…nothing.

Naruto then walked out towards the seal to see what was wrong with it. He was sure it was drawn correctly, perhaps there was something missing. As he got within 10 feet of the seal, "Boom!" It went off in a massive explosion, much larger than any explosive tag, that covered the entire clearing in the training ground.

"Naruto!" shouted Tenten. When the smoke cleared, Naruto was lying in the middle of a crater, burnt, black, and smoking.

"That was some explosion –ttebayo" said a weary Naruto. Kurama couldn't stop laughing.

"**Haha…you blew yourself up!" **laughed the Kyuubi.

"Damn Fox…" said Naruto losing consciousness.

A few minutes later, Kakashi had arrived and Tenten explained everything. Kakashi picked Naruto up before taking him back to the hospital to rest.

"What happened to him?" asked Sasuke as Kakashi placed Naruto down on the bed opposite Sasuke.

"Just a little accident. Now while I'm gone, don't let him near any explosives or fire jutsu" said Kakashi.

"Umm…you do realize he can make exploding clones" said Sasuke, looking over to see only an afterimage of Kakashi. A few minutes later, Tsunade walked in to see what had happened to Naruto.

"_I can't believe I'm actually promoting him"_ she thought. Already, Tsunade wasn't in a good mood. She had just finished the council meeting where she had practically chewed up the Civilian Council about twelve times over. She had learned that the Civilian Council, who Sarutobi had put in charge of the academy curriculum for whatever reason, had drastically lowered the standards and were partially responsible for Naruto being sabotaged. But the worst part came when she asked why the unit on the Uzumakis was removed from the curriculum. As one of the council members put it, 'there was no room for a family of whores and bastards in the school curriculum'. That was one mistake the councilman probably shouldn't have made, considering Tsunade's grandmother was actually an Uzumaki. Currently, said councilman was in the hospital with all arms and legs broken, a major concussion, broken ribs, a weird croak in his voice and a sudden craving for flies and bugs. Not to mention, the entire civilian council was now seriously afraid of Jiraiya.

On her way out, Tsunade was confronted by Tenten. Normally, this would be a bad time for anyone to confront Tsunade, however the way she was complimenting Tsunade's grandmother and asking if there were any of her techniques that she could study was a much needed comfort to the Hokage. She immediately realized that must have been Naruto's doing.

"I'll see if Grandma had anything. I'm sure she's got something that will help" said Tsunade.

* * *

Tsunade returned to her office to find the entire Shinobi Council standing there. "I thought I dismissed you guys already" she asked, slightly irritated still.

"Yes, but there is something we'd like to know that we want to ask without any of those arrogant bastards around" said Tsume.

"Fine, what is it?" said Tsunde.

"It regards Naruto. We've heard from our kids about the kind of life he lived before becoming a shinobi, and I'm certain that was just a watered down version of it" said Inoichi. "What we want to know is, does the Civillian Council have anything to do with the way Naruto was treated as a child?"

"As you all saw, the civilians pretty much wanted to have Naruto killed. Yes, I believe they have a huge hand in the way the village has looked at Naruto" said Tsunade. "They're a bunch of ungrateful pricks who wouldn't know a kunai if it embedded itself in their heart. They have no understanding with how the shinobi arts work nor do they even care. To them, Naruto has been nothing more than the Kyuubi while the villagers followed in their stead. How they got so much leeway under Sarutobi-sensei is beyond me."

"But the villagers are coming around, aren't they?" asked Hiashi.

"Yes, without a doubt, there have been a good number of cases that show that Naruto's been winning people over. If I'm correct, he somehow got into one of Konoha's most prestigious restaurants and was even apologized to by Fazaku Michigo, a highly respected, if overly excentric, merchant in the village" said Tsunade. "He is making a lot of progress and this exam has been a real eye-opener to the village regarding who he is. I can feel that the Civilian Council is starting to lose their hold on the rest of the village regarding Naruto, and it's only a matter of time now."

* * *

The following day, seven of chunin candidates stood on top of the Hokage tower where they would find out the results of the exams. Both Naruto and Sasuke had been released from the hospital earlier that day under the condition that Sasuke takes it easy for a few days and Naruto doesn't go near anything explosive. Neji had a cast on his right arm and a sling holding it while Lee was sitting in a chair. His muscles were still recovering and Tsunade didn't want him moving much more than the therapy at the hospital. Both Neji and Lee would be in the hospital for a few more days. Sakura and Hinata were fine, and Sakura was unusually cheerful today. She was normally pretty happy, but she was even more so today, indicating that something good must have happened. Shino's hive was at about half strength now, after being almost destroyed by Gaara.

Speaking of Gaara, the Sand Trio had decided to stay in Konoha for a few more days due to Temari wanting to go to the upcoming festival for some reason.

Shinji was the only one not there, most likely still recovering from the effects of having the Seal placed on him. The elders had managed to convince Hiashi to refrain from banishing Shinji from the clan, but they were not able to prevent the sealing. While sealing was normally their duty, as clan head, one of Hiashi's duties was to protect the image of the clan and the sealing was a result of punishing Shinji for having dishonored the clan and trying to repair some of the damage Shinji had done.

Standing around the outside of the top of the tower were all the friends and family of the chunin candidates along with a few other ninja from the village such as Anko, Ibiki, Genma, and a few others.

After a few minutes, Tsunade finally emerged from within the tower, wearing the ceremonial Hokage robes. "Right, I think you all know why you're here" said Tsunade, pulling out a furled scroll from her coat. "You all want to see if you get these. Well, let's get started."

"Aburame Shino, step forward" called out Tsunade as Shino took a step forward. "It has been decided by myself and the Shinobi Council of Konoha that you will be promoted to the rank of chunin."

Everyone there cheered for their friend, especially a certain green-haired kunoichi. Shino accepted the promotion scroll from Tsunade. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I humbly accept this." Shino then stepped back in line.

"Haruno Sakura" called out Tsunade as Sakura stepped forward. "Congratulations, you will be promoted to the rank of chunin."

"Way to go Billboard-brow!" cheered Ino. Sakura turned and smiled, she knew Ino was joking and she'd let this one slide. Next to Ino were her parents and they were both ecstatic. Sakura was trying her best to hide the blush that was developing on her face.

"Thank you, Shisho" said Sakura, taking the promotion scroll.

"Hyuga Hinata" called out Tsunade. Hinata was snapped out of her cheer with an 'eep' when her name was called. "Congratulation, you've passed."

A smile lit up Hinata's face as she heard Hanabi cheering. Hinata accepted the scroll and bowed to the Hokage.

"Hyuga Neji." Neji stepped, or limped, forward. "Congratulations on achieving the rank of chunin."

"Yosh! Neji's Youthful Flames sure are burning brightly!" exclaimed Gai.

"Hyuga Shinji" said Tsunade. "Well, he doesn't seem to be here. No matter, he won't be receiving a promotion now or anytime soon."

People wanted to cheer, but they figured that it still wasn't the proper thing to do.

"Rock Lee." Lee shot up from his seat, despite having been told otherwise. "It was close, but congratulations on your promotion."

Lee's face turned from stern and serious to happy and excited in a matter of moments. "Hai Hokage-sama! You have no idea how happy this makes me! Gai-sensei! I did it!"

"Lee! I'm so proud of you!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

Smack! Tsunade's fist sent them flying back before those two could cast their weird genjutsu upon everyone. "I don't need any of that today."

Tsunade's attention then turned to the last two. "Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto." She looked straight at them with a stern expression that could probably top Hiashi. She then sighed and shook her head slightly as both boys began to sweat. Had they really not been promoted? They turned towards their respective teachers and saw that Kakashi and Jiraiya were shaking their heads with a disappointed look on their faces.

"I'm sorry…" said Tsuande. A few people gasped. Were those two really not going to be promoted? "You two won't be receiving your jackets for a few years, but you pass. Congratulations."

"…"

"…"

"…What?!" shouted both Saskue and Naruto.

"I said…Congratulations, you both pass" said Tsunade before regaining that stern expression. "BUT DON'T EVER TRY ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN!"

"Shisho, what was with that long pause?" asked Sakura.

"It wouldn't be fun to promote people without making at least a few people sweat, now would it?" said Tsuande. Sasuke and Naruto merely sweat dropped.

"Ba…Tsunade-sama, what do you mean by we won't be getting our jackets right now?" asked Naruto, catching himself after seeing the look on Tsunade's face.

"Close one. You almost lost your promotion there" said Tsunade as Naruto gulped. "I figured that since the two of you won't be around for a few years, you'd most likely not use it and simply outgrow it. You will get one upon returning after your trips."

Naruto and Sasuke accepted it. While they were slightly disappointed they wouldn't be getting their chunin flak jackets today, they saw the logic in Tsunade's explanation. "Within those scrolls are official notices of your promotions and also a second note. Take that note to any of the village shinobi supply shops and they will give you the standard chunin package which includes the chunin handbook and various weapons and scrolls that are standard amongst chunin of the village. You will have two weeks off to prepare yourself before you resume duties as a chunin."

"For all of you who competed in the chunin exams this time around, I am proud of you and the village is proud of you. I congratulate those of you who have earned your promotion and those of you who have not yet earned theirs, continue the hard work and it will be yours next time around. I will say that the next chunin exams will be held in Suna; however, after the whole fiasco with Kumo, it is likely there will be some changes to the exams" announced Tsunade. "For now, you are all dismissed."

Everyone broke off to be congratulated by their respective families and teachers.

"Not bad Gaki, not bad at all" said Jiraiya, placing his hand on Naruto's head. "Perhaps there's hope for you yet." With that, Jiraya took off, probably to go do some research.

"Naruto…" said Hinata. Naruto turned to see his girlfriend walking towards him and wrap him up in a big hug and kissed him, disregarding the look on her father's face.

"Congratulations Hinata on the promotion, you earned it!" exclaimed Naruto.

"And I'm glad that you got yours to" replied Hinata.

"Yeah…I can't believe I won't bet my jacket though!" pouted Naruto. Hinata giggled a little.

"It sounds as if everyone is meeting up at Barbe-Q tonight to celebrate" said Hinata.

"Really?! I'll be there! –ttebayo!" said Naruto.

"Hinata, let's go" called out Hiashi. _"I've got a flak jacket to rub in some elder's faces."_

"Coming!" replied Hinata. "I'll see you tonight." Before leaving, Hinata gave Naruto a quick kiss goodbye, leaving Naruto just standing there.

"Boss has a girlfriend" teased Konohamaru, coming over with Iruka to tease Naruto.

"Konohamaru, Iruka-sensei. What are you doing here?" asked Naruto.

"We came to congratulate you on your promotion and perhaps get a celebratory bowl of ramen" said Iruka.

"Awesome! That sounds great, Iruka-sensei!" shouted Naruto. "And afterwards do you think we could go see what that chunin package thing is?"

"Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke" called out Kakashi before any of them could take off. "Team meeting tomorrow at 10:00am. Be at training ground 7." With that, Kakashi shunshined away and Naruto left with Iruka and Konohamaru.

While enjoying the ramen, Naruto could see that Iruka was in deep thought. "Iruka-sensei? Is everything okay?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, it's just…I can't believe how far you've come in merely a year. After seeing those matches of yours, I can't even begin to think you were once the goofy little kid who everyone called the 'dead last'. And now, you and I are the same rank, and I'm 10 years older than you…It's just hard to believe, that's all" said Iruka. "Two years…"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Iruka-sensei?" asked Naruto.

"I know I won't be ready for them this year, but the ones two years from now…" mumbled Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei? What are you talking about?" asked Naruto.

"Oh, sorry. Recently, I've been thinking. Perhaps it's time I start to move forward. I've been a chunin for years, but after seeing you grow so fast, I can't help but feel like I'm going to be left behind" said Iruka.

"What? Don't say that Iruka. You're an amazing ninja" said Naruto, trying to cheer Iruka up. "But what is this about two years?"

"Every two years, the village holds jonin trials for chunin. This year's trials are coming up in about four months and I know I'm not going to be ready for them, but I might be ready for them in two years. I've just been thinking, perhaps it's time for me to move forward as a ninja and become a jonin" said Iruka.

"Wow! That would be awesome!" declared Naruto.

"Two years? I'm positive you can do it, Iruka" said Ayame, placing another bowl in front of Naruto. "You're really strong. There are times when all Naruto does is talk about how strong of a ninja you are."

"You-you think so?" asked Iruka, a very faint blush coming to his face.

"Hell yeah! I'm sure you'll kick ass Iruka-sensei! –ttebayo!" said Naruto.

Iruka smiled. "Alright. If you think I can do it, then I will. Seeing as you'll be gone for three years, I promise that by the time you get back I'll be a jonin" declared Iruka with a new fire in his eye as he, Naruto, and Konohamaru finished their last bowls. "Let's go get you your new stuff, Naruto."

About thirty minutes later, Naruto was walking out of the ninja shop that was owned by Tenten's father carrying the box of supplies, minus one flak jacket, that was awarded to him for being promoted. They made it back to Naruto's apartment before he opened it.

"Let's see. The Chunin Handbook. I'll read that later…_maybe_" said Naruto as he began examining the contents of the box. Iruka chuckled and wondered if Naruto would actually get around to reading it. Then again, no one ever read the handbook. He then pulled out a medium-sized book. It read 'Basic Chakra Nature Manipulation'. Naruto gave it a confused look.

"Technically, you aren't supposed to learn elemental ninjutsu until you're a chunin, but from the looks of the matches this time around…well yeah" said Iruka.

"Hey Iruka-sensei, what element are you?" asked Naruto.

"Water actually" said Iruka. "Why?"

"Just curious. Here you go, Konohamaru. I don't need this. I'm already past basic wind manipulation" said Naruto, handing the book to Konohamaru. Iruka merely sighed.

"Awesome! I wonder what my chakra nature is" exclaimed Konohamaru. Naruto smiled and gave Konohamaru the chakra paper that came with the book. Konohamaru channeled his chakra into the paper and it smoldered to ashes. "Cool! Fire, just like Jiji!" Iruka face palmed himself. Konohamaru wasn't supposed to learn about that stuff until chunin, high-genin at the latest. In all honestly though, there was nothing stopping an academy student from learning basic elemental manipulation, it was just strongly discouraged.

Naruto pulled out a few scrolls that read 'Basic Fuinjutsu' on them. "Most chunin know the very basics of funijutsu; however, there are some like myself that delve a bit deeper into it" explained Iruka.

"Huh? You know fuinjutsu?" asked Naruto.

"Actually, my specialty lies in barrier jutsus, a type of fuinjutsu" explained Iruka.

"Wow! That's awesome!" exclaimed Naruto. He took a very brief look through the fuinjutsu scrolls before tossing them carelessly back in the box. "Man, that was disappointing. I already know way more advanced seals than those lame storage seals."

Naruto then pulled out some of the ninja equipment. With the promotion, he was given a total of 100 kunai, 300 shuriken, 50 explosive notes… "Oops, I'll take those" said Iruka, snatching the explosive notes out of Naruto's hands.

"Huh? What?!" asked a confused Naruto. "Why did you take those explosive notes?"

"Hokage's orders. She said not to let you near anything that can go 'boom'" said Iruka, laughing at Naruto's reaction. He had heard about Naruto almost blowing himself up the other day.

Also inside the box were a standard issue tanto and some basic field and first-aid supplies. He was honestly hoping for something cool and interesting, but now the only thing he thought was cool he wouldn't get for three more years. Iruka sensed this as well.

"Here…" said Iruka, taking off his vest and handing it to Naruto. "I know that you're a little disappointed that you're not going to be getting one. It's the best thing about becoming a chunin. And seeing that you are one now, I feel no regret with letting you wear mine for a little, even if it might be a bit big on you. Just make sure you return it before you leave."

* * *

"Kanpai!" cheered all the members of the Konoha 12, plus Fu. Tonight was a night of celebration as seven of them had managed to make chunin. Even Lee and Neji had convinced Tsunade, only Kami knows how, to let them join with their friends in celebration.

As of now, 8 of them were now amongst the ranks of chunin, despite their young age, leaving 5 that still had yet to pass the exams.

"That's it! I swear, next time around we are making chunin Akamaru!" blurted out Kiba.

"Arf!" barked Akamaru.

"Yeah! That's the spirit, Akamaru!" cheered Kiba. "Who else is with us?"

"Well I'm definitely in. With some of those new techniques that Tsunade-sama gave me, there's no way I'm not making chunin this next time around" declared Tenten.

"There's no way in hell I'm letting Billboard Brow get ahead of me!" shouted Ino. Sakura simply looked at Ino and the new fire that had ignited within her friend. She was glad that Ino was now a determined kunoichi, tossing aside her old fan-girl ways. That was shown by the way Sakura was sitting next to Sasuke at dinner and the two of them had inadvertently begn playing with each other's food, almost like a dumbed down version of what Naruto and Hinata were doing right now. Ino wasn't making any fuss about it.

"I'm definitely in. I made it to the finals this time around and I'm sure I can make chunin next time" said Fu.

"I'm in as well. I can't let Shikamaru and Ino get ahead of me. Besides, as long as Asuma-sensei treats up to Barbe-Q after each exam, then I won't be complaining" said Chouji.

"So long as we don't get stuck with any more Hyugas" said Ino. "No offence, Hinata, Neji."

"None taken" said Neji.

"You know, the branch members are actually very nice. It's the main ones you have to watch out for" said Hinata.

"Speaking of which, does that make you a main family Hyuga or a branch family Hyuga, considering you're no longer the heir?" asked Tenten.

Unfortunately for Naruto, he was already jumping to conclusions. He was so going to kick Hiashi's ass the next time he saw the man. Everyone in the room immediately felt Naruto's chakra flare. "Naruto! It's not like that!" cried Hinata as she began to explain everything to the blonde about the bet and how her father had played the elders at their own game.

"Really? So you and Hanabi are both safe from the seal?" asked Naruto. Hinata smiled and nodded her head. He then looked towards Neji.

"It's okay, Naruto. I know what you're thinking and don't worry yourself with it" said Neji.

"No! I promised I'd get that damned seal off your head, Neji. It's just everything Ero-Sennin and I have thought about has failed" said Naruto out of disappointment. Instinctively, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his book. "If there's anything that can get rid of your seal, it's in here. I just know it."

"Naruto, please don't burden yourself with my troubles" said Neji.

"Just shut it! I already promised you and I won't go back on my word. It's my nindo. I know there is something in this book. I just know there is something in here that can help" said Naruto. Neji remained silent, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to talk Naruto out of it. Instantly, the mood changed. "Now, who's up for desert?"

"Me!" cheered just about everyone.

* * *

"You know, you should ask Sakura out to the festival" nagged Naruto. He and Sasuke had arrived to the training ground at 10 and had been waiting for at least an hour. They should have known Kakashi would be late…as usual.

"Nope" said Sasuke.

"But why not? It's obvious she likes you and the way you two were acting last night…"

"Shut it Dobe" snapped Sasuke. He couldn't believe he was getting relationship advice from the 'Academy's Most Oblivious Student When it Came to Relationships'.

"But…"

"No"

"Aw come on…"

"Just stop"

"Why not?"

"Chidori!"

"Gah!"

A few minutes later, a cheerful and humming Sakura arrived to a ticked off Sasuke and a fried Naruto. "Good morning, Sa-su-ke" chirped Sakura.

"Hey" said Sasuke, returning the smile.

Sakura looked around, and instantly her mod went from cheerful to 'I should have known'. "He's late, isn't he?"

"In his defense, so are you" retorted Sasuke.

"It's not my fault that I actually had the sense to be late to make up for his lateness" said Sakura. "You spent an entire two month with him, you should know!"

"Actually, I wasn't late at all during that time." Everyone looked up to see Kakashi, Jiriaya, and Tsunade sitting on a tree branch above them. "Yo."

"You're late!" shouted Naruto and Sakura. Kakashi simply waved them off.

"Huh? Ero-Sennin, Baa-chan, what are you doing here?" asked Naruto.

"What? We can't come to congratulate our students on their recent promotion?" said Jiraiya. "Fine, if you don't want me around here, I've got research that needs doing." Before Jiraiya could walk away teasingly, Tsunade had reeled him back in by the ear.

"No, I just wanted to meet up so I could congratulate my cute little genin on their promotion" said Kakashi. "These two simply tagged along."

"But Kakashi-sensei, we're not genin anymore" argued Naruto.

"So…you'll always be my cute little genin, no matter what rank you are" smiled Kakashi as Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura sweat dropped.

"So you're only here to tease us, is that it?" asked Naruto.

"Actually, it's customary to give one's students a gift upon their promotion to chunin" said Tsunade. Team 7's eyes lit up.

"I guess I'll start" said Jiraiya. He pulled out an old headband and a set of what appeared to be five ordinary kunai.

"What's this? An old headband? And some kunai?" asked a confused Naruto.

"That's not just any headband. Why don't you take a look at whose forehead protector that was" said Jiraiya.

Naruto peeled back the fabric and gasped when he saw the name on the back of the forehead protector…'Namikaze Minato'. "This…was my dad's?"

Jiraiya smiled and nodded. "It was. And I'm sure he'd want you to have it. If they were here right now, I'm sure they'd be proud of you."

Naruto took off the forehead protector that was currently on his head, the one Iruka-sensei had given him. This was probably the only case Naruto could see himself replacing the headband that Iruka had given him. Thankfully for him, Jiraiya had the plate remounted on a long black piece of fabric so that it still matched his old one.

"I had those kunai specifically made to filter chakra out of them. I figured that way, you'd be able to put those absorption seals on them and not worry about tossing them aside after you used them too much. Unfortunately, they'll still overheat or whatever the other elements do, but the chakra they've absorbed will work its way out of the kunai, allowing you to continue using them" explained Jiraiya.

"Wow. Thanks Ero-sennin!" exclaimed Naruto. Jiraiya sighed. He still wasn't getting rid of the 'Ero-Sennin' anytime soon it appeared.

"Alright Sakura, I guess you're next" said Tsuande. "So, I've been thinking on it and I believe I kept hearing you complaining about not having a summoning contract, so if you would be willing to accept, I would be very pleased to offer you the one I have with the slugs."

"Yes!" screamed Sakura, without a second thought, as she jumped and wrapped Tsunade in a hug. After the time she had spent with Tsunade so far, she found that she actually liked a lot of Tsunade's summons. Even that slug-freak jinchuriki didn't deter her from them.

"Looks like you're last, Sasuke" said Kakashi as he handed Sasuke a long slender box. Sasuke opened it to find a black scabbard chokuto sword. He unsheathed the blade to find that it had a brilliant mirrored finish. The blade was a little over two feet in length and the hilt was black like the scabbard. On the bottom of the hilt, was the Uchiha emblem. "I bought that blade from Tenten's father's shop. He's the best sword smith in the village and one of the best in the Land of Fire. He also claimed it was the best sword he had forged yet and I would agree that it's quality is probably the best I've seen. It also contains the same chakra-channeling metal that is in Naruto's kunai."

Sasuke took another look at the blade before channeling some of his chakra into the blade. Electricity surrounded the blade before Sasuke consciously changed the chakra to fire.

"Hey! How come he gets a sword?!" pouted Naruto.

"Because you already have one, Gaki" replied Jiraiya.

Sasuke sheathed the sword and thanked Kakashi. "Oh, and I have one more thing for you. This is for when you get bored lying in a hospital bed" said Kakashi as he pulled out a familiar orange book.

"Oh hell no!" shouted both Sakura and Tsunade, instinctively slamming their fists simultaneously into Kakashi. Sakura used a fire jutsu on the book to ensure that Kakashi would never give it to Sasuke before turning to find Naruto, Jiriaya, and Sasuke cowering behind a rock. Both student and master gave each other a satisfactory smile.

Jiraiya figured he'd best get out of there before Tsunade found some reason to beat on him a bit. "Naruto, use the next few days to rest and prepare yourself. When I return, we're out of here."

"Right!" said Naruto as Jiraiya walked off.

"Come on Sakura. Let's go sign that contract" said Tsunade, taking her student away.

"Come on, just go up to her and ask her?" nagged Naruto.

"No."

"But why not?"

Sasuke sighed. It was obvious Naruto wasn't going to drop it any time soon and he would most likely find out in a few days anyways. "Because, I already did."

* * *

Author Notes

There's chapter 58. Sorry it's not as action packed as the previous chapters, but as I've said before, I am wrapping this story up.

As for the Naruto v Sasuke match, it basically ended with the Chidori/Rasengan clash. Remember, Sasuke can't power up with the curse mark that he doesn't have and Naruto can't go Kyuubi without scaring the crap out of the audience. I will promise another Naruto v Sasuke battle at some point down the road when they are much more powerful.

Regarding the civilian council, I've always seen them as a bunch of ass-kissing, power hungry, arrogant assholes who don't know their place and think they are on top. I know I kind of brought up the 'Last Great Uchiha' theme that is common in many fanfics where the civilian council worships Sasuke, but I just can't see Sasuke ever liking the civilian council. In my opinion, they are just as annoying as the fan-girls, if not worse. They will kind of play a role in a future plot-line, but for now, Tsunade has effectively put them in their place.

Hopefully I didn't go overboard with the promotions, but I felt that after the mess they caused in Kumo, they all kind of deserved it. Those who did not receive a promotion by this exam will end up being promoted in the next exam (although I won't show it, sorry). I do feel that Naruto should have been promoted in the cannon (if not after rescuing the Kazekage, then definitely after saving the entire village from Pein). One thing about the manga that kind of got on my nerves is that despite Naruto getting more powerful, he still remained a genin.

Also, I'm not going to be discussing the politics behind it right now, but the chunin exams will be changing as a result of Kumo's actions. Basically, what will happen right now is that the exams will rotate between Konoha and Suna every eight months. Smaller countries (Kusa, Ame, ect.) that are allied with Konoha and Suna will be allowed to participate and the nations that are not aligned with Konoha/Suna will need to seek approval and will have limited entries. The first and second exams will remain the same (information gathering and survival exercise) while the third exam will change slightly to allow for more participants and to accommodate for fewer exams. There will be no more preliminaries. If a prelim is requires, it will be held in the stadium just before a one-on-one tournament and will consist of team vs. team matches. Perhaps I'll come back to the chunin exams for a little when Konohamaru or Hanabi reach that point.

One last note regarding promotions, yes there are ways to be promoted besides the exams. Those methods will be explained in an appendix that will be attached to the final author note at the end of the story.

The sword that Sasuke got from Kakashi is basically the same thing as the one from the anime.

I think that's it for now. Till next time,

Please review/comment.


	59. Chapter 59

**A/N:** Regarding a few comments with the Konoha Council (particularly the civilian portion) from the previous chapter. Yes, I know that they didn't really exist in cannon and that they are an overused plot device in fanfictions. However, they do serve a legit purpose (I know that's hard to believe). I honestly don't see the Hokage alone (despite him being the most powerful ninja in the village) operating every function of the village solely by him/herself. While they like to think differently, the civilian council only holds power in civilian affairs and they used to have control over the Academy. Their initial purpose was to help alleviate some of the work load on the Hokage, in particularly anything dealing with the civilian side of the village, yet for some reason they became corrupt and lazy, but don't worry, Tsunade will surely whip them back into shape (hopefully).

**Disclaimer:** Sorry, don't own Naruto.

Posted: 2/19/13

* * *

**Chapter 59: Fan-Girls and Festivals**

"Hi-na-ta!" chirped Naruto as he popped down out of a tree and a few inches away from her face.

"Eep!" Hinata had been with her team that morning and they had just finished up their training. Seeing as Hinata and Shino had been given the next two weeks off, Kiba got lucky and the entire Team 8 was given the same.

Despite two of the members of Team 8 being chunin, they would still remain an in-tact squad under their jonin sensei until every member of the squad was promoted to chunin and they had spent five years under their sensei's guidance. However, it was rare that this would occur as most genin don't even take the chunin exams until they are at least 15 years in age, putting them under their sensei's instruction for four years and the average age of promotion through the chunin exams was 18 years of age. Once every few years, a highly skilled genin would come along and make chunin before at a young age. However, this was just ridiculous. In this one group alone, 9 out of 14 had made the rank of chunin before most would even attempt to take the exam and from the looks of things, the remaining 5 members had a strong chance at making chunin within the next round or two of exams. 14 genin making chunin before the age of 15 was just unheard of. However, that only went to support the assumption that this really was a special group of ninja coming up.

"Hey Hinata, want to go grab some ramen?" asked Naruto with a big grin plastered on his face.

"Is that all you ever think about? Ramen?" joked Kiba.

"There's nothing wrong with that, is there?" replied Naruto. "Nice jacket Shino!" Shino was the only member of Team 8 to be wearing their flak jacket right now. Hiashi had taken Hinata's and hung it as sort of a trophy in the clan meeting hall, where the elders would spend a lot of their time plotting.

"Thank you" replied Shino. "I would say the same, but yours seems a bit too big."

"How did you get one? I thought Hokage-sama wasn't going to be giving you one until you got back?" asked Kiba.

"Oh, this isn't mine. Iruka-sensei let me borrow it for a few days" replied Naruto

"Arf."

"Yeah, yeah. Rub it in my face, will ya?" said Kiba to Akamaru. Akamaru had told Kiba that the scent on the jacket wasn't Naruto's, but most likely Iruka's. Akamaru figured that Naruto must have borrowed it.

"So what do you say? Ramen?" asked Naruto. Hinata smiled and nodded as the two took off.

"Man, there goes another team lunch. Oy Shino, you up for lunch?" asked Kiba.

"Thank you for the offer, but I must decline. Fu has accepted my clan's invitation to live with us so I must be there to ensure everything goes smoothly for her" said Shino before he took off as well.

"Looks like it's just you and me buddy" said Kiba.

Naruto and Hinata had finished their ramen. After all their times getting ramen together, Naruto could tell that Hinata's favorite by far was the miso ramen. Afterwards, Naruto was dragging Hinata somewhere.

"Naruto? Where are we going?" asked Hinata.

"I wanted to go over to Rekinu and Satonora's and see if we could get a reservation there before I left" said Naruto. Instantly, Hinata realized what Naruto was talking about. Rekinu and Satonora Kamiri were the owners and head chefs at the Flaming Leaf Inn, the place where the two of them had their first date and one of the very few restaurants that Naruto had actually been allowed to eat at. She figured Naruto wanted to do one more date there as well.

Boom! Was heard as Naruto and Hinata approached the restaurant. They watched in horror as the very building where they had their first date was engulfed in the explosion and leveled to the ground in mere seconds.

Standing a few meters in front of them were Rekinu and Satonora. "What's the matter honey?" asked Rekinu.

"Nothing" cried Satonora. "It's just that building has so many fond memories. I remember the day when we first opened in there. I'm going to miss that old building."

"Umm, excuse me" said Hinata, walking up to the older couple.

"Ah, Hyuga-san, Uzumaki-san. It's nice to see you on this fine day, and congratulations on your exam" said Satonora, completely regaining his composure in an instant.

"Umm…" Naruto was kind of at a loss of words due to Satonora's immediate 180. "What happened here? We were on our way to see if we could make a reservation before I leave on my trip and well…all we see is your restaurant being destroyed."

Satonora began to tear up again. "No! Why did you have to leave us like that? Why?"

Everyone sweat dropped at the head chef's antics.

"Don't mind him" spoke Rekinu. "We are just going through a bit of remodeling. You see, our son just got back from a long business trip to gather new and exciting ideas for our restaurant. I mean sure, we were doing great with what he had, but all the upper class dinning was starting to get a little boring. We wanted to bring some fresh life back into the place and thankfully our son, Kazuki, found just that."

"Really? So what sort of ideas did he find on his trip and where did he go?" asked Naruto.

"Well, he was gone for a few years traveling to a continent that is far west of here. There, he managed to pick up a lot of interesting recipes and he told us about these places called dance and dinner clubs. I'm sure that's something a young couple like yourself would have an absolute blast!" said Rekinu. "You know, the two of you here for a delicious meal and afterwards, you can dance the night away in each other's arms."

Hinata's eyes lit up at the prospect of the new restaurant. "_Oh my, me dancing with Naruto…_eep!" thought Hinata while letting an 'eep' sneak out. When she was young, her mother had taught her how to dance a little and she loved it. Now, the prospect of dancing with the one she loved had her on the verge of fainting at the idea.

Naruto, on the other hand, was sweating on the inside. _"Dance? I have no clue how to dance!"_

"_Oh this trip just keeps getting better and better"_ thought a certain white haired man who should have better things to do than spy on his apprentice.

Naruto looked towards Hinata, trying to gauge her reaction, and from the looks of things, he was going to have to learn how to dance somehow.

"About a month ago, we did sort of a week trial to gauge if this idea was going to be successful and everyone loved it" said Rekinu. "We also learned that if we are going to implement it, then we will need to expand the restaurant so we are going through renovations to practically double the seating capacity and add a stage and dance floor. Also, some of the newer western recipes that we are going to add require a few small changes to the kitchen. So how long are you going to be gone?"

"Three years" replied Naruto, dampening Hinata's mood.

"Oh wow! That's some time. Well, we'll be up and running for sure when you return. Stop by when you return and we'll set you up with a reservation for the two of you" said Rekinu.

"Umm…" said Naruto, feeling a tug on his shirt sleeve.

"Please…" begged Hinata, trying to look as cute as possible, which honestly was not necessary as she could have gotten Naruto without doing so, but a little extra never hurt.

"Heh, okay. We'll come here when I get back, I promise. It's just well…" said Naruto nervously. Everyone looked at the blonde questioningly. "…I kind of don't know how to dance."

"What? Don't know how to dance?!" How do you expect to sweep the ladies off their feet if you can't dance?"

"_Please tell me that's not…"_ thought Naruto.

"Don't worry kid, I'll teach you how to dance. Just leave it up to the one-and-only Jiraiya to whip you into something the ladies absolutely cannot resist!"

"_Just kill me now, please"_ thought Naruto.

"**That can be arranged"** joked Kurama. Oh he was going to get quite a show watching his vessel struggle over the next three years.

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke had remained at the training ground after a quick lunch. To say that she was ecstatic that Sasuke had asked her to the festival would be an understatement. Sakura had vowed never to give any sort of fan girl-ish scream, but after she left Sasuke's hospital room after he asked her, she simply couldn't help herself.

This one moment had told Sakura exactly what she had been wanting to know. Sasuke had in fact begun to develop feeling for her. However, despite this huge victory for her, she knew she couldn't stop to rest. She knew she had to continue to hone her shinobi skills, not because doing so is what got Sasuke to notice her in the first place, but because of what she would have to face in the future. Both Naruto and Sasuke would eventually be confronted by powerful enemies and there was no way she was going to let them face everything alone. Not to mention, she was really beginning to enjoy shinobi life and learning to be a med-nin.

The three members of Team 7 had gathered in the morning for a little bit of training, even though Kakashi had not designated a meeting time and had pretty much disbanded the team again until it reconvenes in three years. Still, Sakura found that actually training with Sasuke was getting kind of fun.

Naruto was over against one of the trees, looking over a rather large scroll, most likely one of those Uzumaki sealing scrolls of his. Needless to say, it was still weird to see Naruto study like that.

Sasuke was simply doing some weapons exercises as he was still ordered to 'take it easy' for another day or two. Sakura had joined him and their practice turned into more of a game between the two of them. While he would aim his shuriken at the target, Sakura would attempt to thread her senbon through the holes in the shuriken. So far, she was actually doing fairly well, about 60% accuracy, which was actually very good. Haku had maybe a 75% accuracy and the senbon was his specialty, and Sasuke couldn't even get 30% without his Sharingan. After probably the first few throws, Sasuke began to realize what Sakura was doing and started to play along, giving her different combinations and formations of shuriken to deal with.

By the time lunch rolled around, Naruto had taken off. Sakura figured he went to go and find Hinata, which was fine as it now gave her some time alone with Sasuke for their lunch…that is until they heard a shriek that sent shivers down both of their spines.

"Oh Sasuke! Come out Sasuke!" squealed a girl by the name of Aimi. She was one of the few Sasuke fan girls who remained in the ninja program after failing the true genin test. Afterwards, she was sent back to remedial classes where she apparently managed to pass because she had her Leaf forehead protector.

Sasuke and Sakura both groaned as the bubbly fan-girl hopped out of the bushes. She had long brown hair that extended to the middle of her back. Even though Naruto had let the long-hair secret slip to a few of his friends, a majority of the fan-girls still thought it was Sasuke who liked girls with long hair when in reality it was Naruto. _"Perhaps I should say something to them about that"_ thought Sakura.

"**Cha, then all the fan-girls would immediately shave their heads! That'd be so hilarious"** exclaimed Inner Sakura. Sakura was surprised a bit. She hadn't heard from her inner self in quite some time, but the mental image created by Inner Sakura was just too funny to resist. Now she was actually tempted to do such.

Sasuke got up and was about to walk away before Aimi called out. "So Sasuke, you know there's this festival coming up tomorrow and I still don't have anyone to go with. So how about you and I…"

"_**OH HELL NO! HE'S MINE!**_" thought both Sakura and Inner Sakura at the same time.

"No" replied Sasuke in a cold tone to his fan girl.

"But you and I would make the perfect couple. Just think you winning me prizes at the games and then we share some festival goodies while you feed me, oh and then the fireworks at the end" dreamed Aimi. "I can just see it now. You and I cuddling on a hill, laced with grass and flowers as the fireworks explode in the distance, but then out of the corners of our eyes, we catch each other's gaze and we…eek!"

Sakura was just about at the point where she would kill this girl. She was doing the best to restrain herself, but if Aimi went any further, then she would most likely put the girl out of her misery.

"Go away, you're annoying" said Sasuke with a cold harsh tone towards Aimi.

"But Sasuke…" pleaded Aimi.

"Can't you see I need to get back to training?" replied Sasuke. Sakura was beginning to remember that attitude of Sasuke's. It was the same attitude he had when they were first put on Team 7 and she had been asking pretty much the same things out of him. However, Sakura wasn't worried he'd slip back into his old self. Sasuke was like this whenever fan-girls and those who just wanted something out of him came around, but he'd open back up when it was just him and one of his real friends.

"Perhaps I can help you with training. My kunai and shuriken throwing has gotten really good lately" replied Aimi, pulling out two shuriken and throwing them. When she opened her eyes, she saw Sasuke quaking in his feet, the first shuriken had actually nicked the inside of his thigh. Had it of been a few inches higher and he really would be THE Last Uchiha. However, the second shuriken had pretty much sealed Aimi's fate.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata were walking along through the village. Naruto only had about two more days after today to spend with Hinata before Ero-Sennin said he'd be back. The festival was tomorrow and he really wanted to do something else with Hinata before leaving, but the one restaurant where he would have taken her was now closed for remodeling and apparently Jiraiya was going to teach him how to dance…just great.

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks as he felt a familiar KI wash over the village before cowering behind Hinata.

"Naruto?" asked a confused Hinata.

"I'd know that KI anywhere" shivered Naruto. "Someone pissed off Sakura."

* * *

Aimi looked over to see a pissed off Sakura, who was also missing a sizable portion of her right bang, and a shuriken pinning a chunk of pink hair to a tree.

"**That little brat. I'm going to kill her!" **raged Inner Sakura.

"_Actually, I've got a better idea"_ replied Sakura. Immediately, the sweet smile that was trademarked by her master appeared on Sakura's face.

Aimi's face went blank, something most ninja recognized as the influence of a genjutsu. A few seconds later, Aimi dropped to her knees. "Sasuke! Why?!" she screamed before losing consciousness.

"Genjutsu?" asked Sasuke.

"Shame, and that was one of the weaker ones I had" said Sakura.

"So what'd she see?" asked Sasuke.

"I don't know. Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique, it's different for each person unless I specifically control it like I did with Ino's. All I know is she just saw the worst thing her brain could imagine, and from the sounds of it, it involved you" replied Sakura, earning a shiver from Sasuke. She checked the time and sighed. "I've gotta go meet up with Tsunade-shisho for the rest of the afternoon."

"Right. Guess I'll see you tomorrow then" replied Sasuke.

"Definitely. I'm looking forward to it" said Sakura as she took off back towards the village.

* * *

The Festival of the Budding Leaf, a celebration commemorated to the founding of Konoha. This was a time when everyone in Konoha came together to celebrate with music, lights, festivities, and cheers, capping it off with a grand fireworks display at the end of the night. For a certain blonde boy, this was his first real opportunity to experience the joys of a festival.

"Oh man, this is going to be great!" exclaimed Naruto. He was making his way through the village, dressed in the orange and black kimono that he had gotten over a week ago when shopping with Hinata. This was the first festival he could honestly say he was going to be able to enjoy, that is until…

"Demon!"

"_Crap. Why now?"_ thought Naruto. So much for the festival, or so he thought. Naruto took a quick look around to see where the cries were coming from and surprisingly, no one was looking towards him. He heard a screech and his attention was turned towards a festival stand that sold smoked fish. At that stand were about a dozen people screaming demon towards a certain cat, wearing a red ribbon in her hair, who was apparently holding the fish stand hostage.

"You know, it's times like this that make me glad I'm no longer a genin and that I don't have to worry about catching that damned cat" said Naruto. A nearby festival patron laughed slightly at Naruto's comment. Naruto figured he must have been a ninja who had a bad experience with Tora at one point in time as he continued on his way towards the Hyuga compound.

"Orange...I should have known" retorted Neji as Naruto arrived at the compound.

"Yeah, yeah. I make one change to my normal outfit and I'm no longer allowed to wear orange" said Naruto, taking a look over Neji's attire, which consisted of a primarily white kimono with brown trimmings. "So do you have a date for the festival? Or did Hiashi-sama ask you to follow me and Hinata around all night?"

Neji smiled. "No. I won't be tailing the two of you tonight, although that doesn't mean I won't be able to see what you're doing" he said, activating his Byakugan for emphasis.

"So who's the lucky lady?" asked Naruto.

"That would be me" said a familiar voice.

"Tenten?" asked a surprised Naruto as Tenten walked up and placed a hand on Neji's arm. She was wearing a crimson kimono with gold wisps working their way throughout the garment. "Since when?"

"Since after I had to drag your crispy ass back to the hospital. I stopped into Neji's room and he asked me" replied Tenten. "Come on Neji, let's go!"

"In a moment, I want to see his reaction" whispered Neji to Tenten. Neji then turned to Naruto. "Hinata-sama will be ready in a few minutes."

After a few minutes, the doors to Hinata's house opened. "Naruto" said a cheerful Hinata.

Naruto turned around to see Hinata, only for his eyes to grow wide and brain to practically shut down. "Hi-hi-wo-you-am-um…wow!" babbled Naruto, earning a giggle from Tenten and Hinata. Hinata was wearing a light blue kimono with lavender flower petals swirling up the kimono from the base. The obi (sash) that was tied around her waist was a midnight blue ribbon that matched the color of her hair and was tied in a bow in the back with the ends dangling down to about ankle length. As for her hair, Hinata had her hair pinned up in the back in kind of a loose bun with her bangs hanging down to frame her face as normal.

"Naruto, do you…do you like how I look?" asked Hinata to a still frozen Naruto. It was at this time that that Hanabi made her way out and gave Naruto a little nudge, snapping him out of his trance.

"Amazing…" was all he could still manage to get out. This caused Hinata to blush and begin fiddling with her fingers in turn. Naruto immediately went over to Hinata, took her arms and went in for a kiss.

"Ahem!" coughed Hiashi as Naruto was stopped before he could give Hinata a kiss. Both Naruto and Hinata turned a bit red at that.

"Sorry" apologized Naruto, rubbing the back of his head.

"It appears as if you got here safely, so we won't have to worry about a repeat of five months ago, will we?" asked Hiashi.

"No. No one tried to attack me or even call me 'demon', although I was almost scared that a mob would come running after me when I did hear someone yell out 'Demon!', but that was just Tora hijacking some fish stand" replied Naruto. "I don't know, I came straight through the main festival area and no one really seemed to mind."

"Very well, I have actually noticed that you seem to be more accepted by the village and I don't think you should have any issues tonight. As such, I will entrust Hinata's safety to you for the night. I expect her home unharmed by 11:30 at the latest" said Hiashi.

"Yes, and thank you Hiashi-sama" bowed Naruto. He and Hinata soon exited the clan compound on their way to enjoy the festival. They had about 4 hours to enjoy the festival itself before the fireworks started and Naruto already had a spot staked out to watch them from.

"Umm…daddy" said Hanabi, tugging on her father's robes and trying to look as cute and innocent as possible. Hiashi looked down at his youngest daughter. It was very rare that either of his daughters called him 'daddy'. Usually, they referred to him as 'father'. This immediately told him that Hanabi wanted something. "I've never been to a festival. Can we…can we go? Please?"

Hiashi was actually a little surprised. The last time he had taken either of his daughters to a festival was when his wife was still alive and before Hanabi was born. Neither of them had mentioned anything about a festival until just recently. Perhaps that was due to him being extremely strict and they were both afraid that they would be scolded by him for asking to do such a thing. However, he had recently begun to change his whole outlook on his family and open up. Perhaps that's what prompted Hanabi to ask.

"Hmm…I wonder if Shouta is still selling his batter fried tempura" thought Hiashi out loud. Hanabi instantly smiled, knowing that her father was now considering going. Hanabi was already dressed in a dark red kimono with gold and silver firework patterns exploding throughout the kimono.

* * *

As Naruto and Hinata walked through the festival areas, they were already enjoying themselves. This wasn't like their first date where they sat in silence for the first hour, they were already laughing and playing with the big cone of cotton candy that Hinata had. The two would take turns feeding each other while a piece that got stuck on one another's lips or nose would give the other an excuse to give them a slight kiss.

A few patrons noticed the happy couple and it wasn't so much Naruto who caught their attention, but Hinata. Most of these people remembered the shy and timid girl who was always unhappy with her life, but what was walking through the town was one who was genuinely happy and laughing. She was comfortable with herself and she showed it.

For Naruto, no one was looking at him as a demon tonight. As a matter of fact, no one could see a hint of demon in the blonde that was walking down the street. There was no way a demon could be smiling and laughing like that.

The couple came to a stand that sold festival masks and props and Naruto immediately went for a large white ceremonial wig. "Mt. Myoboku's holy perverted sage, also known as Ero-Sennin! I am the epitome of pervieness, the one and only Super-Pervert! I am Jiraiya!" said Naruto, imitating Jiraiya's dance and introduction pose, earning multiple laughs from people observing. After mocking his teacher a little more, Naruto handed back the wig and he and Hinata picked out a pair or festival masks. Hinata's was a white tiger with black stripes on it. Naruto had spotted a mask that looked like a fox, but opted against it, not wanting to give the villagers a reason to ruin his night. Next to it was a red-ish mask that resembled Gamabunta. He chose that one, and also felt it was more amusing for his date.

Moving on, Naruto and Hinata continued down the street, only to be nearly flattened by Sasuke, wearing a solid dark blue kimono, who looked as if he was running for his life…and he was. Behind him was a hoard of about half-a-dozen horny fan-girls.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" shouted Naruto, reacting quickly and creating about a dozen clones that were transformed into Sasuke around the original. The clones broke off in various directions, taking with the fan-girls following behind, thinking their Sasuke was the real one. "It's safe now."

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief as he came out from hiding behind one of the festival stands. "I swear those fan girls are going to be the death of me" retorted Sasuke.

"Oh come on, they can't be THAT bad" said Naruto, receiving a death glare from his teammate.

"They're evil I tell you. They truly are demon spawns" commented Sasuke. "They're the same as those mobs that wanted to kill you on your birthday, only they want to rape me endlessly."

"Okay…" said Naruto. "Anyways, shouldn't you be picking Sakura up right now?"

"I was going to, until I was ambushed" said Sasuke as he turned around to head back towards Sakura's home, Naruto and Hinata following.

Sasuke knocked on the door of Sakura's house and it was a pink-haired man who answered. "Sakura! There's a handsome young man waiting for you!" Kizashi called out through the house. "She'll be a few minutes, why don't the three f you come inside for a moment."

Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata stepped inside the Haruno's residence. It was fairly simple, but it had everything necessary for a comfortable home. As they took a seat, Naruto could feel the tension in the room. It was a tension he was very familiar with, having dealt with Hiashi before.

For a few minutes, there was an awkward silence in the house as Kizashi and Sasuke just simply stared at each other. _"Well, I had to go through this already, I guess it's only fair he has to"_ thought Naruto.

"Is something bothering you? Haruno-san?" asked Sasuke.

"**And so it begins"** said Kurama.

"_Yep, it'll be funny to see Sasuke sweat a little"_ thought Naruto

"No, not much really. However, I do want to make one thing clear" said Kizashi, sending Sasuke THAT look, the one only a protective father could give. "You see, Sakura is very precious to me and as her father, I only want what's best for her. I want to see her happy and smiling. Do you get where I'm going?"

"I do. You don't have to worry, sir. I won't do anything to harm or upset Sakura. That I promise" replied Sasuke. On the outside, his composure was perfect, but he was sweating heavily on the inside from whatever energy Kizashi was sending towards him. The best way to describe it would be fatherly intent and it had the same effect as KI did on fresh genin only on a daughter's new boyfriend.

"Good" said Kizashi, as he began skillfully fiddling with a knife. "Because if I find out that you've upset or disrespected my daughter in any form, I don't give a crap what the council says, you WILL be the Last Uchiha. Am I clear?"

"Y-yes…sir" stuttered Sasuke. Kizashi had officially made it onto Sasuke's very short list of people he truly fears.

"Dad, are you scaring people again?" asked Sakura as she came down the stairs. Sasuke's reaction at that point practically mirrored Naruto's reaction when he first saw Hinata. Sakura saw Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke in the living room. She waved to the already official couple in the room before turning to Sasuke. "Sa-su-ke."

"Umm-hi-Sa-Sa-ama-you-…" babbled Sasuke, causing Sakura and Hinata to giggle. It was at this time that Sasuke made his way over to Sakura. Sakura had on a white kimono with some blooming cherry tree branches on it while the wind blew some of the blossoms off with it. She had her hair up in a tight bun, as opposed to the loose one Hinata had, with two large hair pins holding it in place

"Wow, glad I wasn't like that" commented Naruto.

"No, Sasuke didn't freeze up for five minutes afterwards" said Hinata as Naruto's head dropped in shame.

"Okay you four, get over here" called out Mebuki, holding a camera in her hand. A few pictures later and the four of them were out the door of the Haruno residence, much to Sasuke's relief.

"Sasuke!" cried a few shrieks that sent Sasuke cowering in fear behind Sakura. Before they could get any closer to Sasuke, they were stopped in their tracks be a massive KI that was coming from Sakura.

"I suggest you leave, now!" barked Sakura. She would give these fan-girls one last chance before things got real ugly. One of the girls made a comment about their hair and how Sasuke could possibly like someone for having 'short hair'.

"Actually, the funny thing about that whole 'Sasuke liking long hair' rumor" said Naruto, grinning and rubbing the back of his head. "I was actually the one to start it."

All the fangirls looked over at Sasuke for some form of comfort, knowing that they had been pleasing Naruto-baka instead of Sasuke. "It's true" was all he said. The four of them were then able to walk away quietly from a devastated bunch of fan-girls.

On their way through the festival, the four of them ran into a pair they had never thought possible. "Shikamaru?" all four of them said simultaneously.

Shikamaru simply groaned as a certain Suna blonde standing next to him merely waved at him. "Wait, don't tell me the two of you are here on a date?" asked Naruto.

"Why would I want to go on a date with this troublesome woman" said Shikamaru.

"What was that you lazy ass?" shouted Temari. "It's not like you have to be here or anything!"

"I wish, but the Hokage assigned me to act as an escort for you and your brothers while you're still here in Konoha" groaned Shikamaru. "And then there was my mother…*sigh*."

"Huh? What did your mother do?" asked Hinata.

"She found out about my assignment and immediately took it that I was going to take Temari on a date to the festival. Such a troublesome woman" complained Shikamaru, irritating Temari more.

"Like I said, you DON'T have to escort me, you lazy bum" said Temari.

"I know, but I don't want to have to deal with my mother" said Shikamaru.

It was then that Temari noticed the masks on Naruto and Hinata's heads. "Oh come on Shika, let's go find where they're selling those festival masks!" squealed Temari as she dragged a reluctant Shikamaru away.

"Shika?" asked Sakura.

"My ass they aren't here on a date" commented Naruto.

"You know Shikamaru though, it'd be too 'troublesome' for him to admit it" retorted Sasuke.

"It appears that would be a favorable assumption." Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Sasuke turned to see Shino in festival garments as well with a certain green-haired kunoichi next to him. Shino's kimono was a simple solid black with silver trimmings while Fu's was mint-green around the shoulders, matching the color of her hair, and transitioning through a rainbow of colors until it was a sort of red-yellow mix at the base.

"Shino! Fu! Wait, are you two here on a date as well?" asked Naruto.

"If that is what you would call it, I won't deny" said Shino. Fu smiled and rested her head on Shino's shoulder. During her recovery time in the hospital and the move into the Aburame compound, Fu and Shino got to know each other a lot better to the point where Shino offered to accompany her to the festival, as he put it.

At this time, a firefly landed on the tip of Fu's nose as it lit up, causing everyone, except Shino, to laugh (although Shino was probably laughing on the inside).

It was starting to get later into the night and the sound of drums and music was beginning to make its way through the village. This meant that the parade was coming through and the fireworks would follow shortly after. He streets were usually crowded along the parade route, but thankfully for Naruto and Hinata, the parade passed right by Ichiraku Ramen and Teuchi had been kind enough to allow them to watch the parade from the rooftop of the ramen shop.

The parade was a spectacle full of floats, music, and dancing. Naruto did remember parades like this from observing them in the past, but nothing beat watching it with Hinata in his arms. As soon as the parade concluded, Naruto and Hinata were off. The conclusion of the parade indicated only about 30 minutes until the fireworks started and they had to be sure to get their spot, seeing as Naruto was entitled to it in a way. Yes, that spot was none other than the Yondaime's head. The fireworks were shot from a training ground to the northeast of the mountain, giving them a nice view of the fireworks.

"You know, I'm going to miss this place" said Naruto as they sat down upon his father's head. This caused Hinata to sniggle into him a little for comfort.

"But I bet you're going to have lots of exciting stories to tell when you return" said Hinata.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. And you'll be the first one to hear those stories" said Naruto, getting a smile out of Hinata. "Honestly, I'm really excited about this trip. Three whole years to get stronger and see the world, but I kind of wish that I would have a chance to see my friends and you during those years."

"I know, and I don't like it that you have to leave, but I know you have to do so to get stronger" said Hinata. "And don't worry; I'm going to get strong as well. I'm not going to let you take on everything alone."

"Thanks Hime. I know you'll become stronger and you'll become even prettier than you are now" said Naruto, causing Hinata to blush at the compliment. In return, she moved in to give him the kiss that her father had denied them back at the compound and the moment their lips met, fireworks exploded throughout the village.

As their kiss came to an end, Naruto leaned back to rest against the rock as Hinata laid herself down on top of the blonde. Three years without Naruto…all she wanted to do right now was cuddle closely to him and savor the remaining time they had together.

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura had found a spot upon a higher branch in a large tree on top of a hill that overlooked the fireworks. The fireworks had already started and the pair was sitting side by side. At some point, Sasuke changed his posture so that he was leaning back against the trunk of the tree instead of just sitting on the branch. Sensing this, Sakura moved as well, realizing that Sasuke simply wanted to change the position they were sitting in and not trying to get away from her. _"It's now or never"_ thought Sakura nervously, as she got closer to where Sasuke was. She had to do it now as this was the perfect opportunity. Her heart began beating faster as she inched her way towards her long-time crush.

However, before Sakura could make her move, Sasuke made his, pulling her into him, his hands wrapped around her waist, and pressing his lips softly, yet firmly against hers. It was finally happening, something she had been dreaming about since the early days of the academy. Sasuke was actually kissing her. She felt like she was floating off into heaven at that very moment.

Their lips slowly parted as Sakura readjusted herself so that she was now laying against Sasuke with her head resting against his chest. Sasuke wrapped his arm around her back and placed it on her waist as she wrapped her fingers around his hand.

Sakura was the happiest she had ever been. That kiss left her fully satisfied, yet at the same time, begging for more. It was official; she and Sasuke were finally a couple.

"**Cha! Take that all you psychotic bitches! I kissed Sasuke! He's mine, all mine!" **cheered Inner Sakura in celebration.

As Sakura rested against him, Sasuke's head began spinning with thoughts. In the past, he had practically isolated himself. He isolated himself out of fear…fear that Itachi would return and take everything he held close to him away. He was afraid that night would repeat itself. He had promised himself that he wouldn't move on until Itachi was dead, yet here he was with Sakura in his arms and he didn't want to let go. It was probably the first time since his mother was still alive that Sasuke actually felt warmth and love. So, Sasuke did the only thing he could do, he tightened his grip. _"I won't let HIM get you. I won't let Itachi take you away! That I swear" _he thought.

* * *

Sakura awoke drearily to a tapping on her window. Last night had been, by far, the best night of her life. She and Sasuke had officially become a couple the previous night. Last night had seemed like a dream that she never wanted to wake up from; however, the constant tapping on her window was saying otherwise. She peeled back the curtains to find a cheerful Ino standing on the balcony to her room.

"Hey Sakura, hurry and get dressed. There's something you don't want to miss" said Ino. Having no idea what Ino was talking about, Sakura simply went along with it and minutes later, she was out. Honestly, she would have liked a bit longer to get ready, but the way Ino was nagging her she really didn't have much time.

"So what's up?" asked Sakura.

"Oh, you'll just have to wait and see" teased Ino. The duo ran through Konoha until they came upon a familiar warehouse of sorts. Sakura instantly recognized this place as this was where all the Sasuke fan-girls would go after school and their attempts at getting either Sasuke or some possession of Sasuke's. During the academy years, the Sasuke Fan Club had practically turned this building into a place of worship to Sasuke complete with a shrine to house all the 'relics' that they had gathered.

"Why are we here?" asked Sakura. Sure she and Sasuke might be a couple now, but the last thing she wanted to do was publicly announce it in front of the entire fan club which she had come to despise.

"Shh…they'll be here any moment" hushed Ino as she and Sakura made their way to the top of the warehouse and looked in though a small window up there. As Sakura looked in through the window, she could obviously see that a large picture was covering the shrine, although she couldn't make out what the poster was.

A few minutes passed and the two dozen or so remaining members of the Sasuke Fan Club began to file in for their routine worship. The first thing that both Sakura and Ino saw nearly made them fall through the window in a fit of laughter. As a result of the truth behind the long hair being revealed, all the fan girls had overreacted and shaved their heads so that they were now practically bald. Sakura could barely breath as her laughter continued. She knew the fan-girls were going to react in some way to Naruto telling them that he was actually the one who started the rumor, but she never imagined they would go this far.

"NO! SASUKE, WHY?!" screamed the fan-girls. They walked in to see the picture that had been left on their shrine and immediately dropped to their knees. Sakura was confused but Ino couldn't stop laughing.

"What'd you do?" asked Sakura. Ino handed Sakura a picture and now she understood why the fan-girls were so devastated. Somehow, Ino had managed to snap a picture of the moment her and Sasuke had their first kiss. "Ino!" Sakura growled while cracking a fist.

"Oh come on Sakura, lighten up" pleaded Ino.

Sakura took a deep breath to calm down as she looked at the picture. It was a nice picture and it actually gave her a memento of her first kiss, although she would never forget the way she felt. She looked over towards Ino who was now shaking before wrapping Sakura up in a hug. "You did it! I'm so happy for you!" squealed Ino. "Now come on, spill it. How was it?"

* * *

Like Sakura, Naruto was also rudely awakened by a knocking on his door. It was about 8:00 in the morning and this was one day where he had been hoping to sleep in a little as he figured he would be putting as much time as possible into training during the next few years.

After crawling out of bed, Naruto slipped and stumbled on some trash that he had lying around the floor. _"Damn, I've gotta clean before I leave"_ he thought while putting on a pair of shorts and opening the door. Standing outside was a familiar face to him. "Ko? What are you doing here?" asked Naruto to the Hyuga standing outside his door.

"I'm sorry to disturb you Naruto, but Hiashi-sama has requested that you stop by the clan compound this afternoon to join him and his family for tea. He also mentioned that you have some artifacts from your trip to Uzushiogakure that he would be most interested in seeing, in particular a certain sword and a scroll that you seem to have some across" said Ko.

"Okay, I'll come by this afternoon then" said Naruto.

"Very good, I will let Hiashi-sama know" bowed Ko, who also handed Naruto an envelope. "Also, this was taped onto your door."

Naruto took the envelope and closed the door as Ko left to inform Hiashi. _"Great, what does Hiashi want now?"_ thought Naruto. He turned over the envelope and immediately saw a crude drawing of Jiraiya on the front. _"And what does Ero-Sennin want?"_ Naruto took the letter out of the envelope and began reading.

_Naruto,_

_I just wanted to let you know that we will be leaving tomorrow after lunch. I have already made arrangements with Tsuande to take care of your apartment, although I highly recommend cleaning it. For our trip, make sure you have everything that you will need for training. Below, I have made a list of what you should bring for training:_

_-Three sets of shinobi clothes. Don't worry; I know a nice seal that can wash them._

_-Your standard ninja gear (kunai, shuriken, sealing scrolls, ect…)_

_-That Uzumaki sealing book and any other seals you may have from Uzushiogakure_

_-Your sword and special knives_

_-Whatever basic necessities you may need_

_I also want you to go to the Konoha jutsu library and get a few jutsu. There's a note in here that will allow you to select two wind jutsu up to B-rank. I also want you to grab a simple C-rank fire jutsu and a simple C-rank water jutsu. I feel that fire will be easy to learn because of the Furball in your stomach and if I remember, the Uzumakis were quite proficient with water jutsu. This is all I'm going to give you for ninjutsu. If there are any other ninjutsu you wish to learn, they will either have to be Uzumaki clan jutsu if there are any more in those scrolls of yours or you're going to have to make them yourself. _

_Be ready, because when we leave, your training truly begins._

_Jiraiya_

* * *

Kakashi was leaning against a tree, leisurely reading his Icha Icha book until he felt a presence approach him. He looked up to see Gai standing there, giving one of his signature smiles and dragging a pouting and cross-armed Zabuza behind him.

* * *

Author Notes

And that's it for this chapter.

Okay, so some fan-girl bashing to try and give this chapter a bit of humor and the official start of the SasuSaku pairing. I know they weren't developed as much as the NaruHina or SasuSaku pairings, but the other pairings that I have mentioned in this chapter will eventually develop into full fledge relationships by the time the third book comes around. As of now, the pairings currently are: NaruHina, SasuSaku, ShinoFu, NejiTen, and ShikaTema (I know a lot of the more common ones). I do believe I will be following through with the LeeYakumo pairing and I have some interesting ideas for a pairing for Kiba and one for Haku.

One other thing I want to mention (that is kind of late, but oh well) is the three princess/daimyos from movies/filler arcs. These are Haruna, Koyuki, and Toki. I have already done Haruna (and I will probably go back and revise that chapter at some point in time). I will also include the other two. Koyuki will be during the second book and Toki will be near the beginning of the third.

For the purposes of this story (and I'll explain a bit further in the final A/N), when a ninja graduates from the academy and becomes a genin, they are all assigned to a jonin-sensei to be tested (ex. Bell test). Should a team pass, they are commissioned as a genin under that jonin sensei. If they fail, they are returned to a special remedial curriculum for a year. Afterwards, they are retested. This test is more of a skills test (slightly harder than the academy graduation exam). Should they pass, they are then commissioned as genin but instead of being in a group of three, they are in a group of about thirty or so genin who are under the command of an appointed supervisor (not sensei). The training they receive is much less than if they were under a jonin sensei and their primary purpose in the village is to reduce the number of excess D-ranks and simple missions floating through the system. It is much much harder to earn a promotion this way (although not impossible), effectively meaning that if you want to climb your way up the ranks, you better earn the right to train under a jonin sensei. Again, this will be explained further in the appendix section in the final A/N.

The whole idea of the dinner/dance club is more of a formal setting, not a modern night club.

So, I have a few questions that I want to try and get a feel for. Either include them in a review or PM me (I prefer the review, that way they are all in one place):

1. During Naruto's training should I have him develop the Futon: Rasengan? (Not the Rasenshuriken, but the precursor to it)

2. When Akatsuki makes their move, should Yugito survive or no?

3. Should I maintain Kurenai/Asuma like in cannon? And any suggestions for a pairing for Kakashi?

4. Is Tobi a good boy?

5. Who should win the final Eternal Rival Competition of the book? Kakashi, Gai, or Zabuza? (I'm only going to leave this open through 2/23/13)

6. As in cannon, should Ino become a med-nin? (also probably going to leave this one open for only a few days)

That's about it for now. One more chapter to go. For those of you following my other story, Rewriting the Past, I should have the next chapter up by the end of the weekend.

Please review/comment.


	60. Chapter 60

Disclaimer: Sorry, still don't own Naruto.

Posted: 2/26/13

Well here it is, the final chapter of this story. Hope you enjoy and I'll try to get the sequel started shortly.

* * *

**Chapter 60: Departure**

"Oh crap! I'm leaving tomorrow?!" shouted Naruto as he began freaking out. In a frantic matter, he began shoveling old instant ramen bowls into a trash bag and some dirty clothes into a second trash bag. _"Ero-Sennin did say he knows a seal to clean these, so I'll just seal them and bring them with me"_ he thought as he prepared to seal the bag full of dirty laundry in.

When he went to get the laundry bag, something felt off. "Oh crap, I tossed out the wrong bag" he said as he ran down to the trash room in his apartment complex to search for the bag of clothes he had thrown away by accident. A few minutes later, he returned back to his apartment, carrying the correct bag. Next on his agenda was to take a shower, especially considering he had just gone dumpster diving.

After scrubbing the garbage off of himself, Naruto came back out a little more relaxed. He had managed to clean up all the trash off of his room and all that was left was to wipe the kitchen down and toss out any food he wasn't going to be eating. Thankfully, he had just the method that worked. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he said and three clones popped into existence. "You guys know what to do, right?"

The clones nodded and went on to perform their assigned tasks. "You know, if clones can be used for menial chores like this, then I wonder why Baachan doesn't use them to do paperwork?" thought Naruto out loud.

* * *

"RAW!" screamed Tsunade. "Why doesn't this damned paperwork ever stop?!"

"Come on Tsunade-sama, it's not that bad" said Shizune, trying to comfort her master.

Tsunade just shot her first apprentice a death glare. "Fine, if you think it's 'not that bad' then why don't you try it?" shouted Tsunade, getting up from her seat and throwing Shizune into it. Shizune was now facing a mountain of paperwork. "You see what I mean now?"

"H-hai, Tsunade-sama" said Shizune in defeat. For some reason, just sitting behind the desk made the paperwork look more intimidating than it originally was.

Tsunade then proceeded to stomp over towards the pictures of the former four Hokages and looked directly at Minato's. "How the hell did you do it?" she growled at the picture. She knew that Sarutobi-sensei was swamped with paperwork, part of the reason why the Civilian Council had gained so much leeway, but Minato was a different story. It was widely known that Minato had discovered a way to combat the paperwork and one of the biggest regrets Sarutobi had was not asking Minato to spill that secret before sealing the Kyuubi and sacrificing himself.

* * *

"Achoo!" sneezed Naruto. _"Why do I have this feeling some cranky old bat is buried underneath a mountain of paperwork?"_

As it stood, his apartment was cleaned within 20 minutes with clones taking care of the kitchen and bathroom. The real Naruto had begun inspecting everything that he was going to be taking. He had three pairs of his shinobi outfit, including the pair that he wore. This consisted of the black pants, sandals, vest, and orange long sleeved shirt. There were also those bracers that he wore that had the kunai and shuriken seals on them. He had unsealed his sword from the Uzumaki sealing tome along with the scrolls that were not originally in there. It was also at this time where he remembered a promise he made to Sakura and began pulling out any scroll that has to do with medicine.

"You know, I need to figure out a way to modify them again to hold those knives Ero-sennin gave me. He gave me five of them so that means one knife for each element. Now I just need to remake the seal so that I can easily access them when needed" contemplated Naruto, looking at his bracers. "Hmm…I'll work on them while I'm away. Time to go and get those jutsu! I can't believe Ero-Sennin's actually going to teach me fire and water jutsu! I'm going to be super-awesome when I come back!" With that, Naruto took off towards the Konoha archives where he would get those jutsu and then he would probably find Sakura and give her the scrolls. Afterwards, it would be time to meet up with Hiashi. Yeah, he was going to be busy today.

As he was leisurely walking through the village, Naruto couldn't help but notice the 'rock' that was following him. _"He's still not getting any better, is he?"_ thought Naruto.

"**Nope"** replied Kurama.

Naruto sighed. "I know it's you, Konohamaru."

"Just what I'd expect from my rival!" shouted Konohamaru as an explosion sent the box flying upwards, revealing Konohamaru.

"_Well, at least he got the gunpowder correct this time"_ thought Naruto.

"**Yes, but now he's got to work on the trajectory of the box"** said Kurama. Naruto just stared, confused by this. **"Look up."**

Naruto did so to see the box, which was originally shot upwards, begin to fall back down. "Now come on! You said…OUCH!" shouted Konohamaru as the box landed square on his head.

"You want help with the Shadow Clone Justu" finished Naruto while Konohamaru was rubbing the bump on his head.

"Yes! I've almost got it!" shouted Konohamaru. Naruto sighed. This day was busy enough as it was.

"Fine, but I've got a few things that I need to do first. Meet me at Ichiraku's at 6:00 and I'll help you a little after dinner" said Naruto.

"You've got it Naruto-niichan!" saluted Konohamaru.

"Now, shouldn't you be in class? Iruka-sensei's going get pretty mad that you're skipping" said Naruto.

"What? Nah, he's perfectly fine with it! He won't even…" said Konohamaru with a suspicious look on his face. All this time, Naruto was trying to hold back the laughter and looking directly behind Konohamaru. "…he's right behind me, isn't he?" Naruto nodded.

"KONOHAMARU!" shouted Iruka, using his Big Head no Jutsu. "Why aren't you in class?!"

"I was just umm…Transform!" shouted Konohamaru. When the smoke cleared, in Konohamaru's place stood a busty young woman with thin wisps of smoke that barely covered the private areas of the female body. Iruka twitched as he fought back the oncoming rush of blood from his nose. From his experiences with Naruto back in the academy, he had built up a sort of resistance to the basic form of the Sexy Jutsu.

"Cut out the nonsense and get back to class!" shouted Iruka. Konohamaruko sighed in defeat and dispelled the transformation.

"Don't worry Konohamaru, I'll still meet up with you later" said Naruto as Konohamaru began walking back towards the academy.

Konohamaru smiled. "Right! See you then, Boss!"

Naruto turned and grinned to Iruka. "Sorry about that. It's kind of my fault he can use that" said Naruto, rubbing the back of his head. Iruka merely sighed.

"Just…never mind" said Iruka. "I guess you're leaving tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Oh, and before I forget, here's your vest" said Naruto, taking off Iruka's vest. "Hey Iruka-sensei, think we can grab Ichiraku one last time during your lunch break? It'll be the last time before I leave."

"Sure" said Iruka as he walked back towards the academy to deal with the second generation of Naruto.

Walking past the Hokage Tower, Naruto just barely avoided a chair that was came flying out of the window. _"What's got Baachan's panties in a bundle?"_ he thought, looking over at the chair, which somehow had an anime-style lump on it.

Naruto just shrugged and continued on his way to the jutsu archives to get his jutsu before heading to find Sakura and then over to the Hyugas. At the jutsu library, he found a handful of jutsu that he wanted to learn, especially now that Jiraiya was opening him up to both water and fire elements. However, since he was leaving the village, he was only limited to what was written on the note Jiraiya had given him. The first wind jutsu he got was a jutsu called Futon: Swallow's Strike and the second was one called Futon: Jade Storm Gale. He remembered Asuma-sensei mentioning the last one, although he never taught it to him, but Naruto found it interesting that he could use wind chakra to manipulate his weapons. The fire jutsus were relatively simple, given what he had to work with, so he just went with one that was familiar to him and that was Sasuke's Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu. The water jutsu was the same way and he went with something simple to start off with, choosing the Suiton: Water Jet. They were nothing too flashy, but he figured they would serve as a good base for him to branch out. Perhaps Kurama knew some fire jutsu and maybe some of those Uzumaki scrolls contained a water jutsu or two, since that was where he found his Futon: Heaven's Hammer and the Uzumaki's were mainly either wind or water users in terms of ninjutsu.

"_Okay, now that I got my jutsu, off to find Sakura and give her those medical scrolls"_ thought Naruto.

* * *

"Ino, is something wrong?" asked Sakura. The two were enjoying lunch at the local tea and dango shop. Sakura could obviously see that something was bothering her friend.

"Sakura, why did you decide to become a med-nin?" asked Ino.

"Huh? Why do you ask?" replied Sakura.

"It's just, I want to become stronger, but I don't really know where to begin…" said Ino.

Sakura merely smiled at this. "I wanted to become a men-nin because that's where I felt I would succeed and be the most useful. When I was first starting off as a genin, Sensei had told me that I already had excellent chakra control and he began teaching me a little bit of genjutsu; however, a few months later, he gave me a book on basic medical techniques. While I found both of them interesting, it was the medical jutsu that really peaked my interest. After that whole event with the Sound, I realized just how far behind I had let myself get. I was useless during that fight and I nearly got Sasuke and myself killed. Honestly, if I hadn't been in the way there, Naruto and Sasuke probably could have taken those freaks. But because of me…Sasuke and I nearly died and the only reason we lived was because of well…Naruto's tenant" said Sakura, recalling the painful memories of that day. "Afterwards, I knew I couldn't just sit back and fawn over Sasuke, I had to push myself to become stronger and that was when I asked Tsunade-shisho to take me as an apprentice."

"I see, but from how the exams went, you were amazing with the genjutsu. Are you just going to toss that aside and become a medic?" asked Ino.

"Nope. I know it will be a lot of work, but I asked Kurenai-sensei if she could continue to give me a few genjutsu lessons. I need to become as strong as I can get and if that means learning both medical jutsus and genjutsu, then so be it. I need to use these three years to get as strong as I can before everything begins" said Sakura.

"Huh? What's going to begin in three years?" asked a confused Ino.

"Oh, that." Sakura's expression changed from a cheerful and determined expression to one a bit sadder. "Both Sasuke and Naruto are being targeted by some really powerful enemies, that's why they are going on their trips. I won't let them face those enemies alone and I won't let myself get in the way."

"I see" said Ino, matching Sakura's expression. "Well count me in then!"

"Huh?" said a confused Sakura.

"What? You really don't think I'm going to let you get ahead of me? I thought you were smarter than that, Billboard" playfully taunted Ino.

"Tsk, I'm already miles ahead of you, Ino-pig!" responded Sakura. Both girls began butting head like old times, but then burst out in a fit of laughter.

"Hey Sakura, what do you think I would be good in?" asked Ino.

"What? You honestly don't know?" Sakura stiffened at the voice who just said that. She had gotten enough punishment from said voice in the past month or so. Turning around, both girls were face-to-face with Anko.

"A-anko-sensei?" asked Sakura.

"The one and only sexiest kunoichi in Konoha! Oh and how's my cute little Rabbit doing today?" grinned Anko as she finished off a stick of dango. For some reason, Anko had started referring to Sakura as 'rabbit' during their training. It was most likely due to the way Anko would have her snakes chase Sakura around, kind of like they were chasing a rabbit, during the training. Sakura in turn, stiffened at that word. "So, you don't know what to do, do ya? Well, just look at where you come from. You're a Yamanaka, which means interrogation's in your blood."

Ino tilted her head slightly. She was aware of that, with her dad being the top interrogator in Konoha. But she had never really considered going into interrogation. "Ino, I think Anko actually makes a good point. Weren't you solely responsible for your team passing the first test?"

"Yeah, I guess I was" Ino smiled proudly.

"I also heard what you did to that prisoner afterwards. Oh that was evil…and brilliant!" grinned Anko with a sadistic smile.

"What? He was a piece of trash who raped a girl. He had it coming" defended Ino.

"And that's exactly why you belong in interrogation and infiltration. You know how to get the information and you know how to make them suffer appropriately" said Anko. "So what do you say, Piglet?"

"Huh?"

"You heard me. You've got potential to become a sexy and kick-ass interrogator" said Anko as some sort of pager went off. "Well, I've gotta go make some bastards suffer. Talk to your father about it and get back to me when you've decided, Piglet."

"So what do you think, Sakura?" asked Ino.

"While Anko-sensei can be scary, I'd say go for it. She was right in saying that you do have potential in interrogation and I think it would be your best course of action" said Sakura. "However, I can ask Shizune if you can learn some basic medical jutsu as well, and now that I think of it, some medical knowledge might come in handy for interrogation."

"Well, I've gotta get back as well. But honestly think about it. It's not an easy process deciding what you want to dedicate yourself towards" said Sakura.

On her way back to meet Tsunade, Sakura ran into Naruto. "Sakura!" shouted Naruto, getting her attention.

"Hey, Naruto" greeted Sakura. "What's going on?"

"Packing's a pain in the ass, but it's getting there" replied Naruto.

"Right, so when are you leaving?" asked Sakura.

"Tomorrow after lunch" replied Naruto.

"Wow, it's going to get really quite after tomorrow then. Sasuke's leaving then as well" said Sakura.

"Do you know where he's going?" asked Naruto.

"Not exactly, but I guess there was some mention of specialized ANBU training basses scattered throughout Fire Country. My guess is to one of those" said Sakura. "So what are you up to now?"

"Well, I was looking for you to give these to you" he said, pulling out a bundle of scrolls. "And then I've got to go meet Hiashi for some reason."

Sakura opened the scrolls. "These are…"

"They are the medical sealing scrolls I found in Uzushiogakure. You shouldn't have to worry about using them as those scrolls can be used by anyone. If by some chance, you need Uzumaki blood to open one or two of them, just ask Baachan. She should be able to do it" said Naruto.

"That's right. Tsuande-shisho does have a little bit of Uzumaki blood, doesn't she" commented Sakura. Naruto nodded. "Thanks, and make sure you stop by the hospital some time before you leave tomorrow to say goodbye."

"Don't worry, I will" said Naruto as he walked off towards the Hyuga compound.

"_Yeah, things really are going to get quite around here"_ thought Sakura. Or would they?

* * *

"_What the hell is he thinking of now?"_ commented Zabuza.

"Yosh! Time to find out whose Youth is stronger!" shouted Gai. Gai turned to Kakashi. "Let's go Kakashi!"

"Huh? Did you say something Gai?" said Kakashi, completely ignoring Gai.

"Gah! Your hipness really does get on my nerves, Kakashi! No wonder you are my eternal rival!" yelled Gai.

"_Help me"_ thought Zabuza.

"You are leaving tomorrow, so what better time than to have one last youth-filled challenge!" declared Gai as he pulled out three special suits that had Zabuza holding a kunai just inches away from his Konoha headband.

Kakashi sighed. "Okay, let's do this then. Doton: Risen Field of Battle Jutsu!" said Kakashi, slamming his hands into the ground. Immediately, the ground shook as the piece of earth that the three Eternal Rivals were on rose 100 feet into the air. The three of them were now standing atop a tall earthen pillar with a flat circular top, about 30 feet in diameter.

"Now hurry and put these on so we may begin our Youth-filled battle!" said Gai, tossing the suits to Zabuza and Kakashi and hurried them to put it on. He practically had to put on Zabuza's suit for him.

"So we are wearing a couple of baggy suit? What the hell are we supposed to do with these?" growled Zabuza.

Gai gave his signature smile and grabbed a chord on the side of the suit. As he pulled it, a compressed air cartridge was released and the suit immediately began to fill with air.

"OH HELL NO!" shouted Zabuza when he saw what Gai was thinking.

Gai tossed them a couple of inflatable sumo suits and the three of them looked like a couple of blown up balloons wearing mawashis (the belt sumo wrestlers wear). "Last man who doesn't get pushed off the edge wins! And that will be me! For if I don't, I will run 500 laps around Konoha on my hands while balancing Tenten on my feet!"

* * *

Somewhere else in Konoha,

"Achoo!" sneezed Tenten.

"Are you okay, Tenten?" asked Neji. "You're not catching a cold are you?"

"No, but why do I have the feeling Gai-sensei just dragged me into one of his ridiculous antics?" replied Tenten.

* * *

"Lee! Start it!" shouted Gai as Lee jumped in the middle of the three sumo-ninjas out of nowhere.

"Hai, Gai-sensei!" said Lee. "In this Youthful competition, this is solely a competition of the body. No ninjutsu, no genjutsu, only taijutsu. If you are knocked out of the arena and onto the ground below, you are out. The last one remaining will win. Now, with all your Youth, Hajime!"

As soon as Lee signaled the start of the match, Gai was racing towards Zabuza at full speed, colliding with him and causing the former Kiri ninja to bounce off of him and almost off the field of battle.

"No way in hell am I losing to a bloated buffoon" growled Zabuza. Despite the ridiculousness of this competition, his pride was still at stake here. He slid to a halt just before the edge of the arena came only to be locked hand-in-hand with Kakashi.

"So I guess this is the closest I'll get to a rematch for now" said Zabuza.

"Hmm…yep" replied Kakashi.

"Well then, don't expect to beat me this time around" said Zabuza, rooting himself and throwing Kakashi back into a charging Gai. The two bounced off each other and Gai was nearly thrown off.

"It seems there's some youth in my Second Eternal Rival after all!" declared Gai.

"Let's go Kakashi, it seems like it's going to take our youth combined to bring down this challenger!" said Gai, giving Kakashi the thumbs up.

"Oh sorry Gai, did you say something?" asked Kakashi as Gai began to heat up.

"That's the second time already that your coolness has got the better of me! You truly are a worthy rival Kakashi!" said Gai.

"Hmph, fine. If you're not going to make a move, I will!" declared Zabuza as he began to charge Kakashi and Gai. Unfortunately for him, he tripped on a pebble which caused him to fall. However, thanks to the suit, his fall turned into a roll as Zabuza barreled towards them as Kakashi and Gai just sat there like a pair of bowling pins.

Zabuza collided with the Cyclops and Green Beast and the two were thrown out of the arena with a crashing sound. A dizzy Zabuza came to a halt just before rolling off of the arena. Both Kakashi and Gai were flung into some trees where they landed on top of each other in the form of an 'X'.

"Uhg…I feel sick" said Zabuza as he made his way to his wobbly feet. He then looked around and saw that he was the last one standing. "Heh, told ya I wouldn't lose to a bunch of blown up buffoons."

As Zabuza made his way down from the platform, Gai stumbled over to him. "Yosh! You truly are a worthy rival! It's a shame Kakashi won't be here to partake in our youth-filled battles for the next three years. But no worries, you and I will only have to step up our competitions to make up for Kakashi's missing Youth!"

"…" Zabuza's mind blanked momentarily at the horrors that he just realized he had been condemned to. "No!"

"Heh…Sorry Zabuza…umm Zabuza?" asked Kakashi, eye smiling rubbing his head in an almost Naruto-ish fasion.

"Kakashi…" growled Zabuza. It didn't take a Sharingan to see the demon-like aura that was surrounding Zabuza. "I'm going to beat the crap out of you so hard that you'll be forced to stay in this village!"

Kakashi just sweat dropped as he began to run for his dear life from an enraged Zabuza swinging his Kubikiribocho wildly in the air at Kakashi.

* * *

"Father, what are we doing down here?" asked Hinata. Her father had taken her down into the cellar below the Hyuga compound for some unknown reason.

"Don't worry, there are just some things down here that I want to get out of storage" said Hiashi as he opened a door. When Hinata stepped inside the room, she immediately knew what was in there. The first thing she saw was a portrait of her mother and father holding her as a baby.

"These are…"

"Yes, everything in here was your mother's" said Hiashi. "I don't know why I locked everything of hers away. Perhaps it just hurt too much to be without her." And then, the Hyuga head did something no one would ever expect him to do, he cried while he hugged his daughter. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I've done to hurt you since she left. I never should have pushed my pain onto you. Please forgive me for the way I acted."

Hinata was surprised by her father's apology, but she returned the hug. "It's okay, dad. I will always forgive you."

"Thank you. Now, can I please have a few moments alone?" he said. Hinata stepped outside the room, leaving her father alone to his thoughts.

Inside, Hiashi turned to another portrait that was hanging on a wall off to the side. This was the only family portrait that Hiashi had with both Hinata and Hanabi in it. It was painted just a few days before his wife passed. Despite knowing she was dying, that portrait was the happiest she had ever looked.

"I'm sorry it's been so long. I've missed you and I still do" Hiashi said to the image of his late wife. "I screwed up, and I almost screwed up to the point where I wouldn't be able to fix things. I neglected our daughter's happiness for the sake of my own pride and I feel disgusted by that. I hope that you can forgive me as I'm now going to do everything I can to ensure our daughters grow strong and happy. On that, I swear. Hikari, I will not neglect our daughters any longer."

Taking a deep breath, Hiashi called in Hinata. Looking around, Hinata was happy to see that there were still things of her mother's that were in here. She was afraid that her father had trashed or destroyed everything to help alleviate the pain of losing her. Hiashi handed a smaller picture frame, about the size of an 8.5x11 piece of paper to Hinata. It was a picture of her when she was four with just her mother. The two were sitting in her mother's garden both with genuinely warm smiles on their faces. Hinata's smile at that moment practically mimicked that from the picture as she took it from him.

"If you want, you can hang that one in your room. I have one of just after Hanabi was born that I'll give to your sister when she gets back from school and I think I'm going to hang the big one in my study" said Hiashi. Hinata was overjoyed. Before this year, she was basically not allowed to have any decorations in her room as the clan didn't feel she deserved them, but now her father was practically shoveling things to decorate her room with into her hands.

Hiashi walked over to a decorated chest and opened it to see what was inside. _"It's still in pristine condition, just like the day she wore it"_ he thought. He then looked at the contents of the chest and then over to Hinata. _"Maybe someday, but not today. I'll give it to her when that time comes around." _

After looking through some of the old family memorabilia, Hiashi then began to dive into some of his wife's old shinobi scrolls and gear. Hinata curiously picked up a black book that most ninja knew as a Bingo Book. "Heh, that old thing" said Hiashi as he turned to a certain page in the book. He then handed it to Hinata and she read it through.

_Name: Tsukino Hikari_

_Age: 23_

_Gender: Female_

_Village Affiliation: Konohagakure no Sato_

_Rank: Jonin_

_Nickname: Midnight Tigress_

_Known Associates: Crimson Fury (__**A/N:**__ aka. Red-hot Habanero), Nighthawk (__**A/N: **__aka. A certain Uchiha's mother)_

_Rank: A+_

_Skills: A highly advanced taijutsu user who utilizes a unique style of taijutsu known as the Meisho. She is also a highly skilled wind-user. Not much else is known as encounters against her do not last long enough to gather sufficient data._

_Other: Use extreme caution when confronting. Recommended not to engage unless in a team of 3 or more high-jonin-level shinobi. Do not engage in close-combat unless absolutely necessary._

Hinata looked at the entry again and then to the picture listed in the Bingo Book. In the picture, Hinata saw a woman who looked like herself, only with longer hair and eyes that matched the color of her hair.

"That was while we were still dating and before we got married. Getting into the books was probably the biggest accomplishment to her" explained Hiashi. "She probably could have made S-rank, but she opted to settle down and start a family."

Hinata was shocked. She had never imagined her mother was such a skilled kunoichi. But that only made her want to be more like her mother, a woman who was strong yet kind.

"Hiashi-sama!" called out Ko, appearing at the front of the room. "An Uzumaki Naruto is here to see you."

"I see. Thank you and tell him I will be there momentarily" said Hiashi. "I'll take this to my study and then we'll go see Naruto." Hiashi lifted the large portrait of his entire family from the wall it was hung on only to reveal a hidden compartment from behind the picture with a rather large scroll behind it. "Hinata, will you get that scroll." Hiashi was curious as to what that scroll was. It was white with some intricate kind of stripe-like markings on it. He would look at it later, but right now there was a certain blonde in the compound who you did not want to get bored.

"Hey! Hinata!" called out Naruto from across the courtyard as he saw Hinata and her father emerge from the cellar. Hinata smiled and waved, but Naruto's attention was drawn to the scroll in Hinata's hands. "Wow! Where'd you get that Summoning Contract?"

"Summoning Contract?" asked a curious Hinata, looking down at the scroll. Hiashi was equally confused until he finally realized what Naruto was talking about.

"Of course. Now I know what that scroll is, it's your mother's summoning contract" said Hiashi, lightly bopping his forehead with his palm.

"M-mother had a summoning contract?" asked Hinata surprised.

"Yes, hold on, let me go put these old pictures in the house" said Hiashi. A few minutes later, he emerged and Hinata was still staring at the scroll, wondering what sort of summon it was.

"So Hinata, where did you get it and are you going to sign it?" asked Naruto.

"Sign it?" asked Hinata.

"It was her mother's and yes, if she wants she can sign it" said Hiashi. Hinata smiled at this as she placed the scroll on the ground and unfurled it. On the scroll, there were four blank name boxes on the scroll, indicating that there were no living summoners of the scroll. "Umm…so what do I do?"

"Well, first you sign your name in blood and then press all five finger prints down in one of those areas" said Naruto, already knowing how Summoning Contracts work from Ero-Sennin. Hinata did as Naruto said and bit her finger. "Okay, now you rub some blood on your fingers and make the signs I, Inu, Tori, Saru, Hitsuji. And then you slam our hand downward like this. Summoning Jutsu!"

"Yo, Naruto" called out Gamakichi. Since the last time Naruto had summoned Gamakichi, the small orange toad had grown quite a bit to the point where he was now almost up to Naruto's waist in height. "What's up? Got any snacks?"

Naruto sweat dropped slightly at this before unsealing a package of snacks for Gamakichi. "I was just showing Hinata here how to do a summoning jutsu. She just found a contract."

"Oh, a new summoner. Come on the, let's see" said Gamakichi.

Hinata blushed slightly at all the attention that was focused on her, but did as Naruto said. "Summoning Jutsu!"

Smoke appeared where Hinata placed her hand and when it cleared, a medium-sized orange tiger, which was slightly smaller than a large dog, appeared.

"It's been awhile, Hikari wait…you're not Hikari" said the tiger, staring at Hinata.

"Hikari? Y-you knew my mother?" asked Hinata.

"Hmm…well that would explain why you look a lot like her then" said the tiger.

"Wow!" exclaimed Hanabi as she walked through the gate to the Hyuga compound to see Hinata in the courtyard with a tiger. "Did you summon him Neesan?"

Hinata smiled and nodded. "I take it you are their father and the younger girl is my summoner's sister?" asked the tiger to Hiashi. Hiashi nodded. "And Hikari?"

"I'm sorry, but she passed away some years ago due to health complications" said Hiashi solemnly.

"I see, then I am sorry for your loss. She was a great friend and most respected summoner" said the tiger.

"Hey Isamu, is that you?" asked Gamakichi.

"Huh, you two know each other?" asked Naruto.

"We've met once" said Isamu. "How's the old toad doing?"

"Still grumpy as ever" joked Gamakichi.

"Good to hear he's still croaking" joked Isamu. Gamakichi laughed a little at that.

"Now, I take it the reason I was summoned was to enter into a contract with…" said Isamu.

"Hyuga Hinata" said Hinata.

"Yes, Hinata. Now I remember. Hikari mentioned that name when she was still pregnant with her fist child" said Isamu. "I then take it you were that child. Very well then, we of the Byakko clan will agree to enter into a summoning contract with you."

Hinata smiled at this. "Thank you, Isamu-san" bowed Hinata.

"It's nothing. We look forward to working with the daughter of Hikari" said Isamu before disappearing.

"Yay! Neesan got a summoning contract!" cheered Hanabi.

"Now, why don't we go inside for some tea" said Hiashi as he gestured for Naruto and his daughters to go inside. "Naruto, did you bring the items I asked for?"

"I think so. All the scrolls and everything I got in Uzu I keep sealed in my book, so I should have everything" said Naruto. Hiashi nodded as they went inside.

The four of them sat around a table in a somewhat awkward silence for the first few minutes. "So Hiashi-sama, is there any reason in particular why you invited me over?" asked Naruto. Honestly, after remembering Sasuke's encounter with Kizashi, he probably should have kept his mouth shut.

"No, nothing in particular. From my understanding, you will be leaving tomorrow and I thought this would give up one last time to talk before you left" said Hiashi.

"Okay…so what is it you want to talk about?" asked Naruto. "Does it have anything to do with my sword and some of my scrolls?"

"In a way, yes. However there is a question I want to ask you first" said Hiashi. "Do you still intend to continue a relationship with my daughter?" The entire room was silent for at least a minute.

"What?! Why would you ask that? Of course I still want to be with Hinata, -ttebayo!" declared Naruto. Hinata let out a breath that she had been holding ever since her father asked that question.

"I just need to be sure, you see…" Hiashi was interrupted.

"Hiashi-sama, I have finished sharpening the Hyuga Sword and it is ready for your inspection" said one of the servants, who came over to Hiashi and handed him a sword wrapped in cloth and an extra fine grade whetstone. Immediately, Naruto stiffened as Hiashi pulled the sword out from the cloth wrapping.

Hiashi examined the sword while Naruto began sweating. "A fine job you did. The fine tuning shouldn't take too much then" said Hiashi. He always liked to do the fine tuning himself to get the sword the way he liked it. The servant bowed and left the room as Hiashi set the sword on his lap and began filing it with the whetstone in his hand. "Now Naruto, the reason I asked was because well…you know how Sensei is."

Naruto nodded nervously as every pass with the whetstone caused Naruto to stiffen even more. _"So this is why Hiashi asked me to come…help"_ panicked Naruto.

"_**Hehe, this ought to be interesting"**_ thought Kurama.

"I just need to make sure your loyalties lie undoubtedly with my daughter" said Hiashi with a stern look on his face as he glared into Naruto's very soul. "If you wish to continue your relationship with my daughter, I just need to make a few things clear."

Naruto gulped as Hiashi dragged the whetstone along the sword. "First, I know very well that there will be certain temptations along your trip and you will meet many other women. It would be wise remember that my daughter is the ONLY girl in your universe. Any women you may encounter along the trip, you should act as formal and neutral as possible. Second, you will be reaching that age very soon where young men begin to become interested in certain aspects of women. I suggest you refrain from picking up any of sensei's err…less desirable habits. And lastly, understand that the Hyuga clan only recognizes the strong. While your recent accomplishments may have shown that you have some potential, you still have a long, LONG way to go before I see you at a satisfactory level" said Hiashi, as he made one last pass along the sword with the whetstone. He then felt the blade with his finger and proceeded to pluck a hair from his head. Using nothing more than gravity, Hiashi spit the hair straight down the middle with the sword. "Perfect." He then looked over towards Naruto, who was now sweating profusely with his legs clenched tightly together and hands clasped over a certain area. "Do you understand where I'm coming from?"

"I do, I do, I do" said Naruto frantically, not taking his eyes off the very object, and man holding said object, that could very well end his future dreams at any moment. "I won't do anything to disappoint you, sir."

"Good" said Hiashi as he sheathed the sword, much to Naruto's relief. Both Hanabi and Hinata were giggling at the way Naruto and their father were interacting. "Now, as Ko informed you, there are a few items in your possession that I would like the opportunity to examine. In particular, a sword you may possess and what sensei has informed me is a family tree."

"Oh, so that's the scroll you want to see" said Naruto as he pulled out his Uzumaki sealing book and released two of the seals he made in the back. The first was his own sword, which he was hesitant to hand over to Hiashi after the previous episode. The second seal contained the Uzumaki Family Tree scroll and also the quadrilateral Uzukage hat that he came across.

"Is that…" asked Hiashi, looking at the hat.

Naruto grinned. "Yep. It's my great-grandfather's hat!" smiled the blonde.

"_Well that just about answers that question"_ thought Hiashi. Naruto handed the scroll to Hiashi, who opened it up. On that scroll, most of the names were faded slightly, indicating that person had passed. The only name that was highlighted on that scroll was Naruto's. The scroll worked so that when someone placed a small bit of blood in the seal on the lower right-hand corner of the seal, the seals in the scroll would immediately match up the person with the correct family tree. Once that person passed away, the name would remain, but it would fade to preserve the record while indicating that said person was deceased.

"So it is true, the main branch does still live" said Hiashi.

"Huh?" Naruto looked at Hiashi confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Didn't sensei tell you? I take it you know who your great-grandfather was" asked Hiashi.

"Yeah, he was the Shodaime Uzukage" said Naruto.

"While that is true, I am talking from more of a clan prospective. In short, you are the last surviving member of the head family of the Uzumaki clan" said Hiashi.

"Wait…what?" asked a surprised Naruto.

"I said, you are the heir to the Uzumaki clan" repeated Hiashi.

"Okay, so what exactly does that mean?" asked Naruto.

"Well, first is that you'll have access to the head family's techniques. Every clan has some form of head family technique. Even the Hyuga has a set of head family techniques" said Hiashi. "It will also make it easier for the clan to accept the relationship between you and my daughter."

"Head family techniques? You mean like the Kaiten and Jyuken: Eight Trigrams Sixty-four palms, right? And how exactly will this make our relationship easier?" asked Naruto.

"No. Those are main branch techniques, known by every member of the main branch, and Neji. There are a set of techniques that I and I alone know as head of the clan and the only other person I will pass them down to would be Hanabi when she shows that she's ready" explained Hiashi. "The head of a clan needs to be the strongest member of the clan so that they can effectively guide the clan and protect it when needed. That's why each clan has their own set of techniques that only the head family knows. If my suspicions are correct, then the Uzumaki head family techniques are in that book of yours."

"Wow, really? So the strongest Uzumaki techniques are in here?" asked Naruto. Hiashi nodded. "This is awesome! I'm going to become really strong! Watch out Konoha, because when I come back, there'll be a new Hokage in town, -ttebayo!"

"Now, regarding your question about your current relationship. Now that Hinata is no longer the clan head, the elders will most likely be looking for suitable suitors to marry Hinata off to in order to increase clan relations" said Hiashi. "While certain village laws prohibit an arranged marriage without the consent of both parties, it will still be annoying none the less. With your status as an heir to a powerful clan, I can use that to keep the elders at bay."

"M-m-marry?!" stuttered both Naruto and Hinata in surprise. Hinata instantly went red at the thought of marrying Naruto.

"Don't worry. She won't be getting married anytime soon. She's far too young as it is" said Hiashi. "And as I said before, you may have potential, but you are still a long way away before you gain my approval."

Hinata let out a disappointed sigh and Naruto let out a sigh of relief. Hinata was disappointed that her and Naruto wouldn't be getting married anytime soon, and while Naruto liked Hinata and enjoyed being with her, he was by no means ready to go THAT far with a relationship yet.

"Now then, about that sword" said Hiashi.

"R-right" said Naruto, reluctantly putting another blade in Hiashi's hands. Hiashi unsheathed the katana and began examining it thoroughly until he was satisfied.

"I honestly never would have thought this sword would ever be seen again" said Hiashi. "The Uzumaku Shio no Ken."

"Wait, so you know about it as well?" asked Naruto.

"I've heard of it. It's a legendary sword that ranks right up there with the Raijin, some of the more powerful Seven Swords of the Mist, and potentially even the Sword of Kusangi" said Hiashi.

"That I kind of know already. So Ero-Sennin said it had some sort of special ability. Do you have any idea what it might be?" asked Naruto.

Hiashi shook his head. "Sadly, I do not. I've only heard the legends of it, but nothing about its abilities. However, this sealing matrix inscribed on the blade is very intricate and highly complex. I would imagine if you were to examine it, you might come across some clues as to what it can do."

"Okay. I guess that'll have to do for now then" said Naruto, taking back the sword. The four people there continued on with a little discussion regarding around what they were going to do over the next three or so years. Hinata had mentioned that she wanted to look some more into her mother's techniques and further develop her Jyusho style, which everyone felt that was a good goal. Hiashi saw that the Jyusho had potential and if Hinata were to expand upon it more, there was really know telling what it was capable. Hanabi, who was entering her second year in the Academy, didn't have too much on her mind, but she knew that since she was officially named the clan heiress, her father would be putting her through hell to train her. Hiashi was trying to device more ways in which to limit the elder's influence even more and also what sort of brutal training regimens he should put Hanabi through to get her up to the standards of a clan head.

Time eventually came where Naruto had to move on and finish whatever errands/promises he still had to keep. Before leaving, Naruto could see the sad look on Hinata's face. She wasn't ready to say goodbye to him for a few years and Naruto figured he would have to do something to try and cheer her up. "Hey Hinata, I don't suppose I could ask a favor of you?" asked Naruto.

Hinata picked her head up to look at Naruto. "Whatever it is, you can ask me" said Hinata sweetly.

Naruto then took out his book again and placed the unsealed Uzukage hat on her head. "Think you can look after my hat for me?" asked Naruto. "That way, I'll have to come back to you to get it. Think of it as me promising that I will return to you."

Hinata cheerfully smiled. "I'll hold you to that promise."

"And I'll keep it, no matter what!" declared Naruto. He tried to go in for a kiss, but was stopped in his tracks by a glaring Hiashi. "I leave tomorrow just after lunch. You'll know where to find me. Just stop by after training." Hinata nodded. She would get one last kiss out of him before he left, but with her father around, it wasn't going to happen today.

As Naruto was walking through the village, he received a few greeting from some of the villagers, indicating that the really were beginning to open up to him. He also passed some of Konoha's bathhouses, which was on the way from the Hyuga compound and sitting on top of one of the houses was Jiraiya, telescope in hand and giggling pervertedly.

"_Why do I have a feeling Hiashi's going to kill me when I come back?"_ thought Naruto, looking up towards Jiraiya again, who had just been noticed by the women in the bath and was now dodging countless objects being thrown at him. _"Oh yeah, because Ero-Sennin's the biggest pervert in the world. Great, what the hell am I getting myself into?"_

He finally came to the gate of the village where he saw the Suna Trio and Shikamaru.

"So you guys are leaving, huh?" asked Naruto as he walked up to them.

"Yup. About time we get back to our own village. We've still gotta find out if either of these two made chunin" said Kankuro, pointing to his brother and sister.

"Really? Well good luck to both of you" said Naruto. It was now time to have a little fun. "So what did you think of the festival last night?"

"It was great! I'll say, you Konoha people sure know how to celebrate" said Temari.

"Good, I'm glad you and 'Shika' had fun together" said Naruto with Shikamaru shooting him look. "The two of you actually looked kind of cute together."

"What?!" objected Temari. Kankuro was trying to hold back a laugh and even Gaara had a smile on his face. "Like I'd ever go out with that lazy bum over there."

"Troublesome blondes" retorted Shikamaru.

"Hey!" shouted both Naruto and Temari.

"_Damn she's a feisty one"_ thought Shikamaru.

"Oh come on now. You can't tell me you two enjoyed snuggling together last night" said Naruto. Both Shikamaru and Temari turned a little red.

"_How the hell did he find out about that? I thought we were alone"_ both Temari and Shikamaru thought. One of Naruto's Sasuke clones had escaped his fan-girl last night and decided to take a stroll around town before dispelling. After racking up Naruto a large bill at Ichiraku, the clone somehow stumbled upon the two lying on a hill with Temari in Shikamaru's arms. Naruto was mad at the clone for the Ichiraku splurge, but figured that little bit of dirt was well worth it.

"Why you little runt!" growled Temari, reaching for her fan. Before she could use it to clobber Naruto, Gaara had used his sand to save his first true friend.

"Don't worry, I won't tell" said Naruto.

"You had better not" said Temari.

"It'd be too troublesome if anyone else found out, especially Ino" Shikamaru shivered at that very thought. If Ino found out, any hopes of keeping his new relationship a secret would be long gone.

Naruto grinned a little. Temari turned back towards her bothers and a devious grin was plastered on Kankuro's face. Before Kankuro could think any further, Temari's fan found his head. "Whatever you're thinking, stop or I'll beat the crap out of you even more" threatened Temari.

In the midst of these antics, Gaara turned to Naruto and offered the blonde a hand. "Thank you for everything Naruto. It was because of you that I can finally say I have friends."

"Heh, I don't really know what to say" said Naruto, rubbing the back of his head before returning the hand shake to Gaara. "But anyways, take care."

Gaara turned around to join his siblings, who were now starting on their 3-day journey back to Suna. "If it's on your way, you should stop by Suna some time on your trip" called out Kankuro.

"Will do" said Naruto.

* * *

Kiba and Shino were on their way back from a meeting with Kurenai-sensei. With the Aburame compound being the closest, which was where they arrived first as Akamaru bolted off around to the back of the compound.

"Is something on your mind?" Shino asked Kiba.

"Nnn…Not really" replied Kiba. However, to those observant enough, they could tell Kiba was hiding something.

"You should say whatever it is on your mind. That is what part of being a team is about" said Shino.

"It's just you and Hinata are already chunin and yet I'm still a genin. I don't know, I feel like I'm falling behind" said Kiba.

"Perhaps. But all that means is that you need to rethink your training and push yourself harder. Look at Naruto, he was the dead last in the academy, and yet he's probably the strongest out of all of us" said Shino. "Why? Because whenever he was down, he'd always pick himself back up and find a way to become stronger."

"Yeah, you're right" said Kiba, letting out a sigh. "All I do boast about how good I am and then get my ass handed to me. Perhaps it's time I really start pushing myself to get stronger." He thought back to his prelim match against Yugito, and forward to the match between Naruto and Sasuke. He had gotten his ass handed to him by Yugito and then the match between Naruto and Sasuke was really what showed him how far behind his skills were lacking. He really was a dog that was all bark and no bite.

"Precisely. Push yourself to improve and I'm confident you'll get a lot stronger. Even Hinata and I would be glad to help you. Why? Because we are a team and that's what teammates do. They help each other improve" said Shino.

"Heh, thanks Shino. And don't worry, I won't remain a genin for long. By the time the next chunin exams come around, Akamaru and I will have worked our asses off and proven that we really are strong" said a determined Kiba.

"I believe you will" said Shino. The two came around the back of the Aburame compound where Akamaru had gone to greet Fu.

"Kiba, Shino!" greeted Fu.

"Yo" waved Kiba.

"How are you feeling?" asked Shino.

"Much better. Hokage-sama said that I'm fully recovered, which is great. I've been dying to stretch my wings for days" said Fu as her wings sprouted from her back and she was airborne seconds later, barely dodging a tree doing so. "Heh, guess I've still got a ways to go with my control." Her first few days in the Aburame compound had been more than enjoyable. All of them seemed very accepting of Fu and the most she had to deal with, regarding her status as a jinchuriki, was some of the Aburames asking what the Nanabi was like. They weren't afraid of either Fu or the Nanabi, and they easily welcomed her as family.

* * *

After seeing the Suna Trio off, Shikamaru joined his sensei and Chouji at Barbe-Q for dinner. As always, Chouji was eating his fill and depleting Asuma's sorry wallet.

"Asuma-sensei, after this do you think we could go and train a bit?" asked Chouji.

"Train? But it's starting to get late" replied Asuma.

"I know, but I need to get stronger. Everyone else is going to be getting stronger and I can't continue to slack" replied Choiji. Asuma smiled while lighting up a cigarette. It was about time Chouji finally got some resolve.

"I suppose we could train a little bit tonight" replied Asuma.

"Right!" With that, Chouji scooped up all the remaining pieces of meat on the grill and placed them on top of a large bowl of rice. "Let's go!"

"You know, Konohamaru, that Sexy Jutsu isn't going to do it anymore" said Naruto as they walked from Ichiraku towards one of the training grounds.

"Wait, do you mean that you have something better?" asked Konohamaru as his eyes lit up at the prospect of an improvement to the Sexy Jutsu.

"Perhaps…" grinned Naruto. "Well actually, you already know about my Harem Jutsu, but you can't do that until you can make a lot of shadow clones.

"Well then, a lot of shadow clones coming right up!" shouted Konohamaru.

"Wait! Don't…" said Naruto, trying to stop Konohamaru. It was too late.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" called out Konohamaru. To Naruto's surprise, a perfect clone of Konohamaru's popped into existence. "Yes! I did it! Uhg…I feel dizzy…" Konohamaru collapsed to the ground as the clone dispelled.

"_Wow. He got the __Shadow Clone Jutsu__ down already, but his chakra reserves are nowhere near the point they need to be to use it. That one clone took everything out of him and he barely was able to hold it for 5 seconds"_ thought Naruto, impressed at the young Sarutobi. He went over to see if Konohamaru was still conscious and Konohamaru began to stir.

"Did you see that Boss? I did it" he said wearily.

"Yeah, that was impressive Konohamaru" said Naruto. "But I'm afraid you can't use that jutsu yet."

"What?! But you saw me! I made a clone!" shouted Konohamaru.

"I know, and that was good, but the truth is you don't have the chakra reserves required to use that jutsu effectively" said Naruto. "That's why that jutsu is forbidden is because of how much chakra it uses. I'll tell you what. By the time I get back, if your chakra reserves are enough to handle that jutsu, I'll tell you a few secrets about it, but don't use it until you know for sure your chakra reserves are large enough to handle it, okay?"

"Okay Boss, you've got it" said Konohamaru. "I'll just have to come up with an even sexier version of the Sexy Jutsu without it!"

"_It seems my young apprentice has been sharing the secrets behind that jutsu from Kami himself"_ thought a certain white-haired man who was spying on his student…again. _"Oh yes, this definitely is going to be an interesting trip."_

* * *

Some secret lair,

"Orochimaru-sama!"

"What is it Kabuto!" hissed Orochimaru as Kabu came charging into Orochimaru's chambers. The snake had one arm bandaged that Kabuto had managed to re-grow somehow, however, the chakra flow through that arm was severely lacking and it would be near impossible for Orochimaru to use it for casting jutsu. The other arm was just a stump that Kabuto was also trying to re-grow, but with a stronger chakra network.

"Sir, the experiment was a success and the subject is displaying evidence of both blood-limits" reported Kabuto. The grin on Orochimaru's face grew three times larger.

"Kukuku, so it seems that Uzumaki scroll was of some use after all" chuckled Orochimaru.

"Yes, but unfortunately the two donors did not survive the procedure" said Kabuto.

"Shame, but if we were able to put both bloodlines into a single body, then it was well worth it" said Orochimaru. "So tell me Kabuto, which two subjects did you use to donate their bloodlines to?"

Kabuto whispered something into Orochimaru's ear and the Snake Sannin's eyes grew wide. "An interesting combination. An interesting combination indeed."

"Yes, and there might be a possibility that the two blood-limits combine into something more" said Kabuto.

"Kukukuku, oh what a find that scroll was" said Orochimaru.

"Sir, shall I continue with further experiments?" asked Kabuto.

"Yes, but tread carefully. Seeing as we lose the original bearer of the bloodline, we have to proceed carefully and cannot afford to waste anyone" said Orochimaru.

"Yes sir, I will also begin looking into ways to obtain other bloodlines" said Kabuto.

"You know, it's a shame really" said Orochimaru, a thought coming to his head.

"What is?" asked Kabuto.

"You remember those experiments I did trying to infuse the Shodai's cells into children to see if anyone of the exhibited the Mokuton?" asked Orochimaru.

Kabuto nodded. "Yes, I suppose it really is a shame none of them survived. But if I may ask, what were you thinking of?"

"It's just a legend, but something that had intrigued me for years. Apparently, there is an incredible power that is awakened, one that hasn't been seen since the Sage of the Six Paths, when the Uchiha's Sharingan and the Shodai's Mokuton are combines" said Orochimaru.

"So I see you are still set on going after Sasuke then?" asked Kabuto.

"Of course. I would have had him had that oaf Jiraiya not shown, and even then the only reason why I lost was because I was careless. When I transfer to my next vessel, I will find that fool, and I will crush him" growled Orochimaru.

"If I may, who will be your next vessel, Orochimaru-sama?" asked Kabuto.

"Kuku, that all depends on your results over the next few years. Two blood-limits…I can just taste it now…delicious" grinned Orochimaru with his evil grin.

"I won't disappoint you, Orochimaru-sama" said Kabuto.

"Kukuku. That scroll was a lovely gift indeed" said Orochimaru. "Once I get a new, stronger body, nothing will be able to stop me from achieving my goals and Sasuke will finally be mine."

* * *

Iwagakure no Sato,

"Tsuchikage-sama! Surely we have to do something. If a Namikaze truly is alive, then there's no telling just how big of a threat he'll become" warned a man.

"We can't just let him get away with murdering 15 of our shinobi!" said another man.

"Yes, this revelation certainly is troubling news. Are you certain he's a Namikaze?" asked Onoki, the Sandaime Tsuchikage. Onoki was handed a picture that had been taken during the match between Naruto and Sasuke of Naruto donning one of the infamous tri-pronged knives. _"Those knives, and he even looks a lot like HIM. Damnit!"_

"Very well" said Onoki as he made a signal to one of the ANBU inside his meeting room. About fifteen minutes later, a squadron of three Iwa ANBU entered the room.

"Only three? You can't be serious! The Yellow Flash alone was able to take down an entire army!" reasoned one of the men.

"I am aware, and it won't be just these three" said Onoki.

"Well who else are you sending then…" the man was cut off before he could finish as a giant in red armor came through the door to the meeting hall. The men in the hall looked towards the giant with a mixture of fear and hatred.

"What the hell do you old bastards want of me now?" growled the giant.

The three ANBU moved next to the giant. "The four of you are to hunt down and kill this person" said Onoki, handing them a picture of Naruto.

"Pht, and why the hell would I do that?" scoffed the giant. "What do I owe all you? You're the ones who fucked over my life."

"If that's the case, then why don't you just get out of here, you freak?" yelled one of the men.

"Because if I just left, I would be labeled as a missing-nin and you would hunt me to no end like the dogs you are" replied the giant.

"If you do this, if you kill this person, I'll let you leave. You won't be marked a missing-nin, you'll be free to go" said Onoki.

Han thought about it for a moment and then reached over to take the picture. "It's only a brat. You can't take care of a simple brat? Who is this?"

"His name is Uzumaki Naruto. However, we have strong reasons to believe he may be of Namikaze decent" said Onoki.

"Namikaze, you say? Wasn't the bastard who leveled your entire army a Namikaze?" asked the giant, laughing a little.

"And you can see why we need him dead then. We cannot allow that line to continue" said Onoki. "So what do you say, Han?"

"Fine, I'll do it" said Han. He turned to the three ANBU. "Let's go, the quicker I kill that brat, the quicker I can get out of this hellhole."

"Tsuchikage-sama, you're not seriously letting him go? He's the jinchuriki of the Gobi!" said one of the Tsuchikage's shinobi advisors.

"The ANBU know what to do when the kid is killed. Don't worry" assured Onoki.

* * *

Kumogakure no Sato,

"Brotha is not happy yo" said Bee, whose team had gathered to discuss the results of the chunin exams. Out of his entire team, only Yugito received a promotion seeing as Karui didn't even make the finals and While Omoi may have won his second match, the Raikage didn't quite feel he was experienced enough, something that was new as Kumo was now becoming more strict on who they allowed to be promoted to ensure that those promoted were actually worthy of their rank.

"I honestly can't believe he did that to Konoha. They really didn't seem like too bad of people" said Yugito.

"You tell that to the bastard that nearly gave me a heart attack!" responded Karui.

"So what exactly is going to happen?" asked Yugito. Bee handed her a black book that was an unpublished version of Kumo's Bingo Book and opened to a page with both Naruto and Sasuke's picture on it and a few of the other Konoha participants in the exam. However, the most surprising thing was that the orders on them were to capture them alive. It was obvious that the Raikage wanted to get his hands on their blood-limits. While the Uzumakis didn't exactly have a true blood-limit, many of their most powerful seals were gated by blood-seals, making their fuinjutsu abilities sort of an artificial blood-limit as only an Uzumaki could use them. "This is crazy! The Raikage's going to risk further destroying relationships between Kumo and Konoha if he goes through with this!"

"_Why the hell is he going through with this? Those Konoha guys never came off as bad people and Naruto even saved us the trouble of having to deal with an enraged jinchuriki"_ thought Yugito.

"**True Kitten. The Raikage just feels threatened by them, and look at it this way, it's a capture order, not a kill order. You do have to admit some of those Konoha guys were kind of hot"** teased the Nibi.

"_W-what?"_ asked Yugito.

"**I saw you checking some of them out. So which one is it? Perhaps if you're lucky, the Raikage will let you have one to play with."**

"_S-shut up Nibi! You've got it all wrong!" _denied Yugito, turning red at the Nibi's playful taunts.

"**Oh come on now. Stop denying it."**

"Yugito, is everything okay?" asked Omoi, who noticed Yugito kind of zoned out and even began to blush at the Nibi's teasing.

"Yeah yeah, everything's just fine" said a frantic Yugito, trying to simply shrug off everything the Nibi just said to her.

Omoi just decided to leave Yugito to herself. "So what do we do, Bee-sensei? If we let the Raikage go through with this, then that could send relations with Konoha downhill or it could even lead to war. What if we were all killed? What if…"

"Oh stop over reacting!" yelled Karui.

"I'll deal with brotha. He's always been hard in the head ya know, but Killer Bee will see it through yo" rapped Bee.

* * *

Akatsuki Hideout,

"All of us meeting here together like this…" spoke a shadowy figure. "We haven't done this since 4 years ago, when Orochimaru left the organization…"

"Last I heard he was after your little brother, Itachi" said another figure. "But then again, Orochimaru was always a complete failure."

"I doesn't really matter…one day, Orochimaru will be killed" said yet another figure. "But more importantly, what do we do?"

"Our ambitions will be more successful if we move all at once. Use these next three years to prepare yourselves for once we meet again, our plans will move forward in full" said another shadowy figure with purple rippled eyes.

* * *

An underground section of Konoha,

"Danzo-sama" addressed one of Danzo's root operatives.

"Torune, do you have anything to report?" asked Danzo.

"Yes. It is something that I believe you will find most intriguing" said Torune. "It appears as if there is another jinchuriki in Konoha."

Danzo's uncovered eye lit up. "Another jinchuriki? Where and which one?"

"Her name is Fu and she is the jinchuriki of the Nanabi. Currently, she is residing at my clan's compound, which is how I came across this information" reported Torune.

"_Well this certainly is news. I never imagined Tsunade would get Konoha another jinchuriki. If I can find a way to control her, then she could make for a fine weapon one day" _thought Danzo. "Thank you Torune. That information was most enlightening."

"What are your orders, Danzo-sama?"

"For now, merely observe her and report everything to me. We will move forward with whatever plan once we have enough information to formulate one" said Danzo.

"Hai!" said Torune before leaving to continue his new assignment.

"_Most interesting indeed. Not only is there the Kyuubi jinchuriki, but the Nanabi jinchuriki as well within Konoha. They will most certainly make powerful weapons of mine once I can find a way to teach them to control the powers sealed within them"_ thought Danzo. _"It's a shame I still have to wait five more years before using THAT jutsu again, it would be perfect for securing one of my ultimate weapons."_

* * *

Konoha,

It was late at night, or very early in the morning (whichever way you look at it), and Sakura was taking a walk near the north gate of the village. She didn't exactly know why she was taking a walk and she probably should have just gone home if she wanted to make sure she didn't sleep through Sasuke's or Naruto's send off, but for some reason she just couldn't sleep.

It was then that she got her answer when she saw a familiar figure walking towards her with a pack on.

"Sasuke?" asked Sakura, snapping awake.

"Why are you out here in the middle of the night?" asked Sasuke.

"I don't really know. I just…" she then took a look at the pack on Sasuke's back. "You're leaving, aren't you?"

"It was either leave now, or be swarmed with fan-girls in the morning" retorted Sasuke. "As to why you're here, I'm surprised you didn't notice the genjutsu I put on you that made you come here."

"Perhaps I didn't want to notice" replied Sakura, making Sasuke smile a little. It was then that Sakura began to cry a little before she ran over to Sasuke and hugged him. "I guess there's no avoiding it anymore, you really are leaving."

"Yeah…it's something I've gotta do. I'm not going to get stronger by being chased around by horny fan-girls 24/7" said Sasuke, earning a small giggle from Sakura.

""I know. It's just…three years. It's going to get really quiet around here. I wish I could go with you, but I know you have to do your own thing for now and I've got to do mine" said Sakura.

"Don't worry; I'll be back…umph." Sasuke wasn't able to finish his sentence as Sakura pushed her kiss onto him. After a few moments, Sasuke slowly pulled away as it was time to go. "You know, you really can be annoying sometimes…but for some reason, I don't mind."

Sakura smiled a little at the joke. "Sakura…thank you, for everything" said Sasuke before walking away to begin the next step in his journey. _"If fighting to protect someone is what truly makes a person strong…then I will become strong. I will protect them, from Orochimaru and especially you, Itachi!"_

* * *

"Naruto…" Hinata had come to the top of the Hokage Monument where Naruto was sitting on top of his dad's head after getting one last bowl of ramen for lunch with Iruka. Upon seeing the blonde there, she ran over to him, wrapping herself around them. Had Naruto not been holding onto the stone with chakra, there would be a very good chance the two would have been sent tumbling off the Yondaime's head.

"I know, I'm going to miss you too" said Naruto, returning the hug. "But as I promised, I'll be back and I'll be stronger than ever."

"I know you will and I'll be looking forward to the day you come home" said Hinata, going in for the kiss that her father had denied them. She held the kiss as long as she could, trying to get three years worth out of just one kiss. But sadly, all good things come to an end and their kiss had to end as well.

"Come on Hime, walk with me to the gate?" asked Naruto. Hinata smiled and took Naruto's hands as they walked down from the monument.

"Umm…Naruto. What was with all the seals on the monument? And why are your hands red?" asked Hinata.

"Oh that…" said Naruto with that mischievous grin as he rubbed the back of his head. "That's a surprise."

As they reached the gate, all the members of the Konoha 14 (minus Sasuke who had left already), the jonin senseis, Iruka-sensei, Tsuande, Shizune, and Jiraiya were waiting for him to see him off.

"Hey guys, what are you all doing here?" asked Naruto, acting oblivious.

"What do you think? We're here to kick your sorry ass out of the village" joked Kiba.

"Haha" replied Naruto in a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah, just joking" replied Kiba.

"So I guess you're off then Naruto?" asked Tenten.

"Yep. I guess so" replied Naruto.

"Naruto! May your Flames of Youth grow even brighter along your travels!" declared Lee.

"Yeah, what Lee said, only less Flames of Youth" replied Tenten.

"Naruto, I wish you well on your trip. When you return, I would like a rematch" said Neji.

"Sure, anytime Neji" replied Naruto.

"Take care, Naruto. And let me know if you come across any delicious ramen" said Chouji.

"You bet" said Naruto.

"Just make sure you come back. It gets a little too quiet around here when you're not around. It really is troublesome" said Shikamaru, earning a laugh from most everyone.

"Yeah, just don't cause too many problems while you're gone" said Ino.

"Oh come on, you know me…" replied Naruto.

"Yeah, that's what we're worried about" joked Kiba. "Anyways, just train hard because I want to beat you at full when you come back."

"From one comrade to another, I wish you the best on your trip" said Shino.

"Naruto, thank you. Because of you, I actually have a chance at life" said Fu, holding onto Shino's arm.

"You taught me the true meaning of living and helped both me and Zabuza-sama out. For that, I thank you as well" said Haku.

"Shikamaru's right, it's going to get really quiet here without you, Naruto" said Sakura as she gave Naruto a goodbye hug. "Just make sure both of you come back safely."

"Thanks Sakura" grinned Naruto.

"Naruto, good luck with everything" said Iruka.

"Don't worry Iruka-sensei. And when I come back, I'll buy you a celebratory bowl of ramen for making jonin" said Naruto.

"I look forward to it" replied Iruka.

"Now, make sure you use this trip to train, and you had better not pick up any of your sensei's…less desirable traits. One pervert's enough. Also, I want you to start eating a few other things besides ramen. You're going to be hitting a growth spurt here soon and if you don't get the proper nutrition, you won't grow properly" said Tsunade.

"Come on, Baachan. I won't become a pervert and there's nothing wrong with ramen" said Naruto.

He then turned to Hinata, who practically threw herself at him one last time, giving him one last kiss. A few awws, one whistle from Kiba, and one Neji trying his best to resist the urge beat the blonde to a bloody pulp later, Naruto was beside Jiraiya. "Well, it looks like I'm off. I'll see you all in three years" said Naruto as he looked up towards the Hokage Monument. _"Watch me. I'll come back even stronger and make you proud, dad."_

* * *

-End of Book 1-

* * *

Author Notes

Well, there you have it. This story is officially at an end. There will be one more post in this story and that will be a final author note along with an appendix. The author note will contain the name of the sequel and I'll post that last part when I release the first chapters of the sequel. I like posting the first two or three chapter of a story at the very beginning to help give the story some momentum to start off with, so I expect the sequel to be posted sometime around mid-March 2013. The appendix that will be added to this story will also help clarify a few things about my take on this version of the Naruto universe.

*****Edit: After some thought when I began writing the first chapter of the second book, I have decided that I will just continue this story and not start an actual second book. This story will still be divided up into separate books, with this chapter marking the end of the first book, but all the books (three as of now) will remain under the same story. I felt it would just be easier for transition purposes and for those who might come into read the second or third books without reading the prequel(s).*****

I would like to say thank you to arb6646 for the idea regarding Hinata's summoning contract.

Regarding the poll from the last chapter. I do thank all of you that took the time to answer. Questions 1, 2, 3, and 6 were mainly designed to get some ideas flowing through my head and they did do just that. I do believe I know how I'm going to handle a few things now. Question 5 was truly a poll to see who would win the Eternal Rival competition and the votes were strongly in favor of Zabuza. And Question 4 was mainly for my own amusement (hehe).

I have decided that Ino will focus primarily in her clan's arts and interrogation as I feel I can do more with her that way. I think she will still learn some basic medical jutsu, but for the most part she will be kind of like a second generation Anko.

With ninjutsu, I see the Uzumaki clan being a mix of wind and water users (as the two main elements in a big storm like a hurricane are rain and wind). Naruto is already a strong wind user and he will be learning water and fire jutsu. Water comes from his Uzumaki heritage and he gets fire from the Furball in his gut. The reason Naruto is such a strong wind user is due to three things combined: his Uzumaki heritage, the Kyuubi having wind-natured chakra as well, and his dad who was also a wind user. Should I decide to train Naruto in the other two elements, those will be extremely difficult for him as his strong wind affinity opposes lightning and wind and water doesn't really compliment earth as well.

While some might argue otherwise, I don't see the Uzumakis as having a true bloodline. Yes, they do have increased vitality and longevity, but I don't see that as a bloodline, just another trait of the Uzumaki clan. Also, I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think the chakra chains were unique to Kushina (but then again I could be wrong). For the purposes of this story, the Uzumakis don't have a true bloodline, but rather an artificial one seeing as the most powerful fuinjutsus in the world are limited to only those with Uzumaki blood.

Sasuke. Yes, I know he's a bit OOC. But you do have to realize that I completely turned him around from cannon when I chose not to give him the cursed seal and for him to remain loyal to the village. This is not cannon Sasuke and as such, you can't expect him to act like he is in cannon (aka, a complete asshole)

So, Yugito, Bee, Omoi, and Karui (to some extent) are some of the few reasonable people in Kumo right now. I already have plans on how this is going to work out and Kumo won't play a major part in the second boo, although I might bring Team Bee in just slightly.

That scroll Orochimaru has is a Blood-limit combination scroll where two blood-limits can be combined into a single body. However, as was seen with Orochimaru's experiments, it results in the death of the two donors. Because of this, the Uzumakis sealed it away in one of the time capsules and made it forbidden instead of putting it in the library. The reason they didn't destroy it was because they were, in a sense, scholars and that scroll was knowledge.

Okay, so here's kind of an idea as to where everyone stands in terms of skill ranking. Before I go into it, I do need to say that I am modifying the skill ranking just slightly. D is genin level, C is chunin level, B is also chunin level and maybe low-jonin, A is jonin level, and S is Kage level. I also added the whole +/- deal because honestly some B ranks are stronger/weaker than other B ranks for example.

So, here is kind of a rough estimate as to everyone's general skill level and a few others for reference:

Uzumaki Naruto. Rank: Chunin Skill: B Specialty: Fuinjutsu

Uchiha Sasuke Rank: Chunin Skill: B Specialty: Ninjutsu

Haruno Sakura Rank: Chunin Skill: C+ Specialty: Medical jutsu, genjutsu

Hyuga Hinata Rank: Chunin Skill: C+ Specialty: Taijutsu

Aburame Shino Rank: Chunin Skill: C Specialty: Strategy, Insect-based jutsu

Inuzuka Kiba Rank: Genin Skill: D+ Specialty: Tracking, Dog-based jutsu

Nara Shikamaru Rank: Chunin Skill: C+ Specialty: Strategy

Akimichi Chouji Rank: Genin Skill: D+ Specialty: Taijutsu/close-combat

Yamanaka Ino Rank: Genin Skill: D Specialty: Interrogation

Hyuga Neji Rank: Chunin Skill: B- Specialty: Taijutsu

Tenten Rank: Genin Skill: C Specialty: Weapons

Rock Lee Rank: Chunin Skill: C+ Specialty: Taijutsu

Yuki Haku Rank: Chunin Skill: B- Specialty: Strategy, Ninjutsu

Fu Rank: Genin Skill: D+ (she lacks a good deal of formal training)

Hatake Kakashi Rank: Jonin Skill: A+/S- Specialty: Ninjutsu

Yuhi Kurenai Rank: Jonin Skill: A- Specialty: Genjutsu

Sarutobi Asuma Rank: Jonin Skill: A Specialty: Weapons, Ninjutsu

Maito Gai Rank: Jonin Skill: A/A+ Specialty: Taijutsu, Flames of Youth

Momoichi Zabuza Rank: Chunin Skill: A Specialty: Kenjutsu, silent killing

Umino Iruka Rank: Chunin Skill: B Specialty: Barrier jutsu

Hyuga Hiashi Rank: Jonin Skill: A+ Specialty: Taujutsu

Jiraiya Rank: Sannin Skill: S+ Specialty: Fuinjutsu, Senjutsu

Senju Tsuande Rank: Sannin, Kage Skill: S+ Specialty: Medical jutsu

Orocimaru Rank: Sannin Skill: S+ Specialty: Kinjutsu, giving out hickies

Namikaze Minato Rank: Kage Skill:SS- Specialty: Fuinjutsu, Space-time jutsu

Hiruzen Sarutobi Rank: Kage Skill: S+ Specialty: ninjutsu

Senju Harishima Rank: Kage Skill: SS Specialty: Fuinjutsu, Kenjutsu, Mokuton

Senju Tobirama Rank: Kage Skill: SS- Specialty: Suiton-ninjutsu

Yakushi Kabuto Rank: n/a Skill: A Specialty: Medical jutsu

Also, ALL Akatsuki members are at least S-class or higher.

The highest rank possible is SS. The only people known to have ever achieved that rank are: Senju Harishima, Uchiha Madara, Uzumaki Shuichi, and Rikudou Senin. Honestly, Rikudou Sennin was much stronger, but as I said, SS is the highest the scale goes. Minato I also feel could have reached the SS rank had he been alive longer to reach his full potential. (**Edit:** Decided just to cut the chart off at SS instead of SS+)

There is one last question I forgot to ask in the last chapter: Sasuke, Snake Contract or no?

Well, I think I'm going to end it there. Thank you to all those who have supported me and I hope you enjoyed this story. For those of you who want more, stay tuned for the sequel.

Please review/comment


	61. Book 2: On the Road Again

_**The Uzumaki Tales: Return of the Whirlpool**_

_**Book 2**_

**Author Note **

Well, here it is. I present the second book/part/whatever you want to call it for The Uzumaki Tales: Return of the Whirlpool. While it has taken me longer to get this chapter up, I used that time to get a good idea of where I want to take this part of the story and I thank you for your patience. If you haven't noticed, I also deleted any stand-alone author notes I had posted throughout the story. Before I get started, I'll address a few of the remaining questions from the previous book.

**Will Utaka ever come into play and will he become the Rokubi jinchuriki? **I will bring Utaka into the story later on, but I don't think I'm going to make him a jinchuriki. He will however play a large part in a future plotline.

**What happened to Yagura?** This will be explained further at some point later on, but know that Yagura is gone and dead.

**If there is no Yagura, then what has happened to Kiri?** One thing I am changing in this story, as compared to cannon, is Kiri. Again, It will be explain further in detail later, but the current Mizukage is a student of Yagura's (it is not Mei, she will however come in later in the future). Kiri is still a very secretive place that is still considered hostile to those with bloodlines.

**You have Bee, Omoi, Karui, and Yugito on a team, what about Samui? **I see Samui as being a bit older than Omoi, Karui, and Yugito at this point. The three of them are in their mid teens currently while Samui would be in her early/mid 20's. Samui will probably make a small appearance in this book (along with Team Bee) and she will be integrated into the team as well. Don't worry, I did not forget about her, but I see her as being older and higher in rank than Omoi/Karui.

**Why didn't you show Naruto's prank before leaving Konoha? **All in due time.

**Orochimaru mentioned that all of the Test subjects for the Shodai's cells died. Does that mean there's no Yamato or Orochimaru doesn't know he survived? **Yamato is still alive and he does have the Shodai's cells. Orochimaru is not aware of this. As far as he knows, all his experiments died.

**Note 1: **I have decided that Sasuke will not be getting the snake contract.

**Note 2:** I am making a formatting change here in that I will be adding the more commonly used honorifics such as –chan/kun/san/ect… Hopefully this does not confuse people. I would have added them sooner, but I felt this was the best place to put them. Hopefully I don't screw anything up too bad with them.

* * *

**Summary (Part 2):** Jiraiya and Naruto have officially left on their 2-3 year long training trip. With the help of one of the Legendary Sanin, watch as Naruto grows into the ninja that he could once only dream about. However, not all is as it seems with this 'simple' training trip. A dangerous enemy with a decade-old grudge is beginning to move and Naruto will have to do everything in his power to become stronger in order to survive. Not only that, but he'll have to deal with Jiraiya's attempts to bring out his inner-perv.

This part of the book is rated M for violence, language, and Jiraiya's perverted antics. While the pairings from the previous book will carry over, there will be no real pairing development in this section. This book will last from chapter 61 until about chapter 73 or 74.

* * *

Normal speech/summon speech

"_Normal thought/normal summon thought/Naruto talking to Kurama when not in his mindscape"_

Technique

**Demonic Speech/Boss Summon Speech/Pissed off Tsunade**

_**Demonic thought/Boss Summon Thought/Inner Sakura**_

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

Posted: 3/18/13

**Chapter 61: On the Road Again**

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since the two of them departed on their much-anticipated trip through the world. For the most part, they had just been walking. For some reason, Jiraiya seemed as if he wanted to get away from Konoha, on the west side of the Five Elemental Nations. When Naruto asked, Jiraiya said that he didn't want to draw any unwanted attention. Currently, the duo was walking through a village in the Land of Fangs.

"This is going to be great! I'm going to get so strong!" exclaimed Naruto. "Hey, Ero-Sennin…huh? Ero-Sennin?" Naruto was looking around franticly but his perverted godfather had seemed to have vanished. "Where did he run off to now?"

* * *

"Tehehe" giggled Jiraiya with a perverted look on his face and a slight trickle of blood coming from his nose. Two weeks of just traveling was hard on him, and the hot springs were calling…or rather the women in the hot springs. "Not bad. Not as nice as the women in Konoha, but not bad at all."

"Just a little more…need a slightly better look…there" said Jiraiya quietly as he inched his way into a better viewing position atop the building he was peeping from. Everything was going fine until his foot slipped.

"EEEK! PERVERT!" shrieked the women as he fell face first into the hot springs and, to Jiraiya's delight, the breasts of one woman in particular. It didn't take Shikamaru's genius to figure out who gave Jiraiya the worst of his many beatings at that time.

* * *

"EEEK! PERVERT!"

"_Why am I not surprised"_ thought Naruto as he suddenly heard a scream through the village coming from the direction of the village public bath.

"**Well, so much for this training trip"** replied Kurama, Naruto's demon tenant. **"Although I am surprised, I thought it would only be one week before we heard the shrieking of vixens."**

"_Well, time to see what the damage is"_ replied Naruto. The blonde made his way through town towards the public bath. Upon reaching the bathhouse, Naruto saw his teacher, tied up in a tree and the word 'PERVERT' written in marker across his bruised and bleeding face. Naruto sighed before cutting Jiraiya down.

"Well, what do you have t say for yourself" asked Naruto as Jiraiya regained consciousness.

"Definitely worth it" said Jiraiya with a perverted grin as he remembered the soft and plush breasts landed in. Naruto just sweat dropped as Jiraiya began to clean himself up.

About 30 minutes later, the two of them found themselves at a clearing outside the village. "So are you actually going to train me or is this going to be another one of your research trips?" asked Naruto.

"Oh come on, what's wrong with a little research here and there. After all, research is what keeps up on our toes with new ideas" said Jiraiya, looking at Naruto's 'you're kidding me, right?' expression. "Okay okay, I guess we can start your training." _"And jutsu won't be the only things I train you in…hehe."_

"I'll be honest, I had been planning a trip like this since I originally came back while you were training for the chunin exams. After all, I am your godfather and I need to spend some time raising you" said Jiriaya. Naruto nodded at that. He knew the reason why he never met Jiraiya before that first meeting at the hot-springs. Jiraiya had mentioned that he had to keep up and maintain his spy network to keep an eye on Orochimaru and Akatsuki. Naruto found out that Jiraiya was the one who had been sending him money every month and for that, he was grateful. The rate that most of the villagers were overcharging him as a child, he would have been broke after a single day had it not been for Jiraiya providing some money for him. "I honestly wish I could have come back earlier, but as I've already told you, my hands were tied keeping you and the village safe from external threats."

"Don't worry, I understand. So what sort of cool things are you going to teach me?" asked Naruto. If it was anything like the previous two times he had trained with Jiraiya, the excitement was reaching the point where the blonde might actually explode.

"As I said, I was planning this trip before we first met. I had originally planned to teach you how to fight genjutsu and tap into the Kyuubi's power, along with a few other things, but that seems to be redundant now seeing as you and the Kyuubi have come to some sort of understanding and you can use the Kyuubi to dispel most genjutsu. However, that doesn't mean this trip is a lost cause. Oh no, there are plenty of things we can work on now that we have those issues out of the way. First, we have fuinjutsu" said Jiraiya, handing Naruto a few fuinjutsu scrolls. "Those scrolls should be able to fill in any holes on normal fuinjutsus. And then you still have your book. By the way, how are those knives working?"

"Eh, not bad. I made one of them for fire and also another one for water. They still overheat, or I guess turn to water for the water one, after some use, but they last a lot longer than the normal kunais and I don't have to make new ones, I just have to give the current ones time to cool off. I guessing that's the chakra draining aspect of these knives?" asked Naruto.

"Yep. I got those knives for you so you wouldn't have to constantly remake your absorption seals when they overheated or whatever. Also, I think the more you use them, the more they should be able to hold before reaching that point where you need to let them cool down" explained Jiraiya.

"Now I've just gotta work on incorporating them into my seals on my wrist" said Naruto. "It's not that I can't do it, it's just I'm not really sure how I want to do it yet."

"Heh, well that's fuinjutsu for you. Anyways, I say we keep working with that as we have been. I'll help you with the seals if you need it, but you seem to be doing pretty well on your own for the most part" said Jiraiya.

"Okay, I think I can do that. Now, what did you say about jutsus and kenjutsu?" asked Naruto.

"Well, for kenjutsu we need another teacher for you since I'm no kenjutsu expert. However, I do have a friend that I'm sure will be eager to take you on as a student for a few months and train you. After all, he was the student of your great-great-grandfather when it comes to swordsmanship" said Jiraiya.

"Wow, really? Who is he? If my great-great-grandfather taught him, then he must be really strong!" exclaimed Naruto.

"His name is Mifune, the leader of the Land of Iron. We'll go there in about a year, but I've got some other things that we can work on till then" said Jiraiya. Naruto was wondering who exactly this Mifune person was, but if his great-grandfather trained him, then no doubt he would be an excellent teacher.

"_And perhaps he knows something about this sword to"_ thought Naruto.

"As for the jutsu, I'll teach you the basics of water and fire, but I'm honestly not going to train you in jutsu that much because I want to see what sort of jutsu you can come up with on your own" said Jiraiya. _"Although there is one jutsu I wouldn't mind helping you on…"_

"Your father was a great inventor of jutsu, the Rasengan being a prime example, and I think you've got that bit of him in you" said Jiraiya. "I also chose water and fire because I thought those elements would be much easier for you to master than lightning or earth, even with your shadow clones."

"Umm, but why are lightning and earth going to be so difficult for me?" asked Naruto.

"Because of your wind element. Your wind natured chakra is much stronger than any I've ever seen, even more so than your father and that's what's going to make earth and lightning so hard for you. Lightning because wind is a natural insulator and earth because if you think about it, wind is one of the very few things that can wear down earth" said Jiraiya. "Now, pack up your lunch because we are heading out of here, away from any sort of civilization for a few days. I figure the best place to start might be training you how to utilize the toads more effectively."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" asked Naruto.

Jiraiya sighed slightly. "Toads are useful for more than just combat. They are also very skilled at infiltration amongst other things and it's about time you begin learning about all the wonders a toad can do, and…Bunta kind of wants to talk to you." Jiraiya said that last part really quick, knowing that what Gamabunta had in store for the kid wouldn't be pretty.

"What was that last part? What's so wrong with Gamabunta? I know he may be a little grouchy, but he can't be that bad" said Naruto.

"_Oh you have no idea what's coming"_ thought Jiraiya with a worried look on his face as he tried to recall the first meeting between Minato and Gamabunta.

* * *

"Summoning Jutsu!"

"Hey Gamakiro" said Naruto as the Jiraiya-sized, orange battle toad appeared. Gamakiro greeted Naruto before returning back to Mt. Myboku.

"Okay, so it looks like you can summon Gamakichi, Gamatatsu, and Gamakiro at will and you're starting to get the feel for some others. Now I want you to try and focus as much of your chakra into the jutsu and we'll see who you can summon at this time" said Jiraiya.

"Right! Summoning Jutsu!" said Naruto, focusing as much of his own chakra into the jutsu as possible. A huge plume of smoke appeared and a large purple toad with a spiked sasumata and round shield on his back

"_He's getting pretty good with the summoning. To be able to summon Gamaken on his own…"_ thought Jiraiya.

"Hello young summoner. And hello Jiraiya-san" greeted Gamaken.

"Hey Gamaken" responded Jiraiya. "Good to see you. I'm just teaching young Naruto here how to control the summoning of a larger variety of toads."

Gamaken turned his attention to the blonde standing on his head. "It's good to meet you, Naruto-san. You may summon me whenever you need, but I should warn you that I am rather clumsy." With that, Gamaken disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto landed on the ground, panting as he had used up quite a bit of chakra with summoning toads about a dozen times within the past few hours.

"Why don't we call it a day and get camp set up. You can work on some fuinjutsu later, but I'm getting hungry" said Jiraiya. Naruto straightened himself out and nodded, his own stomach growling in agreement with Jiraiya. "Don't worry, now that you know how to summon them, the toads that you're familiar with should be much easier to summon. It's always the first summoning of each toad that are the most exhausting." As of now, he was familiar with how to summon Gamakichi and Gamatatsu, the samurai-like Gamakiro who he had summoned before during the second chunin exams, the messenger toad Kisuke, another battle toad named Gama, a tracker toad named Gamashibu, a gourd toad by the name Gamarasuke, and a few others.

"That last toad, Gamaken, was pretty cool. He was as big as Chief Toad!" said Naruto. "But what was that about him being 'clumsy'?"

"Oh, that's just Gamaken for you. He's really not that clumsy, even though he always insists he is" said Jiraiya. "There is one more that I want you to work on summoning before we say hello to Bunta." For some reason, Naruto was getting the feeling that he really wasn't looking forward to that meeting. He had summoned Gamabunta once, and that was to fight Shukaku. Even then, Gamabunta seemed really stubborn and grumpy.

After dinner, while it was still somewhat light out, Naruto was going over those sealing scrolls Jiraiya had given him. He figured he'd take a look at them before going back to the Uzumaki seals. For the most part, they were more utility seals. There were some seals that may have uses in combat, but he figured most of the combat seals he would be using would come from the Uzumaki seals anyways. Jiraiya was also working on something…most likely Icha-Icha related.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

The following day, large aqua blue toad wielding two swords on his back appeared that introduced himself as Gamahiro. The toad was rather quiet but Jiraiya said that Hiro was just that way. Despite that, Gamahiro did say that he would fight with Naruto if needed.

"Okay Gaki. Take a short break. We'll summon Bunta tomorrow, you're going to need all the strength you can get if he has in store for you what I think he has" said Jiraiya.

"Umm…what?" asked Naruto, who was now worried tomorrow might be his last day now. Jiraiya smiled at this. Tomorrow was going to be interesting indeed.

"Anyways, why don't we start working on your taijutsu. Did you bring those taijutsu scrolls from Uzu?" asked Jiraiya. Naruto nodded and unsealed the taijutsu scrolls from his book. Jiraiya took a detailed look over the scrolls. "Yeah, these are definitely the Uzumaki taijutsu scrolls and they're older too, that's good. The older ones are more likely to carry the more advanced forms."

"Wait, so what exactly is so special about the Uzumaki-style taijutsu?" asked Naruto.

"I told you that the Uzumakis were experts in taijutsu, among other things. These scrolls contain the forms of the Uzuken, the name they gave to their signature taijutsu style. It's a very fast taijutsu style that focused on strong and disabling attacks. In a way, it was similar to that guy Umo's taijutsu style, but much more refined. However, the problem with you is, that while you may be able to use it, you won't be quite fast enough to make effective use of it" said Jiraiya.

"What do you mean, not fast enough?" asked a flustered Naruto.

Jiraiya threw a fist towards Naruto face, stopping himself a mere centimeter from the blonde's nose. "You didn't even have time to react. The Uzuken requires extremely quick reflexes to get past your opponents defenses before they can react. The Hyugas, Maito Gai, and anyone with a Sharingan are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head that have the speed and reflexes to keep up with it, if memory serves right."

"You mean you know this style?" asked Naruto.

"Kind of. I've fought against it before the Second War in kind of a spar when I went to Uzu while it was still around" said Jiraiya. "Needless to say, I fought your great-grandfather in a taijutsu spar and got my ass handed to me."

"Wait! You knew my great-grandfather?" asked Naruto.

"I met Morio-sama once and his father, Shuichi-sama. Did I know they were your grandparents? Not until I saw that family tree" said Jiraiya. "They had my utmost respect and were noble and honorable people. I can tell you a little more about the Uzumakis, but I'm not the best person to tell you."

"Up until now, your taijutsu has been very sloppy brawler-ish. From what Tsunade informed me when she went through the academy, the teachers sabotaged your taijutsu among other things" said Jiraiya.

"What?! But why…" asked Naruto, trailing off as he realized the answer to his question was right there on his stomach.

"It could have been worse, but it seems like Iruka was able to correct some of the damage done to your taijutsu, but a refined taijutsu style would benefit you greatly" said Jiraiya. "To be completely honest, if those idiots had taken even the slightest interest in you at the academy, there's no doubt in my mind that you could have been right up there competing with Sasuke for 'rookie of the year', but then again it never hurts being the 'dobe' of the class now does it. I mean, I turned out pretty well, didn't I?"

Silence…

"Never mind" Jiraiya sighed. "Anyways, we need to work on your speed and strength, which is why I want you to make a set of gravity. They have the same effect as weights, only they aren't as clunky as the things that Gai makes Lee carry around."

Naruto nodded and went to making the seals. He placed four of them on a set of arm and leg bands and after applying them to himself, the effects felt were immediate. The seals were only set to about 1.2x the normal gravity, but even then Naruto could feel the increased force trying to drag him down to earth. "Good, you'll wear those for a few days before we take them off to allow you to become accustom to the new level of speed before increasing their effect and reapplying them" instructed Jiraiya.

For the rest of the day, Naruto was trying to get used to the effects of the gravity seals while he began learning the Uzuken katas with Jiraiya trying his best to correct the forms.

* * *

"Summoning Jutsu!"

"**Huh? Oh, it's just you. What do you want, punk? I was in the middle of something"** grumbled Gamabunta.

"What do you mean?! I thought you were the one who wanted to talk to me!" replied Naruto.

"**Bahaha! Why would I make time for a brat like you?"** grumbled Bunta.

"Hey Ero-Sennin! Tell this overgrown toad that he wanted to talk to me!" demanded Naruto.

"Eh? What? I never said anything like that!" denied Jiraiya. _"Crap, why did he have to drag me into this. Sigh…He may have grown and matured a little, but deep down he's still the Gaki I met back in the hot springs."_

"Oy! Chief Toad, I was the one who summoned you, so now tell me what it is you want to talk about!" demanded Naruto.

"**Shut it, you little snot-nosed punk. I don't have to listen to you, just who do you think you are?"** grumbled Bunta. **"There was only one who earned my respect, the Yondaime."**

"Wait, you knew my dad?" asked Naruto.

"_**So this punk really is Minato's tadpole? Heh, this will be interesting"**_ thought Gamabunta. **"Hmm…your dad, eh? Very well punk. I'll give you a chance."**

"Huh? A chance? What do you mean?" asked Naruto.

"**If you really are HIS son, then prove it. You must stay on my head until dusk"** said Bunta.

"That's all? Heh, this will be easy…" said Naruto as Bunta took off, straight into the air with a screaming Naruto on his back. "…or not! HELP!"

Gamabunta landed with a ground shaking thud that nearly threw Naruto off of his head, however the blonde remained. If his dad could do it, then so could he. As Naruto just barely regained himself, Bunta shot off dashing away, nearly throwing Naruto off again, being saved only by the collar of Bunta's coat.

"_**Oh I'm beginning to like this toad more and more. Not only did he glassify Shukaku, but now he's giving the Kit the ride of his life. I can feel the Kit's terror and it's like music to my ears" **_thought Kurama. **"Tell him to go faster!"**

"What?! WHY THE HELL WOULD I WANT HIM TO GO FASTER?! I'M JUST BARELY HANGING ON HERE!" screamed Naruto. However, this scream was external, meaning that Bunta heard it as well.

"**This not good enough for you punk? Fine, I'll go faster!" **declared Bunta as he picked up the pace and Naruto found himself fearing for his life even more while cursing the Kyuubi even more.

Off to the side (far away from where Bunta was), Jiraiya was getting quite a laugh. _"Yep, just like Minato's initiation. Well, if I know Naruto he'll either hold on or die trying."_ Jiraiya then reached into his pack and pulled out his notebook. _"I could really use some inspiration right about now. Perhaps if Naruto's still conscious after tonight, I'll help him with THAT jutsu."_

After hours of holding onto Gamabunta, the sun began to set as it started to disappear behind the distant mountains. _"Heh, almost there…just a few more minutes"_ thought Naruto. To say he was exhausted would be an understatement. Bunta had put him through numerous powerful jumps and earth-quaking landings, dragging Naruto through the ground, trying to scrape the blonde off, and even trying to submerge Naruto once or twice. But now, with about five minutes of daylight, when Naruto thought the worst was over and he had it, Bunta picked up again, with renewed ferocity.

Five minutes later, the sun set and Naruto remained on top, looking like he had just finished a battle against a hurricane. His clothes were shredded, putting him down to two pairs, and he was scraped up all over the place. During the entire ordeal, his injuries would heal themselves only to be replaced by new injuries.

"**So you really are Minato's tadpole, huh?"** asked Gamabunta.

"How…*pant*…the hell…*pant*…did my dad do this?" panted Naruto.

"**Hey, you only made it worse on yourself by asking me to go harder and faster"** laughed the Toad Boss. **"Anyways, you made it. I'll give you that punk."**

"Heh, so…what was it…you wanted to…talk to me…about?" said Naruto.

"**Nothing much, that was about it"** said Bunta.

"What?! So all you wanted to do was throw me around like a rag doll?" asked a flustered Naruto, regaining some of his spent energy.

"**Yep. Where are you Jiraiya?!" **shouted Bunta. Jiraya hopped out of a tree in front of Gamabunta as the Chief Toad grabbed Naruto with his tongue and set the blonde on the ground. **"Okay punk, there's one last things you've gotta do before I even consider accepting you as a summoner. Did you get the sake?"**

"Right here. I'm just glad we got out of Konoha before Tsunade realized I bought out all of her favorite vintage" said Jiraiya.

"**JIRAIYA!"** was heard across every nation and Jiraiya knew exactly which buxom blonde that roar came from.

Jiraiya pulled out a storage scroll and unsealed a few barrels of sake. "Eh? What are those barrels for?" asked a battered Naruto.

"Your initiation" said Jiraiya. Naruto just looked at him confused.

"**It's the final step of your initiation as a toad summoner. You and I are going to share a cup of sake"** said Bunta.

"…What?! But I'm too young to drink!" said Naruto.

Jiraiya just laughed. "Actually, you're not. You're a chunin, right?" Naruto nodded. "Then under the 'Old Enough to Kill, Old Enough to Drink Law', you're allowed to drink and there are certain shinobi-only bars in Konoha that will cater to you."

"…" Naruto just looked at the Toad Sage suspiciously.

"No, I'm dead serious. It was a rule erected for the shinobi population because when a Gaki like you becomes a ninja, they are officially recognized as adults of the village, giving them many of the privileges that adults carry, such as the consumption of alcoholic beverages. However, it was revised to that drinking was limited to those of chunin rank or higher so that we wouldn't be dealing with a bunch of drunk 12-year-old genin. Although I guess they didn't account for 12-year-old chunin" explained Jiraiya. "After all, to get an addiction like the one Tsunade has, you have to start early. But don't worry, if you don't go overboard with the drinking you won't turn out like her."

"_Great, so he's trying to turn me into a drunk"_ thought Naruto as he nearly deadpanned.

"Unfortunately, overboard is exactly what you're going to do tonight!" exclaimed Jiraiya as Bunta poured the sake into his giant toad-sized sakazuki.

"**Okay kid, I'm going to say a few things and then you're going to drink as much as you can, understand?"** said Bunta, who then shot Naruto a glare. **"And you'd better not disappoint."**

"Got it, Chief!" said Naruto. _"Why do I have a feeling I'm going to regret this? Hey Furball, can you keep me from getting drunk?"_

"**Hmm…I can, but there's no way in hell I'm missing that! Haha" **laughed the Kyuubi.

"Grreeeaat…." Said Naruto.

"I take it Furball isn't going to help you out tonight?" asked Jiraiya, catching Naruto's reaction. Naruto nodded and Jiraiya just laughed as he took his own bottle.

"**Very well. Uzumaki Naruto, by sharing this sakazuki with you as per your initiation as a toad summoner, I Gamabunta, the Toad Boss, officially recognize you as a summoner"** said Gamabunta. **"Now, if you will take a drink from the sakazuki, your initiation will be complete."**

Gamabunta glared at Naruto and the blonde gulped. He knew he wasn't going to get off easy so with his usual resolve he submerged his face in the sake and began taking a few large gulps of it until he couldn't drink any more. The alcohol burnt going down his throat and he could immediately feel it taking effect I his body. With no tolerance or Kyuubi filtering out the alcohol, it hit him hard and fast.

"So, how do you feel Naruto?" asked Jiraiya.

"Shoot it, you…duum fox. I've had enoof of ur…laughing…" slurred Naruto. Kurama was laughing his ass off at his drunk vessel and the drunk Naruto couldn't tell the difference between only talking to his tenant and just blurting it out. Naruto stumbled back until he tripped over himself and landed flat on his ass.

"Heeey! Ero-Sennin! You're not peeping toonite and there…there's that cute girl over there!" shouted a drunk Naruto. Jiraiya's head immediately turned only to see that the 'cute girl' was a tree trunk with a few budges in its trunk that kind of gave it a womanly shape. "But she kind oof looks like Hinata-chan, so if you even think of peeping, I'll keel ur pervy ass!"

Jiraiya couldn't hold his laugher back anymore as he rolled back. _"Oh yeah, if he's thinking about girls when he's drunk, he's definitely got an inner-pervert. And I'm going to do everything in my pervy powers to bring it out. Muahahaha"_

Even Bunta was getting a good laugh at the drunk blonde's babbling. Finally, the alcohol hit Naruto at its full effect and the kid passed out. "He's going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow morning" said Jiraiya as he raised his bottle to Gamabunta and the two took a drink.

"**Eh, not bad. This is a pretty good vintage. You know Tsunade's going to skin your ass when you get back"** said Bunta. Jiraiya shivered at the thought. **"Still, the kid is something. To be able to hang on like that, perhaps he does have potential to reach his old-man's level…maybe even surpass it. After that, he deserves some rest. I'll drop you two outside the nearest village."**

Jiraiya nodded as he grabbed Naruto and climbed atop Bunta's head. With a few mighty leaps, Bunta arrived outside the nearest village. Jiraiya found an inn and put Naruto to bed. Naruto would most likely be recovering for a few days after everything that happened. Thankfully, there were quite a few hot springs in this town to keep Jiraiya occupied while Naruto rested.

* * *

"Uhg…I feel terrible" commented Naruto as he slowly began to wake up. As it stood, his head was pounding, his stomach was burning, and every muscle in his body was sore and stiff. What he was suffering from could be considered a 'Gamabunta Hangover'.

"Oh? You're up?" commented Jiraiya, who had just walked into the bedroom where he left Naruto. Unfortunately for Naruto, Jiraiya was wrapped only in a bath towel and he was certain he heard someone leave the room…of course, that could have also been the pounding. "How do you feel?"

"Like shit" said Naruto. Alongside the pounding, he could hear the snickering of his tenant. _"You're enjoying this aren't you?"_

"**Oh yeah. Although you do have to admit, that was some fine sake"** commented Kurama.

"_Meh, it really didn't taste that good"_ commented Naruto.

"**Trust me, that was some pretty good stuff. You're young and it's an acquired taste. Give it a few years and you'll be as addicted to the stuff as that old bag of a Hokage."**

"_Yeah, well I'm never drinking again if this is how I feel in the morning"_ said Naruto, earning a snicker from Kurama. _"Speaking of which, you're supposed to be helping me? You said you could stop me from getting drunk, why the hell didn't you?!"_

"**Because it was fun. Don't worry, I'll help you out next time…if I feel you need it that is"** commented Kurama.

"_Damn fox" _swore Naruto before snapping back to reality. Jiraiya was still there.

"Go take a long hot shower, it'll help" he said. "There's a restaurant in this inn. Meet me down there when you're ready."

* * *

"So how are you feeling now?" asked Jiraiya. It was now late morning the day after Naruto's meeting with Gamabunta and Jiraiya getting him drunk as an initiation as a true toad summoner.

"Better, but my body is still sore" said Naruto.

"Well, that's to be expected from what Bunta put you through. Actually, I'm surprised you were able to even get up today. Minato wasn't able to move for three days after Bunta's trial" explained Jiraiya. "Tell you what, take it easy today and get rested up."

"But I've gotta get back to training" said Naruto.

"Trust me, even with the Furball, your body needs to rest. Just relax today and you can start working on some of those jutsu tomorrow" said Jiraiya. "Besides, I've got something important that I need to get done here pretty soon."

"Let me guess, another of your perverted smut?" asked Naruto.

"No!" objected Jiraiya. He then pulled out a larger notebook that he had been writing in. "This is more than just a book. In just a few short months, production on the first ever Icha Icha movie will begin!"

Naruto's sweat dropped. _"Great…so now he's taking his porn from a book to the big screen…"_ thought Naruto.

"And I'm working on the script. I can just picture it now. Movie of pure brilliance, full of drama that will draw crowds from all over the elemental nations, and did I mention it will contain some of the sexiest actresses around?" said Jiraiya with a grin on his face.

"_Damn pervert"_ was all Naruto could think at the moment. "So you're going to throw away my training all for some porno?"

"Don't worry, since we'll be in one place for a long period of time while the movie's being filmed, that means you'll have plenty of opportunities to train" said Jiraiya. _"And not just in jutsus…hehe."_

Naruto sighed and gave in. But if Jiraiya neglected his training during that time, someone was going t get their ass kicked. Still, a day of rest didn't sound too bad and after the beating Bunta put him through yesterday, his body really wasn't complaining. "Okay fine, I'll take it easy today maybe look into fuinjutsu a little more, but you said we'll start on those jutsu tomorrow?" Jiraiya nodded.

"We'll start you with one of those other elements tomorrow and work a bit more on your taijutsu" said Jiraiya. "Now, I've gotta get back to work, so just relax and take it easy."

Naruto sighed as Jiraiya left to go and do whatever 'work' he was up to. A day off after training with the toads for the past few days wouldn't hurt. If anything, perhaps he would look a little into some fuinjutsu today. He had been on the road for a little over three weeks now and he was already beginning to miss home and it would still be at least 2 years and many months before he could see his friends or the one he loved again. Still, he knew he had to come on this journey. It was the only way he could get strong enough to protect everyone from what was coming.

* * *

"Okay Naruto, we'll probably be staying in this village for the rest of the week so that'll give us some time to work on your taijutsu and some ninjutsu. Why don't we start with some taijutsu practice and we can start on those ninjutsu later today" said Jiraiya. Naruto nodded and he began going over the katas of the Uzuken.

Later in the morning, Jiraiya decided to have a little spar with Naruto to see if Naruto was ready to incorporate the Uzuken into a fight yet. Needless to say, Naruto was hurting after that. He had no idea Jiraiya could be so brutal in spars. Naruto was sure there was a huge bruise on his stomach after Jiraiya landed a hit there and even though the Kyuubi was able to heal it, that didn't help the pain. Still, if Jiraiya was going to be this hard on him during a spar, then it only served to further drive Naruto to improve.

As the afternoon came around, it was time for what Naruto was really looking forward to…those new jutsu. "So you have those two wind jutsu and one of fire and one of water. Seeing as you're already good with wind, I think you'll be fine on your own for those two. I'll help as much as I can, but as I said before wind isn't really my element. Now fire or water, that's a different story. I guess I'll let you decide the element and then we'll go through the same process that you did with your wind training. We'll work on a few nature manipulation exercises and then I'll teach you those jutsu for each element."

"Hey Ero-Sennin, you only said you're going to teach me one jutsu of each element? How come? If I'm going to get stringer at those elements, I need more jutsu than just one to work at" argued Naruto.

"_Got him"_ thought Jiraiya. "I suppose you're right. I'll tell you what, I'll make you a deal. If you do something for me, I'll teach you a few extra jutsu." This was just brilliant. He knew the kid's drive to learn new things and if things worked out like he planned, he would have a near endless source of inspiration.

"Okay, so what is it you need?" asked Naruto, oblivious to the perverted look growing on Jiraiya's face.

"My deal is this. For every change you make to THAT jutsu, I'll teach you one elemental jutsu" said Jiraiya.

"What?! Really?! Wow!...hey wait a minute…" said Naruto taking a minute to think on what THAT jutsu was. It didn't take him long to figure out his teacher's intentions. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU PERVERT!"

"That's my offer Naruto. For every different variation you show me of your Sexy Jutsu, I'll teach you one elemental jutsu" giggled Jiraiya. "Take it or leave it. Besides, think of it as training as well. I want you to learn how to invent your own jutsus some day and this will help with that."

Naruto groaned. "Fine, but they had better be cool jutsus and nothing lame."

"Good, I expect great things out of you. Now, which element do you want to get started on first? I will warn you now though that you probably won't get them as easy as you got wind" said Jiraiya.

"Hmm…I guess let's go with fire first. Furball said he would be able to help me out a bit with that one" said Naruto.

"That's probably the better of the choices. Since fire's weak against water, learning fire after water would have been more difficult since your chakra would tend to neutralize it. However, since your chakra is primarily wind, that will actually help you with fire I believe" explained Jiraiya.

"Okay, so what's the first step?" asked Naruto. Jiraiya threw him a stick. He was going to have Naruto do the same exercise that Sasuke had Sakura do when she was learning fire chakra. "Channel chakra through your hands and superheat it, igniting the stick. Once you can set fire to that stick, we'll move on to the next step. Also, feel free to use some shadow clones if you want, but not too many as you don't want too memories coming back at once to bite you."

For the rest of the afternoon, Jiraiya sat and watched as all 100 Naruto clones began to work on igniting their sticks. Unlike wind, where cutting a leaf could take upwards of six months for some, igniting a stick on fire wasn't too difficult. Fire was actually one of the easier elements to learn, but the difficulty came with mastering the element. Jiraiya suspected that Naruto would have the first phase down in a few days, and that was in combination with some taijutsu, Naruto working on those wind jutsus, and the fuinjutsu training as well. While Naruto would be working on his jutsus, Jiraiya would be working on the script for his movie that Naruto was still complaining about.

* * *

Three days passed with the normal routine. Jiraiya looked up from his work and saw a small stream of smoke coming from one of the Narutos, indicating that the blonde was starting to get it. The white haired man smiled at his student's progress before a small trickle of blood ran down his nose and memories came back to him. With Naruto using shadow clones to train, he had gotten the idea of using shadow clones to provide him with inspiration. They would dispel after awhile and provide him with perverted memories while he worked on the script. The other advantage to this was it didn't hurt as bad if he was caught peeping.

"Ouch!" Speaking of hurting…one of the clones finally managed to ignite one of the sticks, causing it to burn itself and dispel.

With a cheer from the original, all the Naruto clones dispelled and Naruto cheered as he successfully ignited a stick moments later.

"Okay Naruto, good job. That's enough for today I think. Let's go grab something to eat and then we can discuss what's next" said Jiraiya. Naruto nodded and the two returned to town for dinner at the restaurant in the first floor of the inn, which also happened to be a bar. Thankfully, Jiraiya couldn't get Naruto drunk here as they didn't serve underage people, even if they were shinobi. Still, to Jiraiya's delight, the bar had a lively crowd later in the nights.

"Okay Naruto, listen up and watch" said Jiraiya as he pointed over towards the bar. "You see that guy over there?" Naruto nodded as he saw what looked to be a man in his early 20's approach a woman sitting at the bars. He was pretty sure that he heard a few smug remarks come from the man and a slap afterwards as the woman got up and stormed out. "That's what you don't want to do. You've got to charm them and make them feel special."

Naruto's sweat dropped. Sadly, Jiriaya was right. He'd never say anything like that to Hinata-chan, or any girl for a matter of fact. "So why are we talking about this then?" asked the blonde.

Jiraiya took a sip of the sake that he had. "Think of it as training. You know, not all training comes in the form of ninjutsu, taijutsu, or fuinjutsu. Sometimes you've gotta learn more practical skills. Such as the art of charming women." Immediately, Naruto's sweat dropped.

"What?!" shouted Naruto.

"You heard me. By the time we're done here, you're going to know everything there is for a man to know about women. You may have that sweet little girlfriend of yours, but there's no harm in learning. After all, you want to be able to sweep her off her feet when you get back. Oh, and let's not forget those dance lessons we need to get to" said Jiraiya. Naruto was now regretting this trip. "Don't worry, Jiraiya here will show you everything you need to know."

* * *

About two months passed and Naruto had been making excellent progress in his fire manipulation. What really saw the most improvement however, was Naruto's taijutsu. Just about every morning, Jiraiya would help Naruto out with his taijutsu, which usually meant beating the boy to a bloody pulp in a spar. However, Naruto was beginning to improve and now he was only coming out of the spars with maybe a bruise or two. Hell, Jiraiya even had to be careful now or he would take an occasional hit.

*Flashback (2 weeks)*

"So you ready for your daily beating?" said Jiraiya as he and Naruto faced each other for their usual daily taijutsu spar.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Today I'm going to kick your ass!" declared Naruto as he slipped into the initial stance of the Uzuken. Jiraiya just smirked as he slipped into his own stance. The match started out as always, with Naruto lashing out a few quick strikes, which Jiraiya easily managed to block.

"_I'll admit, he's gotten much faster, but he's still got a long way to go until he's at the speed required for the Uzuken_" thought Jiraiya. By this point in time, they had increased the gravity seals on Naruto to around 1.5x, meaning that the 42kg (92lbs) Naruto was feeling as if he was actually 63kg (138lbs). Naruto got close and tried to drive a knee up into the Toad Sennin's gut, but was blocked by Jiraiya. Naruto smirked as he drove one hand down while lashing out with a punch using his other hand. Jiraiya leaned back in time to avoid the hit, but Naruto responded with a sweeping kick aimed at Jiriaya's legs as he tried to floor the Sannin. Once again, Jiraiya jumped in time to avoid it.

"_Yeah, his speed still needs work. Had he the speed required to use the Uzuken to its full effect, he would have had me with those two shots"_ thought Jiraiya, smirking.

"Damnit" swore Naruto. He thought he had Jiraiya there. Now it was Jiraiya's turn to go on the offensive as he pelted Naruto with a barrage of various strikes. Naruto struggled to avoid them before eventually having a foot slammed into his side. He clutched his side in pain. That last kick had hurt and while he could feel Kurama repairing the damage, that spot was still going to be sore for a bit. _"Come on, just once! I can hit him just once!" _

Naruto stood to his feet, determined to land a hit on the Sannin before the match was over. Their match picked up again with Naruto looking for even the slightest of openings in Jiraiya's form. Finally, he say a small one and turned to take advantage of it. His chance succeeded as he landed a hit on Jiraiya's shoulder, causing the Sannin's left side to open up for a kick. Naruto took advantage and swept his leg across to catch Jiraiya in the side, but to Naruto's dismay Jiraiya caught the leg, pinning it between his side and his arm before sending the boy flying.

*End Flashback*

That had been the first time Naruto had managed to land a hit on Jiriaya. While it wasn't that powerful yet, it was a start and every now and then Naruto would score a hit on Jiraiya in their spars. They had also bumped up the gravity seals to 1.7x, making the blonde feel as if he were 71kg (157lbs). Another thing that also caught Jiraiya's eye was that Naruto was beginning to experience some sort of growth spurt. In the past two months, the blonde had grown 4cm from 147 cm, putting him at about 151cm (4'11"). Jiraiya had worked on getting Naruto to eat foods besides ramen, although he would give in and let the blonde splurge every now and then.

Over the past two months, Naruto's physical stature wasn't the only thing that began showing improvements. The blonde had mastered the two wind jutus that he had brought along with him.

*Flashback (4 weeks)*

"Hey Ero-Sennin! I've got it, want to see?" nagged Naruto, tugging on Jiraiya's sleeve.

"What'd you do now?" asked Jiraiya.

"I got that wind jutsu, Futon: Swallow's Strike" said Naruto.

"Oh? You did? Well let's see" said Jiraiya.

Naruto smirked and turned towards a tree before making the necessary hand seals and exclaiming "Futon: Swallow's Strike!" Naruto then held out a straight palm with wind chakra gathered around it and slashed through the air with it, expelling the blast of chakra towards an unfortunate tree. The chakra then took the form of a large swallow as it sped towards the tree, slicing through the trunk before dissipating. Naruto looked on, impressed at his work as the tree fell to the ground with a clean cut.

"Heh, not bad" said Jiraiya. "Pretty soon you'll be on your way to making your own wind jutsus."

"Actually, I've got an idea on how to improve that one. I just need to figure out how to do it" said Naruto.

"Well, I'm sure you will. Your dad was excellent at inventing and figuring out jutsus, I'm sure you'll find a way how to" said Jiraiya, impressed that the blonde was already looking at ways to improve it. This is what he wanted Naruto to do, think outside the box and make his own jutsus.

*End Flashback*

Along with the wind jutsus, Naruto had gotten the fire jutsu he brought. After getting that, Jiraiya insisted that Naruto continue to train in fire manipulation for a few more months before they began learning the last of the three elements that would be easiest for Naruto to learn, water. This of course worked to Jiraiya's advantage as Naruto was not content with only knowing one fire jutsu while training with fire manipulation so what did he do? He gave in and took Jiriaya up on his offer.

*Flashback (1 week ago)*

Naruto had finished making a kunai red-hot with fire chakra, something he had been working on all day. He could make his tri-pronged knives glow without too much of an issue, but these normal kunai took forever. "That's it, I've had it! Hey Ero-Sennin, you got any cool fire jutsus to teach me?" asked Naruto, growing increasingly bored with just training fire chakra manipulation.

"Ehh I don't know. That depends, do you have something for me?" asked Jiraiya with a perverted look on his face. _"It's about time. I was beginning to worry that this kid was actually beginning to develop a sense of patience."_

Naruto sighed. So the old pervert really was going to only give him jutsu for new versions of the Sexy Jutsu. He didn't want to, but it was the only way to get a new jutsu and save himself from the boredom of trying to simply set a kunai on fire. "Fine. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" exclaimed Naruto as he made a single shadow clone. Jiraiya looked on, notebook at the ready, as the two clones then performed a Transformation. When the smoke cleared, two naked girls were standing, or laying, where the Narutos were. They were lying on top of one another in a seductive pose with their breasts pushed up against one another. "Sexy Jutsu: Girl-on-Girl Version."

Jiraiya looked on, much to the delight of his perverted eyes. "OH YEAH!" Before he could get closer, Naruto transformed back into Naruto, ending the jutsu and causing Jiraiya to grumble a bit.

"There, now about that jutsu?" asked Naruto.

"Fine, I guess a deal's a deal" said Jiraiya, giving Naruto a scroll. Naruto popped the scroll open and it read 'Katon: Flame Bullet'. It was a C-rank fire jutsu that required using chakra to build up oil in the stomach and then mixing it with fire chakra.

"You can either learn to build up oil yourself, or you can use a toad to provide you with the oil" said Jiraiya. "I believe you and Sasuke used something like that against the Shukaku once with Bunta."

"Wow! Really? This is going to be awesome then!" exclaimed Naruto.

*End Flashback*

Currently, Naruto was still trying to learn how to generate oil in his stomach for the jutsu, but he did it once before, using a toad to provide the oil and the results were pretty good.

Along with that, Naruto's fuinjutsu was coming along good. He had finished up that entirety of the sealing scrolls that Jiraiya had given him at the beginning of the trip and was now back to learning the Uzumaki sealing techniques. Naruto had also managed to finish up the absorption seals for the remainder of his knives, giving him an absorption seal for all five elements. So long as he could react quick enough, he had a way to counter most elemental jutsu. He had also made a rather complex sealing matrix on a pair of bracers, allowing him to seal all five absorption kunai along with his tri-pronged, shuriken, and normal kunai. It took him some getting used to at first, but he was able to get used to the new seal fairly quick.

Currently, the two were travelling through the Land of Forests, on their way to the shooting site of Jiraiya's Icha Icha movie. While everything had been arranged for the movie to proceed without him, Jiraiya still wanted to be there for varying purposes. After having been on the road for nearly a week, the duo finally arrived at the site of shooting for the movie, where they would be spending the next couple of months.

* * *

Author Notes

And so Jiraiya's corruption of Naruto begins. For those of you who might be worried, don't worry, while they are at the location of the shooting of the Icha Icha movie, Naruto won't actually be around near set for any adult scenes that may make their way into the movie. For the most part, he will be training while the movie is being shot.

I think that's it for now. Till next time,

Please Review/Comment


	62. Lights, Camera, Action

Hey everyone, here's the next chapter. I'll start off with a few Q&A's and then get right into the chapter.

_**Will I be doing the other's training during this book/part?**_ No. Only Naruto's training will be covered. These 12-14 chapters will, for the most part be focused solely on Naruto, Jiraiya, and Kurama. However, there will be a chapter in this book where Naruto and Jiraiya do meet with a few of their friends from Konoha, but that won't be until later.

**Will the Uzukage hat be used as some sort of pledge Naruto made with the Hyuga clan?** No, him giving Hinata that hat was a promise to Hinata to help ensure her that he would return back to her. It will not be used as some sort of pledge or leverage by the Hyuga clan.

**What about that appendix thing you said you were going to do?** The appendix I am currently working on. What I will most likely do with that is put a link to a Google document on my profile page. I'll let you know when it's up in the story. I'm not entirely sure when I'll have it completed, but I'll have it done before the end of book 2.

Now, on with the story.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Posted: 3/28/13

* * *

**Chapter 62: Lights…Camera…Ninja Action!**

"Where is he?!" shouted Makino, a well known movie director.

"Who are you talking about, sir?" asked one of the stage hands.

"Who else? The author of the books this brilliant movie is based off of!" exclaimed the director. "We can't start this movie without him!"

All around the set, the entire film crew was waiting patiently for the author of the movie they were about to shoot in order to show up.

"Hey, can't we get to shooting this without him?" asked one of the cast.

"Yeah, I came here to make a movie, not wait for some writer that doesn't know the importance of punctuality. I'm already in the zone and if we wait any longer, I don't think it'll hold!" exclaimed another actress.

Suddenly, an explosion went off in the middle of the set and when the smoke cleared, there was a white-haired man standing on top of a large orange toad.

"What's going on? Who are you?!" asked one of the stunned cast members.

"Thanks for asking. Mt. Myoboku's one and only Toad Sennin. Women throw themselves at my feet, dying to bask in the manliness that is the one and only…Jiraiya!" exclaimed Jiraiya, making one of his 'signature' poses on top of the toad. Leaning against the back of the toad, a certain blonde face planted anime-style.

"What? You can't just barge in here like that! Security!" shouted one of the actors. A few guards approached the man on the toad.

"CUT!" shouted the director before the guards could get their asses handed to them by one of the Legendary Sannin. "The man of the hour has finally arrived!"

"What? Who the hell is this guy?" asked the confused actor.

"This is the Jiraiya, the man who writes the Icha Icha novels and the one who is paying all of us" said the director. The actor cringed a little upon hearing this.

"P-please f-forgive me, Jiraiya-sama" begged the actor, not wanting to lose out on the gratuitous paycheck he was receiving for this movie.

"Heh, so Makino, is everything ready to go?" asked Jiraiya.

"Everything's all set to go" exclaimed the director. "Everyone, take your places! We've got a movie to shoot! Give me lights! Give me drama! And get that toad out of here!"

"Croak…"

* * *

Naruto and Jiraiya were sitting along the side of the set, observing the first scene of the movie. Thankfully for Naruto, there were no adult parts in the opening scene. However, his attention was drawn to one actress in particular. Said actress was a woman most likely in her early 20's with long black hair and light purple-blue eyes. _"Hmm…I'm almost certain I've seen her somewhere before"_ thought Naruto.

"Huh? What's up Naruto?" asked Jiraiya, seeing his student's distraction.

"It's nothing. Just her…" said Naruto as he trailed off. "I swear I've seen her before."

At this time a grey-haired man walked up behind Jiraiya and Naruto. "Are you familiar with the Princess Gale movies young man?"

"Huh? Who are you old man?" asked Naruto. The man just chuckled a little.

"My name's Asama Sandayu and I am the manager of Fujikaze Yukie, the woman you are curious about" said Sandayu. "Now I believe it's your turn to answer my question. Are you familiar with the Princess Gale movies?"

"Princess Gale? Yeah those movies are awesome! I actually saw the most recent one with my girlfriend before leaving on a trip with Ero-Sennin here" said Naruto, pointing to Jiriaya. _"Speaking of which, I miss Hinata-chan…"_ Naruto cried on the inside.

"Will you stop calling me that?!" objected Jiraiya.

"Then you'll be pleased to know that Yukie is the actress who plays Princess Gale in those movies" said Sandayu.

Naruto's eyes immediately lit up. "She's Princess Gale?" asked Naruto. Sandayu nodded. _"Wow, I'm definitely gonna need to get her autograph."_

"Wait a second…" said Naruto, contemplating for a moment. "If she's such a great actress, then what's she doing in Ero-Sennin's perverted movie?"

"My movie's more than just that you little brat!" retorted Jiraiya. "It's going to be the dramatic masterpiece of the century! Who wouldn't want to be a part of it? And Yukie's playing the part of Ai, the main heroine of the book."

"Huh? Who?" Naruto asked, tilting his head.

"And cut!" shouted the director. "Prepare the set for the beach scene! And get the kid out of here!"

"Okay brat, you heard the director. This is an adult scene and that means you can't be here. Why don't you go train a bit, there are a few fields just outside the set" said Jiraiya, shoving Naruto off the set. In all honesty, this wasn't helping Jiraiya's statement that this movie was more than just some perverted porno. Then Jiraiya smiled at the blonde. "Here, if you want to know what's going on, just read this." Jiraiya pushed a copy of Icha Icha Paradise into Naruto's hand and closed the door to the set before Naruto could even react.

"What the hell you pervert?!" shouted Naruto from outside the set. He slipped the book into his back pouch, his perverted side, the same one that had invented the Sexy Jutsu, taking control for just that moment.

For the rest of the day, Naruto found a field outside the set area where he began to go over the Uzuken katas followed by working on the fire jutsu he was currently working on and some more wind chakra refinement exercises along with the jutsus he had.

* * *

"Kazahana-sama, one of our informants has come across something that might be of interest to you" spoke a Yuki ninja inside an audience chamber inside the fortress of Doto Kazahana, the current ruler of the Land of Snow. The ninja handed Doto a picture and after taking a quick look at the picture Doto's eyes shot wide open.

"Where did you get this?!" he demanded, grabbing the poor ninja by the collar of his jacket.

"Kazahana-sama, please…I only got the picture from one of our foreign operatives" pleaded the Yuki ninja. Doto slowly released his grip.

"Where was this woman in the picture last spotted?" asked Doto.

"At a movie set in the Land of Lakes. Apparently she'll be there for a few more months for the shooting of the Icha Icha Paradise movie" said the ninja.

"Good. Go gather a team of men and meet me tomorrow morning for a mission briefing" said Doto.

"Um sir, if I may…what is it exactly you want with Fujikaze Yukie?" asked the informant.

"She's not who she appears to be. That name is only a guise" said Doto.

"Really? The who is she?" asked the nin.

"My niece…" growled Doto. "And the only thing standing between me and what is rightfully mine."

"I see. I shall assemble a team and have them ready for you by morning, Sir!"

* * *

"Yo, Naruto!"

"Huh? Ero-Sennin?" Naruto was currently working on a fire jutsu when Jiraiya came up to the training ground.

"How goes that jutsu?" asked Jiraiya.

"I think I almost have the oil generation down. It feels kind of weird though" commented Naruto.

Jiraiya just chuckled a little at this. "Yeah, I remember that feeling when I first learned the jutsu, but you'll get used to it. Trust me; mixing oil into the jutsu really does help with the potency of the jutsu. Why don't you take a break from that and we'll spar. Besides, I may be making a movie, but I still need to ensure you get your daily does of ass kicking."

"Pft. Not today you old pervert!" declared Naruto as he took a position opposite Jiraiya on the field for their spar.

Their match began and ended as they normally do, with Jiraiya standing over a beaten and battered Naruto. "Damnit! I almost had you there!"

"Sure you did" said Jiraiya sarcastically. Naruto shot him a look. "I'm just kidding. You're getting better, I'll give you that, but it's going to take more than a few months for your taijutsu to reach my level. Anyways, I think it's about time we increase your weights. 2.0x should be good for now." With that, Jiraiya channeled some chakra into Naruto's gravity seals, increasing the effect of gravity to 2.0x on Naruto.

Naruto stumbled slightly at the increase in gravity, but was able to adjust himself. "Good, now get used to those for a bit."

"Hey Ero-Sennin, exactly how long are we gonna be here?" asked Naruto.

"Hmm…probably about 6-7 months" said Jiraiya.

"That long?!" complained Naruto.

"Hey, look at it this way. That's 6-7 months we won't have to worry about moving and 6 months you can stay here and train" said Jiraiya. "I'll tell you what, you keep working on your fire jutsu, wind manipulation, taijutsu, and fuinjutsu for the next week and I'll start you off in water jutsus after that. How does that sound?"

"Huh? Really?!" exclaimed Naruto. He was excited about starting on another element, even though he hadn't mastered the fire-element as far as he had wanted. His wind element was pretty refined by this point, but there was always ways to refine it more.

* * *

The week passed with Naruto making good work on his training. He had finally gotten down the Katon: Flame Bullet, although the generation of oil within his stomach still felt a bit weird. His fuinjutsu had made progress with Naruto finishing up the scroll on Uzumaki barrier seals, he couldn't wait to show Iruka-sensei when he got back, and he had moved on to chakra amplification seals. If they were done right, they could double or even triple the power of a jutsu.

When it came to wind refinement exercises, there wasn't too much more that Jiraiya could do in that case as he wasn't a wind-user himself. As his past wind manipulation exercises required him to cut stuff, such as leafs and waterfalls, Naruto continued to cut stuff. However, he was cutting rocks and harder materials using his wind chakra and he wasn't just trying to cut them in half. He was working on making fine and precise cuts with the wind chakra to the point where it seemed like he was trying to use his wind chakra to try and sculpt the rocks or engrave writing in them using his wind chakra. Jiraiya caught wind of this and smiled a bit…the kid was truly beginning to learn on his own.

Speaking of Jiraiya, his week was also going rather well with the movie. The scenes that were shot so far were flawless and if things kept up as they were going, the movie might be done a good month ahead of schedule. Not to mention the adult scenes in the movie provided him with a good source of inspiration, allowing him to begin working on the next volume of the Icha Icha books.

It was now time for Naruto to begin training in water manipulation. Seeing as the movie was being shot in the Land of Lakes, this provided Naruto with plenty of locations to train his water manipulation.

"Okay Naruto, here's what you need to do" said Jiraiya as he placed his hand on the surface of a lake and then lifted it, pulling a large bubble of water up, about the size of Naruto's head. "The first step is to use water chakra to gather and hold a large bubble like this in your hands. Once you can do this, come and get me and we'll move onto the next step. You're going to need to get past the second step before you can start learning most water jutsus."

Naruto nodded and immediately got to work on water manipulation, making a few clones to help him out there while making a few more to work on fire and wind.

* * *

About another month and a half at the site of the movie passed. It had about a week since Naruto completed the second of the water manipulation exercises, which involved him standing in the lake and trying to generate waves by pumping his chakra into the water. In all honesty, creating waves to the level that Ero- Sennin had wanted was harder than it initially sounded. For what seemed like the first week, all Naruto heard was the laughter of one particular fox while he struggled to make more than a ripple in the water.

"Suiton: Water Gun!" shouted Naruto as he took another attempt at the water jutsu he had on hand. Focusing his chakra, he forced a large stream of water out of his mouth and towards a tree, peeling the bark of the poor tree right off. "Finally!"

"**Well, at least it's not a trickle of water like the last 100 times"** joked Kurama.

"_Oh it was only 98 times! Learn to count" _retorted Naruto.

"**98…100, what's the difference. It still took you forever to get the water manipulation down!"** replied Kurama.

"_Hey it's not my fault water was much harder to get than fire or wind!" _replied Naruto. _"Actually, it's your fault! Why couldn't you have a water-affinity as well?"_

"**Sure…blame all your ninja related problems on the fox. At least I'm not the one who gets their ass handed to them on a daily basis by some pervert!" **replied Kurama sarcastically.

"_That reminds me, where is Ero-Sennin? It's time for his daily dose of ass-kicking"_ said Naruto. _"I actually landed more than one hit on him yesterday; it's time to pay him back for these past months!"_ Kurama just sighed at Naruto's usual antics.

"Yo!"

"_And there he is"_ thought Naruto. "Ero-Sennin!"

"Stop calling me that, brat!" retorted Jiraiya.

"I'll stop calling you that when you stop being a pervert" replied Naruto.

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm not a pervert!" defended Jiraiya, receiving a questioning look from Naruto. "I thought we've been over this, I'm a super pervert!" Naruto and Kurama just sweat dropped at this. "So how's the jutsu going?"

"Great! I've got it!" exclaimed Naruto, doing the jutsu again to show Jiraiya.

Jiraiya just smiled and nodded. "Good. Now that you have completed the jutsu training I'll be giving you, I want something from you."

"_Great, he just wants another perverted version of my __Sexy Jutsu__"_ thought Naruto, earning a few nods from Kurama. "I don't have a new version of my Sexy Jutsu, so don't bother asking."

"Awe, come on…" pleaded Jiraiya, letting out a slight chuckle. "I'm just joking. There's plenty of inspiration for me on that movie set right now. However, I do in fact want a jutsu from you."

"Huh? What kind of jutsu?" asked Naruto.

"Eh, that's really up to you" said Jiraiya. "The only condition is you have to be the one to invent it." Naruto looked at Jiraiya wide-eyed. "That's right; I want you to make your very own jutsu. But, here is what's going to happen. Until you show me that jutsu, I won't be helping you at all with the exception of our daily taijutsu spars. You can ask me one question a week and the jutsu can't be something like an improved version of your Sexy Jutsu, although I'm always open to seeing that."

"Right! I'll have that jutsu for you by the end of the week! -ttebayo!" declared Naruto.

* * *

One week later,

"Gagh! I still don't know where to even begin!" said Naruto, pulling at his hair.

"Yo Naruto, how's that jutsu coming?" asked Jiraiya before leaving the trailer that the two were currently staying in.

"It's coming along great! I've almost got it" said Naruto. _"Yeah right, I don't even know where to begin."_

For the rest of the day, Naruto was either sitting around the movie set all day or at the training ground trying to think of something. It wasn't until late that Naruto returned to the trailer to see Jiraiya finishing up dinner.

"Well if it isn't Naruto. How's that jutsu coming?" asked Jiraiya, getting straight to the point, like he had been for the past week.

"Great…" chuckled Naruto sarcastically, before dropping his head. "You said I could ask a question, right?"

Jiraiya nodded. "I see, not going as well as you'd hoped?"

"I just can't…I can't figure where to begin…How do I start developing a jutsu? How did my dad do it? You said he was an expert at creating jutsus, yet this just seems so difficult!" said Naruto, finally letting his frustrations out.

"I figured you'd come to this. And you're right, jutsu inventing is not an easy game" said Jiraiya. "Take the Rasengan for example. It took your dad 3 years to invent it. 3 years is a long time in the ninja world. I'm not asking for you to make something as powerful or complex as the Rasengan…at least not yet. However, every jutsu starts at the same place, whether it be the Rasengan or the Sexy Jutsu. All jutsus require some sort of inspiration that leads to their birth. Let me ask you this, how did you make the Sexy Jutsu?"

"Well umm…I never really thought about it. I guess if anything, it was originally to prank perverts" said Naruto.

"Okay, well I guess you have the application of the jutsu, but there was something that came before it. You said you wanted to prank perverts. You could have done that a number of ways, yet you came up with that" continued Jiraiya.

"Well, I guess there was this one time when I was running away from a man, who I had just dumped a bucket of steak juice on for beat me up the other day and ran him through the Inuzuka compound while he was chasing me. Needless to say, he had an entire pack of Inuzuka hounds chasing his ass around the village and I was watching from a good view point. It was then that he took a wrong turn and somehow stumbled into the woman's bathing area. I saw everything, how the man's mind just blanked to the immediate gusher of blood coming out his nose and the following beating. After that, I knew that I would be able to prank a lot of men that way" explained Naruto.

Jiraiya laughed at this. He had also witnessed the whole event as he was back in Konoha at that time reporting in to the Sandaime. He actually couldn't believe just how lucky he was to witness the conception of Naruto's wonderful jutsu from Kami. "So I guess you could say that event _inspired_ you to create your Sexy Jutsu."

Immediately, Kurama's cage became a lot brighter as a light bulb went off in Naruto's head. "I see, so I need some sort of inspiration to begin making a jutsu, and I guess just about anything can provide that inspiration. It's just something that happens I guess."

Jiraiya smiled and nodded his head. "You've pretty much got it. Just about anything can provide inspiration, you've just gotta keep an open mind."

"Hey Ero-Sennin, what inspired the Yondaime to create the Rasengan?" asked Naruto.

"That's two questions, but I'll give that one to you" said Jiraiya. "It was that ability you used when in Four-tailed Kyuubi mode…the Tailed Beast Ball I think is what it's called."

Naruto's eyes lit up upon hearing that. He had never imagined the Rasengan to have been developed from the Tailed Beast Ball.

"_**Hmm…Interesting development there, Yondaime"**_ thought Kurama. _**"But now that I think of it, I think I understand where you're coming from. I'll have to admit, I'm actually slightly impressed for once."**_

"Well, I've gotta get off to bed. Tomorrow's a big day of filming. It's the part where Souta comes to Ai's rescue and then some pretty juicy scenes follow afterwards, if you know what I mean" said Jiraiya.

Naruto was trying to hide it, but Jiraiya saw the blonde fighting off the images that were popping in his mind and the bright red blush creeping its way onto Naruto's face. _"Someone's been reading. Oh my young apprentice there's no escaping it. Welcome to the dark side of the perv."_

Naruto immediately left the trailer, trying to get the perverted thoughts out of his head. It honestly didn't help that Kurama was reciting lines from the book as Naruto was trying to forget them.

As Naruto was walking through the outskirts of the set, near the areas where he would normally train, the blonde stumbled upon a fox stalking a raccoon. With a sudden pounce, the fox lashed out at the raccoon with its claws, knocking the raccoon to its side and leaving a rather large gash. Before the raccoon could even react, the fox was already on top of it, biting into the neck, killing the raccoon and earning the fox a nighttime meal.

"**Hell yeah! Take that you flea-bitten raccoon! Another one for us foxes!"** cheered Kurama in victory for one of his brethren.

Naruto, in the mean-time, was having other thoughts about the encounter, in particular the way that fox pounced and slashed at the raccoon.

* * *

"Futon: Fox Gale!"

Naruto swiped downward with his hand in a slashing motion, creating a gust of wind that took the form of a fox as it rushed towards an unsuspecting rock and with a slash of its claw, carves a few large gashes into said rock, kind of like the fox pouncing the raccoon from the other night.

"**Why I'm flattered Kit"** said Kurama in a slightly sarcastic tone. _**"It's about time he came up with some fox-based jutsus."**_

Naruto just ignored the Kyuubi and turned to Jiraiya with a pleading look.

"Alright, I'll rank that as high C, maybe low B-rank for now. I honestly think you can improve on it a bit, but you did what I asked you to do and I'm proud of you" said Jiraiya. "Take the rest of the day off and relax, or why don't you come and check out the movie."

Naruto shrugged and figured he might as well. There really wasn't anything else to do on movie set for him besides either train or watch the movie.

* * *

"Shouta, I can't believe you came…" said Ai in disbelief. It was a clear night and the stars shone brightly upon the two lovers standing on the balcony of the highest tower of the towering castle.

"No matter what the cost, I'd do anything for the one my heart belongs to" replied Shouta. He took both of his lover's soft, silky hands and looked deep into her gentle. Ai could only help but to tear up at this, throwing herself into the embrace of the man who had risked his life and everything else to save her from the clutches of her dastardly uncle, Hotaka.

As Ai continues to cry, Shouta began stroking her hair in a comforting manner. "There there, my love. Everything is going to be alright. I'm here and I'll do anything to ensure no more harm befalls you."

Ai nudged her head into the crevice between Shouta's head and shoulders, but as luck had it, Shouta pushed the body of his lover slightly away from him, ending the comforting embrace. However, before Ai could protest, Shouta planted a passionate kiss on her lips.

From the side of the movie set, Jiraiya had tears as he watched his masterpiece unfold. He looked down beside him, at the blonde he had dragged onto the movie set with him today only to see that Naruto was beginning to cry as well. It was at this point, that Naruto left the set with Jiraiya following close behind to see what the problem with his student was.

"Naruto?" called out Jiraiya, trying to locate his student. For about an hour, Jiraiya wandered around the lot, looking for the blonde, coming to a stop at the lake on the outskirts of the set. Sitting on top of a tree branch was Naruto. Jiraiya could obviously tell that the blonde had been crying. He knew the movie was emotional, but at the same time, he could tell there was something else going on.

"Yo, Naruto…" called out Jiraiya. Naruto lifted his head and looked down to see Ero-Sennin jumping up onto the branch that he was on. "Is everything alright? You left just before the best part…the hot and sexy love making."

Jiraiya saw that Naruto was unaffected by that last comment, proving even more that there was something going on in Naruto's head. "Everything's fine, Ero-Sennin."

Jiraiya sighed. "Well, it certainly doesn't look that way. Come on, just tell me. Does it have anything to do with that little girlfriend of yours?"

Naruto immediately blushed, but his saddened expression quickly found its way back on his face.

"Just talk about it. Trust me, it'll help" said Jiraiya.

"What is there to say, I miss her" said Naruto as he began to let it all out. "I miss Hinata-chan. She was one of the first people to ever show me some form of compassion and she was the first person to actually say that she loved me. I don't really know…I mean, I've never told her…but I think I do love her back. It's just…I've only been gone for maybe 7 months, but I've still got 2 years before I can see her again. I guess if anything, I wish that she could have come along."

Jiraiya smiled and placed a comforting hand on his godson's shoulder. "I know it's hard, begin away for so long from the woman you love and I understand what you're feeling." The thought of a certain blonde-haired, large-breasted woman popped into Jiraiya's head. "But you understand why we had to go on this trip."

"I do…but, what if…what if I'm not strong enough to protect her when I get back?" asked Naruto. "What if I'm not strong enough to protect her or all my friends when we return home? Will that mean these three years would have been for naught? Does that mean I just wasted three years where I could have been spending time with her?"

"_I see, so the shooting really did get to him, or rather it got to all the emotions he had been bottling up for the past few months_" thought Jiraiya. "Naruto, don't worry, I'll make sure you're strong enough to handle whatever the world throws at you when we get back, but I can't do it alone. I need you…"

Naruto looked up at his teacher's words. "I need you to believe that you can get strong. If you keep thinking like this, keep doubting yourself, then these three years really will have been a waste" said Jiraiya. He could see the fire and the drive returning to Naruto's eyes.

"I understand. I won't let anyone down. Not you, not my friends, and especially not Hinata-chan! –ttebayo!" declared Naruto.

"Good. And I don't worry about her. I'm sure she's just as driven as you are to become stronger and if I know her, she'll be at the gates waiting for you the day you come home" said Jiraiya. "So, you up for a late night spar?"

Naruto grinned at this. He was going to kick the old pervert's ass this time around.

Naruto and Jiraiya took their positions opposite each other on the field and Naruto made the first move. He punched straight towards Jiraiya, but the Toad Sennin blocked with ease. However, that was what Naruto was hoping as he used the momentum of the punch to spin himself and Jiraya around, lashing out with a spiraling kick. Jiraiya barely had time to react, completing the spin he was forced into and blocking the kick with his free arm. The two disengaged before any more blows could be thrown.

"There's the brat I know" responded Jiraiya. "I'll admit, you're improving, but you're still not quite at my level."

"Oh yeah? Then how about we get rid of these damned weights that YOU put on me" said Naruto as he began to remove the gravity seals. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at this. It was the first time that Naruto had taken his seals off during a spar, perhaps things would get a bit more interesting now.

"Wow! I feel so light! So this is what Bushy-Brows feels like when he takes his weights off" exclaimed Naruto. By this point in time, the seals had been increased to 2.8x and he was really beginning to feel the difference.

With that, Naruto was off, at a speed that surprised both Jiraiya and himself. _"Damn! I've only moved this fast when using the Kyuubi's chakra"_ thought Naruto. Before Jiraiya knew it, he was on the defensive, doing everything he could to keep up with Naruto's increased speed. Naruto instantly lashed out with a low sweeping kick, hoping to knock Jiraiya's feet out from underneath him, but Jiraiya managed to jump just in time to avoid it. However, this was what Naruto was planning. Pushing off from the ground, Naruto landed a quick punch into the stomach of Jiraiya, causing the Sannin's eyes to widen at the feeling of having a fist slammed into his gut.

Naruto grinned, but that grin was wiped off his face when Jiraiya disappeared, only to be replaced by a log. Naruto stopped to look around to see where Jiraiya had gone to.

"Not bad, not bad at all kid" said Jiraiya, clapping as he walked out from the forest. "I'll admit you finally got me there."

Naruto looked up and began grinning at his accomplishment. "Really?!"

Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah, that match is yours. This was a taijutsu-only spar and you made me use a Replacement Jutsu to avoid injury. After all, I've got a movie to make and I can't afford to be lying in bed all day. I would say your speed is probably at the point where you can start learning some of the more advanced forms of the Uzuken. However, don't let this go to your head. There's still a lot of room for improvement although I will admit you've come a long way."

* * *

Naruto couldn't believe he had waited this long. He had been on the movie set for just over 5 months now and he still had yet to get an autograph of the one and only Princess Gale. However, tonight would fix that. He was on a mission tonight to get the autograph of one Fujikaze Yukie.

All afternoon, he had been hanging around the set, waiting for the day of filming to finish up and to approach Yukie to ask for an autograph. Unfortunately, the first attempt at an autograph was shot down immediately when she just flat-out refused. Being Naruto, he pushed her a little further, only to have the Princess Gale poster ripped in half by her before she ran away from the blonde.

"_What the hell is this lady's problem? All I want is a stinkin autograph that I can give Hinata-chan when I get back"_ thought Naruto. He was going to get that autograph even if that meant tying her up and forcing her to give him one.

Naruto had tracked the actress to a village about a mile away from the site of the movie set. This village was where a lot of the crew would go in the evening for a drink and where Naruto would usually go for ramen. It really helped that this village had a ramen stand that was in his Ramen Passport.

Being the Land of Lakes, there were a lot of larger fresh-water lakes and within those lakes lived a unique species of fish that local fishermen said was incredibly difficult to catch, yet it made for an excellent ingredient in a bowl of ramen. The Biwa Trout Ramen was probably the best fish-based ramen that Naruto had ever had.

Refocusing his mind back to the current mission at hand, Naruto went to the first bar in the city that he knew was popular amongst the actors. Unfortunately, he had no luck when it turned out that there was no Yukie in that bar.

It wasn't for another 4-5 bars that Naruto noticed a figure leaving a bar that was next on his list. The figure was wearing a long coat with a hood pulled over their head; however, Naruto caught a tuft of black hair coming out of the coat. After a few moments of Naruto looking at her, she took off away from the blonde and he was in pursuit of his target.

A frantic Yukie made a few turns through the ally, trying to shake the Konoha ninja. She finally came to a stop, thinking that she had lost him. However, a slight movement in the shadows caught her attention and she reached in her pocket, pulling out a canister of pepper spray. Before she could respond, she saw that she was surrounded by about a dozen masked ninja, wearing the headband of Yukigakure.

"Well well, Kazahana Koyuki. Never thought we'd find you all the way out here" said one of the ninja. Yukie's eyes widened upon hearing the ninja mutter that name. Instantly, images flashed through her head of a burning castle and her fleeing on the back of a sled as she could hear the maniacal laughter of her uncle in the background, the same uncle who had just murdered his brother…her father.

Yukie sunk to her knees…somehow, they had found her. Her uncle, Kazahana Doto, had found her.

What appeared to be the leader of the Yuki ninja group stepped forward. "Come with us quietly, Doto-sama wishes to speak to his niece for the first time in nearly 15 years."

Yuikie just sat there, frozen at the memories going through her head, as the Yuki ninja reached out to grab her, only to have a kunai embed itself in his hand.

"Who the hell do you think you guys are, picking on an innocent lady like that?" called out Naruto, standing on top of a building in the alleyway.

"And what would a little brat like you know? Just go home to mommy kid, this doesn't concern you" scoffed one of the Yuki ninja.

"Were you the one who threw this?" asked the leader in a demanding tone, pulling the kunai out of his bleeding hand.

"Perhaps I was, maybe I'll answer your question if you answer mine" replied Naruto.

"That's it brat, you're dead!" shouted the leader as he threw a few shuriken at Naruto. The shuriken contacted with Naruto's head and Yukie's eyes grew wide as the blonde was killed in front of her eyes. Sure he had been a major annoyance today, but she didn't want him dead.

The Yuki ninja's grin was wiped off his face when Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, showing that he was just a shadow clone. He heard a few screams and shouts from the shadows as some of his cronies were thrown to the ground, beaten and battered, falling victim to some of Naruto's shadow clones.

"Sir, what do we do?" asked one of the still standing Yuki ninja.

"Kill that brat!" declared the ninja. Naruto just sighed as the 4-5 remaining ninja charged him and he deactivated his gravity seals. At a speed that shocked the oncoming attackers, Naruto disappeared and reappeared with his fist buried in the stomach of one of the attackers. Another ninja tried to lash out at Naruto with a kunai in hand, only for Naruto to parry the attack, twisting the Yuki ninja around and kicking his opponent in the back, sending the ninja crashing into a dumpster.

The remaining two ninja backed away before activating a smoke bomb and disappearing, taking their comrades with them. Despite being a kid, they realized that they were no match for this kid. Naruto let out a held breath as he went to check on Yukie. At this time, both Jiraiya and Sandayu had arrived on scene.

"What happened here, Naruto?" asked Jiraiya as Sandayu went to check on Yukie.

"Ninja" said Naruto as one of his clones came forth, holding a headband that they had gotten off one of the attackers.

"Hmm…Yukigakure" said Jiraiya, examining the headband. Turning to Sandayu and Yukie, he asked "what were they after you for?"

"Probably nothing more than trying to take advantage of a high profile actress. You know how these things work" said Sandayu, trying to shrug it off as nothing more than a simple kidnap and ransom attempt. However, Jiraiya could easily tell that the man was trying to hide something. "I hope this doesn't affect your role in the movie. Besides at the rate things are going, we should be done in a few weeks."

"Oh most certainly not, but if you don't mind I would like to add some more security to the current staff" said Sandayu.

Jiraiya just nodded as Sandayu took Yukie away.

"So anything?" asked Jiraiya to Naruto.

"I don't really know. I just got here in time to stop them from grabbing her and running, but it feels like they're trying to hide something" said Naruto.

"Really? What makes you think that?" replied Jiraiya sarcastically.

"Well, a few C-rank turned B/A-rank missions does that to you" said Naruto, grinning a little and thinking back to the Wave, 'Shibi' escort, and Land of Greens missions. "Besides, I'm sensing something weird about them. I can tell you for sure he was lying."

"That's right, you do have a sensing ability from Furball, don't you?" asked Jiraiya. Naruto nodded. "Okay. So I wouldn't put it past those ninja to try and attack her again. Honestly, a few extra guards and thugs won't do anything against trained ninja. While I want to know what's up with them and why they have ninja targeting them, I don't want it to be blatantly obvious that she has ninja guarding her. Don't make any sudden action, but I want you to keep an eye on her using a few clones. Perhaps we can figure something out. In the mean time, I'll have my spy network look into the issue. Consider this stealth and observational training."

Naruto nodded before he and Jiraiya returned back to the movie lot, but not before grabbing a bowl (or a dozen in Naruto's case) of ramen.

* * *

"You what?!" screamed Doto, slamming his fist down on the arm of his throne. "How could 12 of you fail to kidnap one simple actress?!"

"W-we would have h-had her, but it appears as if she has n-ninja guarding her" stuttered one of the 12 Yuki ninja. He was obviously afraid of the man sitting in front of them.

"Ninja?" asked Doto, raising an eyebrow. There were no reports from his informants about a ninja detail being hired as bodyguards. "Who were these ninja?"

"T-there were s-so many of t-them" said one of the Yuki ninja, not explaining that it was actually just one ninja with a lot of clones. He especially left out the part that the ninja that beat him was a 13-year-old kid. "I'm certain they were from Konoha."

"Konoha? Hmm…this should be interesting" said ninja with light purple hair who was standing next to Doto. This ninja was Roga Nadare, Doto's right-hand man. _"The last time I saw a Konoha ninja it was back during the coup. Hatake Kakashi…So it appears Konoha is meddling with our affairs again._

"Nadare, Fubiki, Mizore, go do what these twelve couldn't and bring me back the princess and the Hex Crystal" said Doto, turning to his three personal guards before turning to the squad of 12 ninja he sent out earlier. "I'll deal with you 12 later."

Nadare, Fubiki, and Mizore bowed before going to fulfill their master's wish.

* * *

"Well, I'll admit this water manipulation is getting easier" said Naruto as was working on some of the more advanced water manipulation exercises Jiraiya had given him. It was at around that time that he heard a growl from his stomach, indicating that now would be a good time for a lunch break. However, before he could leave to get lunch, a rather large ball of water came rolling out of the bushes.

Naruto looked curiously at it, but his instincts kicked in immediately and he took cover behind a tree as the ball of water exploded, sending water shrapnel all over the place that was powerful enough to even rip some thick branches off of trees.

"_What the hell? Is this another one of Ero-Sennin's trick?"_ thought Naruto. He concentrated for a moment, trying to sense for a presence and it didn't take too long before he was able to find someone. _"Definitely not Ero-Sennin. Whoever it is, they've got another thing coming."_

Naruto aimed a few kunai in the direction of the enemy he sensed and let them fly. "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" The kunai multiplied immediately into about 100 copies and flew towards the enemy. After he heard the sound of kunai making an impact, he came out from the cover of his tree and carefully made his way towards where his attacker was supposedly.

The blonde reacted just in time to dodge a rather large, metallic fist aimed for his head as a large purple-haired man, wearing some sort of weird armour and a Yukigakure helmet exploded towards him through the foliage. The brute swung at him again and Naruto jumped back to put some distance between the two. However, he wasn't expecting the fist of the large man to shoot outwards towards him and nail him in the stomach. The force behind this attack sent Naruto crashing back into the bushes surrounding the area.

"Heh, I should have known a little punk like you wouldn't have been able to beat those other Yuki ninja that came earlier" commented the giant. His eyes widened a little when he saw the forest in front of him burst into flames and a rather large fireball come shooting towards him. That surprise was quickly replaced by a grin as the armour that the brute was wearing began to glow and the moment the fireball made contact, it was quickly diminished until it was nothing more than a small spark.

"What?!" exclaimed Naruto out of surprise. "What the hell was that? I was sure I hit him with that jutsu!"

"Heh, wouldn't you like to know?" replied the large Yuki ninja. Naruto gritted his teeth as he deactivated the gravity seals on him, allowing him a greater range of speed and strength. The blonde ninja quickly closed the distance between him and the Yuki ninja and struck the larger ninja in the gut with a punch, however, Naruto was taken back when it appeared as if his attack did minimal damage and his attacker retaliated with another punch to the chest, throwing Naruto back.

"_Damn, this guy hits almost as hard as Sakura-chan_" thought Naruto. _"And what is it with that armour?"_

"**I can't quite say for sure, but it feels like that armour has its own chakra flowing through it"** commented Kurama. **"Try another jutsu, I want to see something."**

Naruto nodded. "Futon: Fox Gale!" A wind fox dashed towards the Yuki ninja and slashed at the large man. Naruto saw as his armour glowed and immediately began to dissipate as if the armour was absorbing it. However, Naruto saw that the fox was able to land a small scratch on the brute before the jutsu completely disappeared.

"_I see…"_ thought Naruto.

"**That armour is absorbing jutsus. However, it doesn't appear as if it can absorb all of some more powerful jutsu. I'd say anything B-rank or above can damage him, although the armour will negate a good portion of the jutsu's power"** replied Kurama.

"_Right, if it's a powerful jutsu I need, then let's try this"_ thought Naruto as he began forming a spiraling blue orb in his hand.

"_Shit, that thing looks dangerous. I don't even think my chakra armour will be able to protect me against that"_ thought the brute.

Naruto darted off towards the Yuki ninja, dodging his attacker's attempt to stop his attack by shooting his arm out towards him. "Rasengan!" Naruto slammed the Rasengan into the brute's stomach, sending the man flying backwards as chunks of the armour began to peel off.

"Heh, that got you" commented Naruto as he walked towards the giant, who was now slumped against a tree next to a lake. "Now, what why are you here? Is it for Yukie?"

The brute just grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know?" before Naruto could attempt to get anything more out of him, the Yuki ninja rolled over and disappeared into the lake.

"Damnit!" swore Naruto. "They have to be here after Yukie!" It was at that moment that Naruto received his confirmation when the shadow clone that he left with the actress dispelled, telling him that she had just been attacked by some other Yuki ninja.

* * *

"_I can't believe it's almost done. Just one more scene and the first ever Icha Icha movie will finally be done"_ thought Jiraiya. Jiraiya stopped in his tracks. "I don't know what you're doing here, but I suggest that unless you're here for my autograph, that you leave."

"Hmph, well aren't you a bit observant for a simple writer" commented a woman with pink hair who was also wearing chakra armour and a Yukigakure headband. Before Jiraiya could respond, with one of his silly introductions, a pair of mechanical wings unfolded from the Yuki kunochi's back and she flew down from the building she was perched upon, knife in hand and ready to stick Jiraiya. Jiraiya ducked under the first attack as the kunoichi passed over him, letting out a crazy laugh. She turned around again, to resume the attack, only to be struck upside the head with Jiraiya's foot, sending her crashing into a nearby warehouse.

Jiraiya then stepped into the warehouse, hoping to capture her and find out more as to her mission.

"You know, I thought someone who writes books like the Icha Icha novel would be up for more of a relaxing night with a few bottles of sake with a beautiful woman like me" called out the kunoichi from the shadows of the warehouse.

"I'd do that with a beautiful woman any night, however a screaming banshee is a different story. Even I, the Great Toad Sage Jiraiya, have to have some standards" replied Jiraiya.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU CALL ME?! A SCREAMING BANSHEE?!" shrieked the Yuki ninja as she jumped down from the rafter. "Watch your mouth you old toad! I'll show you just who you're dealing with!"

Before she could reach Jiraiya, she felt something slimy wrap around her and throw her into the wall. She tried to pick herself out of the crates she fell into, but before she could move, she felt her limb go numb as Jiraiya stuck a tag with a paralysis seal on her.

"Now then, are you going to tell me what you're doing here?" asked Jiraiya.

"Why the hell would I tell you anything?! You're just a worthless writer! How the hell could someone like you beat me?!" shouted the banshee. "You're just some good for nothing thug!"

"If you wouldn't have been screaming away like that, you would have heard me introduce myself earlier" commented Jiraya.

"Fine, then who exactly are you?" scoffed the kunoichi.

"Glad you asked…" commented Jiraiya, as he hoped on top of the toad he had summoned to deal with the flying banshee and made a pose. "The Holy Toad Sage of Mt. Myoboku, I am the one and only Jiiirrraaiiiiyaa!"

"J-j-j-jiraiya? A-as in t-the S-sannin?" stuttered the pinkette.

"The one and only" said Jiraya. "Now, start talking."

* * *

"Damnit!" shouted Naruto as he raced towards Yukie's trailer. He should have immediately raced towards Yukie's trailer, or at least sent a few clones, the moment that Yuki ninja showed up. Upon reaching Yukie's trailer, his eyes widened as he saw the door smashed inwards. Darting inside, he found Sandayu lying on the ground unconscious.

"Old man!" shouted Naruto as he ran over to Sandayu, shaking the manager a few times to wake him up.

"Uhg" grunted Sandayu as he regained conscious. "Yukie? YUKIE! Where is she?!"

"I'm sorry, I don't know" replied Naruto.

"T-then they…" said Sandayu as tears came to his eyes. "No, this can't be happening. She was our hope. They couldn't have gotten her?"

"What are you talking about, Old Man?" asked Naruto.

"Damn, I see their little distraction technique worked" said Jiraiya as he stepped into the trailer, a small pink and green frog following closely behind.

"Ero-Sennin?"

"Sandayu, I think it's about time we had a little talk" said Jiraiya.

"I'm sorry for keeping this a secret, but as a ninja you surely must understand the reasoning behind it" said Sandayu. "Fujikaze Yukie is merely an alias. Her real name is Kazahana Koyuki, the rightful daimyo of the Land of Snow. However, when she was just a little girl, her uncle, Doto, staged a violent coup that resulted in the death of her father and we were forced to flee the nation. For the last fifteen years, we've been in exile with Koyuki becoming the actress you know as Fujikaze Yukie. For the last fifteen years, we've managed to remain off of Doto's radar, but now…"

"It appears as if he's caught up with her" said Jiraiya. "What is it exactly that Doto wants with her? I mean, if he just wanted her dead, he would have just assassinated her and not capture her."

Sandayu held out a clutched hand and opened it to reveal a purple crystal necklace. "This…the Hex Crystal. It is the key to the treasure of the Kazahana clan."

"Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto, who saw his master in deep though, staring at the crystal in Sandayu's hand.

"Please, I beg you. You two are ninja. Please, save her. Without her, spring will never come to the Land of Snow!" begged Sandayu.

Naruto's face got that look of determination on it. "We'll save her, don't worry. –ttebayo!"

Jiraiya sighed. "Well, when the kid says he'll do something, he's going to do it. Pack your stuff Naruto, we're for the Land of Snow as soon as possible."

And cut…

* * *

Jutsu List

*A/N: From now on, I will only be adding a description to the non-cannon jutsu. Also, please don't blame me if I accidentally miss a jutsu or two. I try my best to cover every jutsu that I feel requires an explanation, but there is a chance I may miss one here or there.

Suiton: Water Gun; Rank: C; Users: Uzumaki Naruto

Futon: Fox Gale: With a slash of his hand, Naruto generates a gust that takes on the appearance of a fox pouncing on its target and slashing at them with a claw of wind.

Rank: B-

Users: Uzumaki Naruto

* * *

Author Notes

Well, the story is starting to pick up a little in terms of action. As I said, I wanted to do some version of the three princesses from the Anime/movie fillers. This chapter starts the Land of Snow conflict, which will be concluded next chapter.

Koyuki is not quite as cold as she was in the movie. She still has emotions, but the one that seems to take over when confronted by the Yuki ninja are a sense of fear and hopelessness. In a sense, she's kind of like Inari.

While yes, the ninja of the Land of Snow can use Ice-style jutsu, it is not the same as Haku. They must manipulate preexisting ice for their jutsus while Haku can form ice so long as there is any source of moisture or water around. Haku's ice-style is the actual Hyoton bloodline and if Haku were to match up against a Snow ninja using ice-style, Haku would win hands down. As this is the case, the Yuki ninja can't use ice-style jutsu in a location where there is no ice. To compensate for this, the Yuki ninja are also trained primarily in water-style jutsus.

One last note, I am currently in the process of revising the Haruna chapter (chapter 46). I believe I need to rework the plot in that chapter to help make it a bit more believable. I should have the revision finished sometime by mid-April, 2013.


	63. Heroes of Spring

Wow, at 800 favourites already! Thank you everyone for your continued support!

Well, here's ch63. Hopefully this chapter will make the second part a little more interesting than just a training session. And sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up, but as I said in my other story, these past few weeks have been pretty crazy for me.

Hope you enjoy,

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own Naruto, although I am really looking forward to see the past four Hokages kick Madara's ass.

Posted: 4/12/13

* * *

**Chapter 63: Heroes of Spring**

"_I knew it, I knew it was all for naught. It was hopeless from the very beginning. I knew he would eventually find me one day."_

Fujikaze Yukie, also known as Kazahana Koyuki, could only help but reflect on the current situation she was in. For the past fifteen years, ever since she fled the Land of Snow with the help of her manager and caretaker Sandayu, she had been successfully avoiding detection by Doto Kazahana, her uncle and the one responsible for this entire mess.

She was currently being led off a ship that had just made port in the Land of Snow, shackled and led along the docks by her captor, one of Doto's personal guards by the name of Ruga Nadare. Following closely behind was the second of Doto's lackeys, a large brute by the name of Fuyukuma Mizore. Apparently there was a third member of their group, but she had gone missing during the mission.

Being paraded off the docks in front of a few snow ninja and some of the civilian population, she took in the looks that were being sent her way. Most of the ninja, all wearing some variant of chakra armour, were sending her wild grins as the last hope of resistance against Doto-sama's regime had finally been captured. However, the looks on the civilians present were pretty much the opposite. Their faces showed a look of sorrow and depression, seeing their once beloved princess paraded around like some meager trophy. These people had looked forward to the day that Kazahana Koyuki, rightful ruler of the Land of Snow, would return, but they had only wished that it wasn't like this. What only made it worse for Koyuki was when she saw their condition and the current state of the town. Buildings were beginning to fall to ruins and the people looked like they were barely able to get by. Some appeared emaciated while others barely had much clothes hanging on them. For a land that was constantly covered in snow, it was a miracle these people were even alive.

Reaching the outside of the gates of Doto's fortress, which had been built overtop the once majestic Kazahana Castle, Koyuki saw about half a dozen guards standing in front of her, most likely there to collect her and take her to her uncle. Two of the guards stepped forward.

"It appears as if your mission succeeded, Nadare" said one of the guards. "But it appears as if you're missing one. Where is Fubuki?" asked one of the guards.

"Sadly she didn't make it" said Nadare, trying to fake sympathy for his 'fallen' comrade.

"I see. Oh well" said the other guard. "Doto-sama is awaiting you."

Nadare nodded as he and Mizore let Koyuki towards the fortress gates. _"I guess this is it"_ thought Koyuki as she looked back to see the assembled villagers who had come to see if that was really their princess who had been captured. "I'm sorry I let you all down. I figured it would be hopeless from the beginning, but still I'm sorry."

"It's not hopeless! The hero has finally arrived!"

Koyuki's head shot up as she heard a familiar voice echo through the crowd and two of the guards in the rear suddenly exploded, catching the remaining gate guards in the inferno and sending Nadare, Mizore, and Koyuki flying backwards, only Koyuki found herself being caught by someone.

* * *

A few days ago,

"Damnit! How much longer Ero-sennin?!" shouted one Uzumaki Naruto from the deck of a rather large sailing vessel.

"Stop asking! I got the fastest ship available and this is the fastest it can go!" yelled Jiraiya at the impatient blonde. "I just talked to the captain. We should make port in the Land of Snow by tomorrow."

"Good. The sooner we save Koyuki, the better" said Naruto.

"Now listen up Naruto" said Jiraiya. There was something he needed to tell his student regarding their current 'mission'. "I think this is the first time you've been on an infiltration mission, so there are a few things I need to tell you." Naruto nodded as he listened closely. "First, the last thing we want to do is go around setting off all the alarms until we know where Koyuki is and we've rescued her. Even then, we want to draw as little attention as possible. That means you can't just go charging in. From what Iruka told me, you've actually got a high degree of stealth skills from all those pranks you pulled back in the Academy, well now's the time to put them to good use."

"Right! So what do we need to do first?" asked Naruto.

"First we need to locate the princess. They were only a day ahead of us, so it is entirely possible that we've surpassed them in this chase and we'll reach the Land of Snow before they do. It is also very likely that they are already in the Land of Snow and Koyuki is locked up in some dungeon, if not worse" explained Jiraiya. "We need to do a little information gathering to determine where exactly she is and what our course of action will be."

"Naruto, once we make port, we're in hostile territory. Make sure you have everything you need for any kind of situation that may arise, and by that I mean be ready for anything" said Jiraiya. Naruto nodded. For the blonde jinchuriki, this was his first mission of this kind. This was the first time he was actually infiltrating a country to rescue what was apparently the rightful princess to the nation. He knew this mission was important, especially given what was at stake.

*Flashback*

The ship had just left port and was on its way towards the Land of Snow and Jiraiya was staring intently at the purple Hex Crystal in his hand. Naruto was sitting to his right at the table within one of the cabins on the ship. Sitting across from them was a man who had been withholding a large secret, one that could affect the fate of an entire nation.

"I must sincerely apologize for everything and thank you for your aid" said Sandayu.

"That's fine and all, but you still haven't told us everything regarding this whole event" said Jiraiya.

"I suppose I haven't. Koyuki is the daughter of Kazahana Sosetsu, who was a benevolent and fair ruler of the Land of Snow. I've known her since she was a little girl and ever since then, I always knew she would grow up to be just like her father. Now, Sosetsu's brother, Doto, was the exact opposite. He was manipulating, devious, and just plain cruel. Sosetsu kept preaching about the 'Treasure of the Kazahana Clan' and how it would one day bring spring to the Land of Snow. Now Doto, being the greedy bastard he is, felt that sort of treasure would be better off in his hands, not in the hands of someone who would frivolously give it away. For a few years, Doto secretly gathered support within the shinobi village of Yukigakure until THAT night."

"THAT night? What happened?" asked Naruto. Jiraiya sent Naruto a look for interrupting the story.

"It was on THAT night, after Doto had gained the support of a majority of the ninja of Yukigakure, that he made his move…and killed his brother, staging a successful coup de eta and proclaiming himself as the ruler of the Land of Snow. On that night, with the help of some ninja who were still loyal to Suizen and a ninja from your village by the name of Hatake Kakashi…"

"Wait! You knew Kakashi-sensei?!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Sensei?" asked Sandayu with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, he's my jonin sensei, although he and the rest of my team have been temporarily dissolved for training purposes" said Naruto.

"I see. Well, it was Kakashi-san that took Koyuki and myself and helped us flee the country, taking the Hex Crystal and the key to the Kazahana Clan Treasure with us. Now, you would think that Doto would be mad, letting the one thing he desired most slip through his fingers, but no he was not mad…he was furious. For the next five years after that, Koyuki and I were barely avoiding capture by Doto's men, constantly moving, changing our names, and carefully guarding our true identities" said Sandayu.

"You know, for someone in hiding, becoming a high-profile actress probably wasn't the smartest move" said Jiraiya.

"I realize that now, but being an actress has always been one of Koyuki's dreams and I thought it would be a way to keep her happy. You see, after that night, she began to sink into depression due to the loss of her father and she began to give up hope that we would escape Doto's clutches and return home" explained Sandayu. "It's been about 15 years since we fled the country and over those 15 years, I've been doing everything I could to get her mind off of Doto and to try and make her happy, and I was doing good as well, until that band of ninja showed up a month ago."

"You mean the ones Naruto fought off?" asked Jiraiya. Sandayu nodded.

"In hindsight, we probably should have moved then and there, going back into hiding" said Sandayu.

"Or you could have just told us the moment those ninja attacked. If you had, then Naruto and I could have kept a closer eye on her" said Jiriaya. "After all, I am one of the Legendary Sannin, the great Toad Sage Jiraiya!" Naruto just sweat dropped and muttered something under his breath, earning a look from Jiraiya. "And the Gaki's not that bad either."

"I'm sorry for that. I had considered sending for ninja security, but I felt that would only draw more attention to us" said Sandayu. "You have to understand that I had to keep as low a profile from Doto as possible. He's a tyrant and will do anything to ensure his hold on the country."

"So he's just going to kill her the moment they reach port?" asked Jiriaya.

"Thankfully, no. His greed will be the one thing saving Koyuki from immediate execution" said Sandayu. "As long as he does not get this Hex Crystal, there is still hope."

*End Flashback*

"We've gotta stop him and save Koyuki!" declared Naruto.

"I know Gaki, I know. But we can't just go charging in there, guns-a-blazing" said Jiraiya. "Just whatever you do, don't lose your head."

* * *

"Hey Riku, did you hear?" called out a Yukigakure shinobi as he walked into a bar. Another Yuki shinobi turned to greet his apparent comrade. "It sounds like Nadare's team finally caught that bitch."

"Wow! Seriously?" exclaimed Riku. "Damn that Nadare's something. No wonder he's Doto-sama's right-hand man."

A third Yuki ninja, with long black hair and a scar going down his left cheek came up to the bar, next to the duo. "Really? Where did you hear something like that?"

"It's the word going around the palace. I just found out I left guard duty" said the Yuki shinobi. "Apparently, they're arriving tomorrow at the docks. I can't believe that after 15 years, we finally caught up with that bitch. Now nobody's going to be able to question Doto-sama's rule! And once he gets his hands on the Kazahana Treasure, then not even the Five Great Nations will be able to stand against our might!"

"_I see, so it appears as if we arrived early. This actually makes things easier."_

Taking a seat next to the scar-faced Yuki ninja, another Yuki ninja, this one with short and spiky brown hair and a standard Yukigakure uniform consisting of chakra armour, did his best to repress the anger that was building up inside of him. _"I so want to kick that guy's ass! But sadly that would require blowing my cover."_

"**Calm down Kit, I've got a feeling you'll get your chance."**

"_Heh, don't worry Kurama. Don't worry."_

"Ho! I guess this calls for a drink!" exclaimed the scar-faced ninja. "Bartender, four drinks for me and my friends!"

The bartender nodded as he set a plate with four drinks in front of the scar-faced ninja. The ninja then proceeded to pass two drinks to his spiky-haired comrade, Riku, and Riku's friend. "Hey thanks…um…"

"Name's Kazama, Hidezu Kazama, and this is my nephew Hidezu Minato" said Kazama, pointing to the spiky-haired ninja next to him.

"Thanks Kazama-san, the name's Sengetsu and this here's my buddy Riku" said Sengetsu, as he and Riku took their drinks. "To Doto-sama, the Yukikage!"

Kazama raised his glass and Minato reluctantly did the same. "To Doto-sama!"

As their glasses clanged and the four downed their drinks, a large explosion ripped through the town.

"What was that?" asked Minato.

"Damn, it's gotta those rebel bastards again!" exclaimed Sengetsu as he and Riku grabbed their equipment and ran out into the town. Minato as Kazama just looked at each other and nodded before heading out as well.

Outside, it was chaos as explosions were everywhere and the entirety of Yuki ninja gathered were thrown into the confusion. No one could pinpoint the location of the rebels, with the exception of Minato and Kazama, but they were focused on other targets at the moment.

Riku and Sengetsu jumped into action upon catching a glimpse of one of the rebels, only to feel their bodies suddenly go limp as the drugs that had been slipped into their drinks and the two fell to the street. However, they never hit the ground as Minato and Kazama discretely dragged their unconscious bodies away using the cover of the battle.

* * *

"Uhg…where am I? What happened?"

Sengetsu slowly began to stir from his drug-induced slumber. The first thing he noticed was that he was bound. The second being the voices he hear, the same voices of those two from the bar. His vision, while clearing up, was still blurry and he could only make out a rough image of the two standing before him.

"Eh, not bad Naruto. That actually worked. I ddin't think anyone would fall for the old drugged sake trick" said Jiraiya.

"Is that what you told yourself when Baachan did the same thing to you?" retorted Naruto.

"Quiet about that Brat!" defended Jiraiya.

"I'm just saying" replied Naruto. The two captured Yuki ninja looked at their captors with mixed expressions.

"Okay you two, really funny" laughed Riku. "Get us drunk and screw with us. Now why don't you untie us and we'll go back for another round."

"I'm afraid I can't do that" explained Jiraiya, as he dropped his 'Kazama' transformation and Naruto dropped his own. The two bound Yuki ninja's eyes widened in surprise as they began to realize their current situation. "But I'm a nice guy, so we can go back to the bar as soon as you tell me everything you know about Kazahana Koyuki and Kazahana Doto."

"Heh, like we'd ever tell you. All you need to know is that when Doto-sama gets his hands on the so-called princess, even the Five Great Nations will fear our power" said Sengetsu. After a few minutes of questioning, it was obvious that Jiraiya wasn't going to be getting anything out of these guys by just talking.

"Hey Naruto, how would you like to learn a new jutsu" said Jiraiya.

"Really?! A new jutsu?" exclaimed an excited Naruto.

"Hah, you're going to teach the kid a new jutsu here? This I've gotta see. What is it, are you going to teach him how to beg us for candy money or something?" mocked Riku, officially earning him the title of the first guinea pig.

"Okay Naruto, I think you remember this one" said Jiraiya, placing two fingers on Riku's forehead and two more over his heart. "Ninpo: Toad Transformation!"

In a puff of smoke and a flash of light, Riku was gone, replaced by a small toad. "Hah, you think that measly genjutsu's going to get me to talk?" scoffed Sengetsu.

"Oh, that's no mere genjutsu" said Jiraiya. "I hate to say it, but your friend truly is amongst the amphibians now, as you'll soon find out in a matter of moments, assuming my young apprentice here doesn't screw up on his first time."

"Quit joking around. There's no way you can actually turn someone into a frog, let alone me" said Sengetsu.

"Nah, you're probably right. Naruto here doesn't have enough experience with the jutsu to fully ransform you yet" said Jiraiya, flustering Naruto a bit. "If you're lucky, you'll end up in a kind of half-toad state. Perhaps a human body with a toad head, or…"

"Just stop already! There's no way you can turn me into a toad, now release the genjutsu on my friend" shouted Sengetsu as he motioned over to Riki.

"Croak." A small fly buzzed past Riku and the tiny toad opened its mouth and shot its tongue at the fly, gobbling it up, and making Sengetsu's face go blue.

"Q-quit it. I-it's just a genjutsus…" stuttered Sengetsu, trying to reassure himself.

"Say whatever you want. I'm sure Tsunade-hime could use some more dissection models while teaching medical jutsu to her students" said Jiraiya. "I even heard that she knows this lightning jutsu to make a dead frog dance."

At this time, 'Riku' hopped up a pile of crates and landed on top of Sengetsu's head, before croaking again. Now Sengetsu was really beginning to panic.

"Y-you w-wouldn't…" said Sengetsu.

"Me, no. But as I said, Naruto needs someone to practice on" said Jiraiya, motioning to Naruto. By this point in time, Naruto had completely picked up on the act and was just grinning. Naruto proceeded to go through the motions of his master.

"Ninpo: Toad Trans…"

"WAIT! I'LL TALK!" screamed Sengetsu. "They're arriving at the docks tomorrow at noon. From there, I imagine she'll be escorted along the main street to the fortress! Now please, don't turn me into a frog!"

Jiraiya smiled, as their captive filled them in on more of the details.

* * *

The following day, two Yuki ninja guards were coming onto the guard rotation in front of the fortress where they would await the arrival of Kazahana Koyuki. Today was a tense day for those involved in Doto's regime, and the attack from yesterday had the entire town on high alert. It was today that Doto-sama would truly be able to claim what was 'rightfully his' and the Land of Snow would rise to glory under Doto-sama's power.

The two guards were tense, today was one of those days where just about anything could happen and that you should be ready for anything. They had taken the back roads to get to the fortress gates, wanting to avoid any angry civilians. While most of the shinobi in the country might have been happy with Doto's rule, the civilians were anything but pleased with their tyrant ruler and it wasn't uncommon for a civilian to do whatever they could to hinder the shinobi in the town.

A few minutes later, t guards emerged from the alley way, with the gates of the fortress in sight and the sound of a horn in the distance, indicating the arrival of Nadare's team and their prisoner. The guards saluted their comrades at the gate and took their posts as the team consisting of Nadare and Mizore approached the gate with a certain princess in tow.

Two of the other guards stepped forward to meet with Nadare. "It appears as if your mission succeeded, Nadare" stated one of the guards. "However, it appears as if you're missing one. Where's Fubuki?"

"Sadly, she didn't make it" said Nadare, trying to fake an ounce of sympathy.

"I see. Oh well" said the other guard who had approached Nadare. "Doto-sama is awating you."

Nadare nodded and led Koyuki towards the gates as the captured princess turned to the people who had gathered. "I'm sorry I let you all down. I figured it would be hopeless from the beginning, but I truly am sorry" said Koyuki.

"It's not hopeless! The hero has finally arrived!" shouted one of the two guards that had arrived last.

"Exploding clone Jutsu!" called out a voice from atop the roofs of the village and the two clones exploded in a violent display of flames and energy, throwing Nadare and Mizore back, along with the princess, and killing the guards who were close enough to the blast.

Koyuki found herself thrown back, only to be caught by a man that she recognized with white hair as he took off down the street with many of the civilians erupting in cheer.

* * *

Doto was a happy man today. Today would finally be the day. The ship containing his prize had just arrived and he had just opened the doors to his fortress to greet his niece for the first time in fifteen years.

Today couldn't get any better; that is until he saw a massive explosion rip apart his gate and a white-haired man take off down the street with the princess.

"Guards! After them!" ordered Doto as his forces quickly assembled and pursued the white-haired man. They passed the gate, only to find them nailed down by a barrage of hundreds of shuriken. About half of them were wearing some form of chakra armour, which was the half that wasn't affected by the shuriken hail.

* * *

"Jiraiya-san?" asked a surprised Koyuki.

"Who else? You didn't think I'd let you get away without finishing the movie first" said Jiraiya as he was joined by an orange and black blur. "How'd it go kid?"

"There's a good chunk of them wearing that weird armour so my shuriken didn't affect them unfortunately. I did manage to cut the number chasing us by half though and the rest are dealing with my clones. That'll at least slow them down" said Naruto.

"Why did you come?" asked Koyuki. "You shouldn't have come…you don't know Doto…he'll kill you."

"_Why does this sound kind of familiar?"_ asked Naruto.

"**Probably because that kid from Wave Country was like that"** replied Kurama. Naruto smirked at this.

"Heh, don't worry. This isn't the first time I've taken down a maniacal tyrant who supposedly will kill me" bragged Naruto. It was at this time that Naruto's senses kicked in and the three of them came to a halt as a crowd of about 50 Yuki ninja were blocking their escape route.

"Hand over the princess, and I promise I'll make your death painless" called out Doto, who had arrived in the rear, surrounding Naruto, Jiraiya, and Koyuki.

Doto didn't give them much of a chance to respond before sending his forces towards the two Konoha ninja and the actress/princess, only for a mass of smoke bombs to go off throughout the streets they were standing on.

"_What the hell is going on?"_ thought Naruto. He barely had time to react before he felt a rope wrap around him and yank him upwards towards the top of the buildings. Once clear of the smoke, Naruto saw a good number of ninja standing on the rooftops, only they were not wearing chakra armour and instead of the traditional Yukigakure symbol of four dots, it had a hexagonal snowflake design on it. And standing within those ninja was…Sandayu?

As soon as Naruto landed on the roof and the rope loosened, he was already in a defensive position. "Who the hell are you? And why do you have old man Sandayu?" demanded Naruto.

"Calm down. It appears we are on the same side" spoke one of the new shinobi before making a hand signal. On his mark, the couple dozen or so shinobi lobbed a bunch of tagged kunai down upon their enemy, resulting in multiple explosions that rattled the building and forced them to leap away before the building itself collapsed.

As the rebels, Leaf ninja, and Koyuki jumped back onto a more sturdy building, they heard something call out from the smoke. "Hyoton: Black Dragon Blizard!"

A black dragon of ice came shooting out of the smoke, directly towards Koyuki.

"Koyuki!" shouted Naruto, but he wasn't the one to move. Sandayu was the one who jumped towards Koyuki, knocking her out of the path of the ice jutsu, but getting hit himself as the ice dug deep into his flesh.

"Sandayu!" shouted Koyuki as she saw her long time protector fall after taking that hit for her.

"Shit, we need to get out of here!" exclaimed one of the rebel ninja as he ordered the rest of his company to grab Koyuki and Sadayu's body while making their retreat into the mountains surrounding Yukigakure.

* * *

As a crowd of people began to move back into the sheltering caves that protected them from the incoming blizzard, one woman was left standing in front of a lone marker on the side of a cliff overlooking the once majestic village of Yukigakure. In mountain lore, markers have been used to help guide travelers safely throughout their harsh journey through the wilderness to ensure that they came out alive. There was only one thing different about this marker…it wasn't a marker for the living.

Kazahana Koyuki couldn't help but stare at the inscription carved on the grave marker…'Asama Sandayu, a hero of Spring'. Upon arriving at the base of the Yuki rebels, Sandayu succumbed to his injuries, but n before he was able to ask for one last request, which was 'to bring spring back to the Land of Snow'.

"It was a foolish dream to begin with. I'm sorry Sandayu, but I can't do this anymore" said Koyuki, shedding a few tears, which happened to freeze before they hit the ground.

"So you're just going to give up?" asked a familiar voice coming from behind. Koyuki turned to see a certain blonde-haired boy standing behind her.

"And why should I continue?" asked Koyuki, coldly.

"Because, your dad and your old man Sandayu would have wanted you to" said Naruto firmly. "Do you think they wanted this for their country? I saw the way those people looked. I saw the despair in their eyes, but the moment Ero-Sennin and I took off running with you, I immediately saw the hope warm those cold hearts of theirs. They want you to lead them, not some tyrant of an uncle you have."

"What do you know? Anyone who opposes him, he'll just kill" replied Koyuki.

"You're uncle sounds like someone I once had the displeasure of coming across once" said Naruto. "His name was Gato. He was a business tycoon and a crook at the same time. He robbed the wealth and hope out of the people of the Land of Waves to the verge of breaking. By the time my team and I arrived on a mission, it looked hopeless. But then again, even in the darkest of times, there always is a small glint of hope. For the Wave, that hope came in the form of an old drunkard named Tazuna. We were assigned as bodyguards for him while he completed a bridge that would return the Wave back into something that people could actually live for, but Gato didn't like it so he tried to kill the old man to prevent the Wave from having a way around his hold on them. It was also there that I meat Tazuna's grandson, a boy named Inari. And he said the same exact thing you're saying…that it was hopeless."

"And let me guess, it was" replied Koyuki.

"Hell no! In the end, the entire village was roused by the hope that was brought by Tazuna's efforts and in the end, Gato was defeated" said Naruto. "I guess what I'm trying to say, is that no matter how hopeless it may seem, there is always a way to fight for what's right. Your father believed that, and so did Sandayu. Even I believe it's not lost. I'll fight this Doto guy and if I have to, I'll kill him myself to ensure the safety of the people here! –ttebayo!"

With that, Naruto turned away to leave Koyuki to the many, many thoughts swimming in her head.

"Sandayu, Father, what do I do?"

* * *

"How is she?" asked the commander of the rebel forces. He was a man by the name of Yukimura Masao. The man looked to be in his late 30s or even early 40's. Masao had black spiky hair that shot backwards and a rather large scar over his right eye, yet the eye itself still looked to be healthy. He wore what was deemed to be an old Yukigakure uniform which consisted of light blue pants and a solid white flax jacket. The man also had a pair of tantos strapped to his back, which Naruto figured he incorporated into his fighting style. To finish off his uniform, he had a thick white cloak on with a lowered hood, something that acted as protection against the cold in the mountains of the Land of Snow.

"I gave her the good ol' Uzumaki pep talk. She should be fine any minute now, -ttebayo!" said Naruto.

"Hey kid, you said your name's Uzumaki, right?" asked Masao. "Any relation to the Uzumaki clan?"

"Yeah, actually my ancestors are from that clan, at least before it was destroyed…" said Naruto, his voice growing quiet for that last part. "Hey, speaking of which, you guys can all use ice-style jutsu right?"

Masao nodded. "Yeah, it's been a shinobi art passed down through generations throughout our land."

"Wow! I thought Haku was the only one bearing that bloodline!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Wait! You mean you know someone who actually has the Hyoton bloodline?" asked Masao demandingly.

"Yeah…there's this friend of mine back in my village who can use ice-style jutsu as well" said Naruto. "Wait! Could he be related to anyone here?"

"If you say he can use ice-style in a warm climate, then his ice jutsus are by far stronger than our own" said another of the shinobi in the cavern. "We can only manipulate pre-existing ice, but if what you say is true, then does that mean he's a Yuki?"

"Yeah…" Naruto was cut off by shouting.

"Taicho! Urgent message from the village!" shouted a young girl, about Naruto's age if maybe a year younger. She was actually rather pretty, and the one thing that stood out was the white hair that was tied in a ponytail behind her.

"Report!" ordered Masao.

"Doto is demanding the return of the princess and the surrender of our forces or else he's going to start killing the villagers!" announced the girl. This caught everyone's attention.

"That monster! He can't be serious!" cried out one of the rebels. "Sir, what do we do?!"

Masao's thoughts were at a standstill. The reason they were doing this was to save the people from Doto's oppressive rule, and if they gave in now, then all their efforts would have been for naught. However, if they disobeyed his demand, then the very people they were fighting for would die. And then there was the princess to worry about. She was the last flake of hope for the Land of Snow and if Doto got his hands on her…well all hope would be lost.

"Are you really just going to stand there and think about it? I thought we were fighting for Spring here!" came a voice that caught everyone's attention.

"Princess!"

"Heh, glad to see you've come to your senses Koyuki" said Naruto. "And don't worry, I've got a plan."

"**Were all doomed."**

"_Hey! I didn't ask for your opinion!" _objected Naruto. _"And it's actually a good plan!"_

In the corner of the cave, Jiraiya was listening in as Naruto told everyone his plan. _"The Gaki's starting to think a little. This ought to be interesting."_

* * *

Three days passed with the deadline to Doto's offer of surrender ending at noon that day. If the rebel forces didn't show with the princess, then he would start killing the civilians as a response. Thankfully for everyone though, on the morning of the third day, they all showed with the princess and a white flag in hand. Doto eyed the princess and say the very thing he desired hanging around her neck, the Hex Crystal.

"I see you've finally decided to end this little game of hide and seek, Koyuki" called out Doto as his guards surrounded the rebels and he stepped forward towards Koyuki. "I see you've finally realized that you can't hide from me."

"Not really. I just have too many people counting on me now. It's about time someone stood up to you uncle" said Koyuki. "I'll surrender myself over, but I want you to let them go." Koyuki pointed to the rebel forces behind her.

Doto merely raised an eyebrow at this request. _"Does she really think I'm that naïve?"_ he thought. "Very well, but the Hex Crystal first."

Koyuki sighed; she had expected this to come. Reluctantly, she took the necklace off and handed it to her uncle who examined it. "Very well, your Konoha friends can go first." While he had promised himself that he was going to rise to a status that the Five Great Nations would someday fear, it was still too soon to get Konoha involved in this mess. Jiraiya and Naruto nodded as they turned around and headed for the gate.

As the Konoha ninja got closer to the gate, Doto's eyes grew wide as he inspected the crystal further. "What the hell is this?! Guards, kill them!" he ordered. The guards moved in to kill the rebels, but they all disappeared upon contact as Naruto just smirked.

"Uzumaki-style: Siphoning Containment Seal!"

Immediately, six tags that the shadow clones had dropped before being dispelled lit up around a sizable portion of the Yuki ninja and a barrier formed around them, trapping a good three dozen of Doto's overall forces. Within moments, the three dozen ninja within the barrier could feel their chakra being drained from them at an alarming rate, their chakra armour doing very little since it was being drained as well.

Doto glared at Koyuki with a look of rage before backhanding her and sending her falling to the ground and smashing the Hex Crystal, causing it to disappear in a puff of smoke, showing that it was merely a transformed shadow clone.

Unable to break through the barrier containing their trapped comrades, the Yuki nin settled for the next best thing, attacking the one who had activated that containment seal. Most of the Yuki shinobi backed up in time to avoid the hail of shuriken tagged with ice-bombs on the end. Those who weren't fast enough were impaled on numerous spires of ice that shot outward from the kunai.

"Hey! Those are ours, where the hell did you get them?!" yelled one of the Yuki nin as the rebel fighters leapt down to join the battle. Apparently someone had been raiding some of Doto's supply warehouses.

It was at this time that Doto grabbed Yuki and ran with her back into his fortress. Seeing this, Masao turned to Naruto and Jiraiya. "You two go after Doto, we can handle the rest of his goons."

Naruto and Jiraiya nodded before running towards Doto's fortress. As the steel front door closed, both Naruto and Jiraiya charged up a Rasengan in their hands and slammed them both into the door, sending it flying off its hinges.

Before they could advance much further into the fortress, Naruto and Jiraiya were stopped when a wall of ice blocked their path and the remaining two ninja of Doto's personal guard showed up.

"Well well, if it isn't one of the Legendary Sannin. Jiraiya is it?" asked Nadare.

"As much as I am for the pleasantries, I'm afraid we're in a bit of a rush" replied Jiraiya. "Katon: Dragon Fire Bullet!" Jiraiya unleashed his powerful fire jutsu upon the two Yuki ninja who jumped out of the way to avoid it. However, they weren't Jiraiya's true target. When the flames settled, the ice wall had been completely melted. "Naruto, go on ahead. I'll deal with these two."

Naruto nodded before running ahead. Not wanting Naruto to get away, Mizore shot his grappling hook/arm towards Naruto. In a quick motion, Naruto drew one of his wind blades and slashed through the hand like it was nothing before continuing his pursuit of Doto and Koyuki.

"That kid's really a pain in the ass!" growled Mizore.

"You get used to it" replied Jiraiya before he took a fighting stance.

Mizore grabbed what looked to be a snowboard from his back and planted his feet onto it as he sped towards Jiraiya. By this point in time, the cold air let in from the door being busted down had frozen the water that lined the floor, giving Mizore a slick surface to make use of his tool.

Jiraiya evaded the attack by jumping to the ceiling and clinging to it with chakra.

"Hyoton: Fierce Tiger!" shouted Nadare as he sent a tiger made of ice darting towards Jiraiya just as he landed. The ice tiger struck Jiraiya and as the dust cleared, Nadare saw Jiraiya wrapped up in what appeared to be a mixture of needles and hair.

"Ninpo: Needle Jizo!" called out Jiraiya. Mizore came around for a second attack and punched at Jiraiya with his good, and flesh, hand. The hand was driven right into Jiraiya's defense and the needles pierced into and through Mizore's hand, causing the Yuki ninja to yelp out in pain.

"Ninpo: Needle Hell!" called out Jiraiya as the needles that wrapped him, suddenly shot out towards Nadara and Mizore.

The two Yuki nin just grinned as they increased the chakra in their armour just slightly, but enough to repel Jiraiya's attacks.

Jiraiya growled. _"Of course it's that armour. That banshee told me about it and from what Naruto told me, only an A-rank or higher jutsu can get through the armour."_

"Enough of this, Hyoton: Shredding Blizzard!" called out Nadare as shards of ice shot towards Jiraiya, shredding the Sannin.

"Heh, I've got you two now. Summoning Jutsu: Toad Mouth Bind!" called out Jiraiya's voice from behind them. Before turning around, they saw that 'Jiraiya' was gone, replaced by a piece of furniture from somewhere in the hall.

Mizore growled and prepared to rush Jiraiya again on his snowboard, but found himself caught up by something sticky and fleshy. When the two ninja looked around, they saw the entire hallway turn into what appeared to be an esophagus. "You are now in the stomach of Iwagama! You will die at my hand. There is no escape."

"We'll see about that!" shouted Nadare as he tried to perform an ice jutsu, only for nothing to happen, seeing as there wasn't any ice in the esophagus of the Great _Fire-breathing_ Toad of Mt. Myoboku.

Jiraiya grinned before slamming his hand into the fleshy innards of the toad, causing a crushing wave to be sent towards the Yuki ninja. They tried to run, but there was no escape from this jutsu of Jiraiya's and down the halls, screaming followed by the crushing of bones could be heard.

As the esophagus retreated, Jiraiya continued down the hall, after his student, only to stop momentarily as an explosion rocked the fortress.

* * *

Naruto bolted into what appeared to be the throne room with Doto holding Koyuki in a sort of head lock and demanding her to give him the real Hex Crystal.

"Hey! Let her go!" demanded Naruto. Doto looked up and just grinned at Naruto.

"You really think I'm going to do it just because some snot-nosed kid says to?" replied Doto. As Doto glared at Naruto, this gave Koyuki the opportunity she needed in order to reach into her sleeve and pull out a tanto. With a powerful thrust, she jabbed the tanto back into Doto's gut, causing the dictator to stumble backwards with a shocked expression.

"Yeah! That got him!" cheered Naruto, only for his senses to kick in as Doto began laughing evilly as he stopped his fake stumbling. Grabbing the tanto and ripping it, along with his clothes off, he revealed himself to be wearing a pair of black chakra armour, which easily prevented the blade from piercing his flesh.

"Fine, I'll just kill you and then take the Hex Crystal! Once you're gone, there won't be anyone to stop me anyways!" Doto turned to Koyuki and sent her a look with intent to kill in it before backhanding her off the platform they were standing on.

"Koyuki!" shouted Naruto, rushing over to catch her in time before hitting the ground. He blonde jinchuriki grabbed Koyuki and jumped backwards just in time to avoid Doto's Black Dragon Blizzard attack.

Naruto set Koyuki down behind a pillar and could see that she was a bit shaken. "Don't worry. I'll take care of this guy. You just keep believing that everything will be alright after this, -ttebayo!"

Koyuki saw the determination in Naruto's eyes. He was right, if anyone could defeat her uncle it was him.

"You think you can beat me kid?" laughed Doto, using enhanced speed that his armour gave him to appear at Naruto's side and give the blonde a powerful punch. Had it not have been for all the speed and taijutsu training, Naruto would have taken that punch directly upside the head. Regardless, the blonde was sent crashing back into a pillar.

"Damn, that was almost as hard as Sakura-chan" commented Naruto. This was no longer a time for fooling around so he deactivated the seals on him and prepared for the fight. Doto rushed again, but with the reduced resistance, Naruto was able to dodge the strike while retaliating with his own. The punch didn't do too much as Doto's armour negated most of the force behind the strike.

Taking a few steps back, Doto called out his jutsu "Hyoton: Twin Dragon Blizzard!" He thrust both of his hands forward, sending out two black ice dragons towards Naruto.

"Futon: Wind Dragon Bullet!" called out Naruto, unleashing his own dragon-like jutsu against Doto. The two jutsus collided, but it was clear that Doto's had more power behind it as it soon overpowered Naruto's jutsu. Naruto jumped out of the way just in time to avoid taking the full force of Doto's attack, still getting grazed in the process. Doto then proceeded to shoot out another attack, forcing Naruto to dodge some more.

"_Damnit! I can't just keep dodging. I've gotta get in close and use the Rasengan"_ thought Naruto. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Dozens of Narutos appeared and they immediately leapt towards Doto, who only grinned. "Hyoton: Twin Dragon Blizzard!" The jutsu connected with all the Naruto clones, dispelling them and sending Naruto flying back as the wall collapsed down upon the blonde.

"Naruto!" shouted Koyuki. "Get up!"

"Pft. Too bad kid. You should have left while I gave you the chance. It's over and you're going to die" said Doto as he slammed his fist into Naruto, only to be caught in the middle of a massive explosion, erupting from 'Naruto', that shook the very foundations of the fortress and sent him flying backwards into the opposite wall of the throne room.

"It ain't over till I say it's over!" exclaimed Naruto as he stepped out from behind a pillar, forming a Rasengan and charging straight over towards where Doto was lying. "Rasengan!" shouted Naruto as he slammed the Rasengan into the chest piece on Doto's armour, easily destroying it and causing the following explosion from the destruction of the chakra armour to add to the Rasengan's power and ultimately bring down the tyrant once and for all.

"He…he did it…" gasped Koyuki in amazement.

"Heh, told you I would" replied Naruto, bringing a warm smile to Koyuki's face. Both Koyuki and Naruto turned to the entrance of the throne room when they heard a clapping noise, only to see Jiraiya walk out from the hallway.

"Not bad Gaki" commented Jiraiya.

* * *

The rebel army was successful in defeating Doto's forces and was now preparing to charge into the fortress to assist their Konoha allies with the battle going on inside. However, before they had a chance to, cheers erupted from the front of the unit as they caught a glimpse of Naruto, Jiraiya, and Koyuki walking out of the palace, a beaten and nearly dead Doto in tow.

The cheers began to spread throughout the village as the citizens realized that they were finally free of the oppressive tyrant and that the rightful princess had returned. Any ninja still loyal to Doto and not captured or killed, took the cheers as their opportunity to flee before the new Yuki ninjas could round them up.

A few hours passed, and Koyuki found herself back at the grave of Sandayu, moving a small patch of snow and earth to retrieve the Hex Crystal that she left in his care while she went to confront her uncle.

"I don't mean to be rude, but what exactly is so special about that crystal and why did Doto want it so bad?" asked Jiraiya.

Koyuki looked to Masaru who just nodded. "After sacrificing a lot to help us, it's only far that you know what the Kazahana treasure really is" said Koyuki as she guided them to a frozen lake surrounded by six pillars at the base of the mountains. In the middle of the lake was a small shrine that Koyuki walked forward to, taking the Hex Crystal and placing it in a special key hole. The entire area rumbled until a warm glow was emitted from the shrine.

"**Hmm…It's a chakra generator"** commented Kurama.

"A chakra generator?" replied Naruto out loud.

"Yes, seeing as the Land of Snow is primarily cold all year-round, my father and his researchers developed this chakra generator to allow us to 'bring a time of spring to the Land of Snow'" explained Koyuki.

"I can see why Doto was after this. If utilized correctly, a chakra generator like this one can be extremely powerful" said Jiraiya.

"Ero-Sennin, what exactly is a chakra generator?" asked Naruto.

"Well, it's as it sounds. It generates chakra. It appears as if Doto wanted to try and weaponize it and turn it against the rest of the shinobi world. It's a good thing he didn't get his hands on it" said Jiraiya. "I thought all the chakra generators in existence were either destroyed or shut down and sealed."

"As you can see, this one is still operational" said Koyuki. "However, we have no desire to see my father's precious invention used as a tool of war. Instead, he wanted it used to usher a period of warm spring to this nation. As I said, our nation is cold almost all year-round, but this chakra generator is used to give us a period of about 6 months of spring each year. After that, then it needs to be shut down so that it can recharge, and a gentle winter returns to the Land of Snow."

"I see…" said Jiraiya.

"This is also the best guarded secret of the Land of Snow, so I am humbly begging you not to tell anyone about it" pleaded Koyuki.

"A chakra generator would draw plenty of unwanted attention by those who would wish to see it put to more…violent purposes, especially since this is the last one that I know of that is still operational" said Jiraiya.

"And without it, this nation would be doomed to an endless winter" said Koyuki.

"Don't worry, we won't tell!" exclaimed Naruto.

Jiraiya just sighed. "While I don't like the idea of there being a chakra generator still in existence, We'll keep your secret so long as it's used for peaceful purposes."

"Thank you" bowed Koyuki. "The Land of Snow is truly in your debt. If there is anything that you need, by all means, feel free to ask. And I would also like to invite you stay for the coronation next week."

"We'll stay, after all we've still got a movie to finish up, don't we?" grinned Jiraiya with a slightly perverted look on his face, getting a slight giggle out of Koyuki.

"_And his perviness never ends…"_ thought Naruto.

* * *

As Naruto, Jiraiya, Koyuki, and Masao reentered the village, they were greeted with a thunderous applause. Already, the village felt just a little warmer and the citizens could tell that spring was on its way.

"Father!" shouted the same white-haired kunoichi from before as she ran towards Masao. For Masao and his daughter, now that the retaking of the Land of Snow was successful, they would finally have a chance to act as a family once again.

"Huh? She's your daughter?" asked a slightly surprised Naruto.

"Yes, this is my daughter Natsuki. Natsuki, this is Uzumaki Naruto, one of the heroes of Spring."

"Nice to finally meet you, Naruto-kun" bowed Natsuki, a slight blush coming to her face which went unnoticed by Naruto, but not Jiraiya.

* * *

The week passed with a majority of the week spent towards getting the Land of Snow back on its feet. During this time, the weather had grown much warmer and most of the snow surrounding the village had melted. Spring had come and everyone couldn't be happier.

One of the biggest reasons for celebration was the destruction of Doto's military-like fortress and the beginnings of the construction of the new Kazahana palace.

Jiraiya had sent word for the movie crew to pack up and meet here, in the Land of Snow, as he felt it would be a perfect place to finish filming the movie, which honestly excited most people that a big-name movie was going to be shot in their homeland, even if it was an adult movie.

A certain blonde Uzumaki was making his way back to the inn that he and Jiraiya had been given a room in. The two of them were treated like heroes, considering they kind of were heroes to this country. However, what Naruto didn't notice was a certain white-haired ninja following him around for a good portion of the week.

It was on the following day when Jiraiya received a response to the report he had sent back to Konoha. Despite there not being any intentions to communicate with Konoha for the majority of the trip, a major international event such as this did require some sort of report to be sent.

"So what did Baachan say?" asked Naruto.

"She actually seemed rather impressed. Considering we were there to help evacuate Koyuki during the coup, Konoha had already been trying to negotiate with Doto, but those failed. I honestly feel that had those loyal to Koyuki and her father asked for help from Konoha, we would have aided anyways" explained Jiraiya. "You'll be happy to know Naruto, that Tsunade-hime is considering this an A-rank mission for you."

"Really?! That's awesome!" declared Naruto.

"I know we've already discussed payment…" Koyuki was cut off.

"As I told you, you don't have to pay us a thing. We did it because it was the right thing to do" said Jiraiya.

"Still, I feel as if we are indebted to you for your role in everything. Nonetheless, I have sent an emissary to your village to negotiate what I hope will amount to an alliance and trade agreement between our nations" said Koyuki. "I feel it would be beneficial to both our nations."

"I'm honestly not going to argue with that" said Jiraiya before the sounding of canon-fire was heard in the background, indicating that the coronation of princess Koyuki was only moments away.

"Well, I'd better get prepared" said Koyuki. "We can talk a bit more afterwards."

The day of the coronation was one the Land of Snow/Spring would never forget. With their chakra generator running at full capacity, spring was fully in bloom and many of the once-sleeping plants finally had a chance to bloom. Everywhere, the citizens of Yukigakure were dressed up and lining the streets that the coronation parade was to march down.

As the drums and music began to sound, the parade marched its way through the city, with the new shinobi of Yukigakure and the heroes of the revolution leading the way. Masao, who was also a long time friend of Koyuki and her father, had been names as the shinobi commander of the Land of Snow, and nobody was even willing to deny him of that title.

Naruto and Jiraiya had also been granted an honorary spot in the parade and, while oblivious to Naruto, Jiraiya noticed the gazes of much of the younger female population checking out their hero. He also noticed how Masao's daughter would even try to walk as close to Naruto as possible before the other Yuki shinobi told her to fall back into formation.

Following behind the Heroes of the revolution, was a large open carriage that was carrying the country's beloved princess, drawn by snow-white horses and surrounded on either side by four banner guards carrying large purple banners.

The crowds cheered as some threw purple confetti over the parade, before the parade stopped at the temple where Koyuki was to be inaugurated as the daimyo of the Land of Snow.

Standing atop one of the high platforms in the temple, Koyuki waved down to her supporters. For such an occasion, she certainly looked like a princess, wearing a flowing purple robe with a green and blue drape over top the robe. The one thing that stood out though was the large pink and purple hat that she was wearing with four tags draping down from the sides.

It was at this time that one of the elders crowned Koyuki as the daimyo of the Land of Snow and the masses erupted in celebration.

That entire night was nothing but one giant festival and party with plenty of music and dancing to celebrate the coming of spring.

"You know, now that I think of it there is one request I would like to ask of you Koyuki-hime" said Jiriaya.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be no problem" said Koyuki. "What do you have in mind?"

"You see, my student has this pretty girl back at home and I promised him I'd teach him how to dance, however taking a look as some of the people here, I was wondering if you knew someone who could help him get rid of that second left foot" asked Jiraiya.

"Oh, I don't think finding someone to give him some dance lessons will be much of a problem" said Koyuki. As if on cue, Jiriaya saw the mob of girls swarm around his student.

"_Lucky bastard"_ thought Jiriaya. Being Naruto, he honestly didn't know any better and soon found himself dragged away by Natsuki. _"There's definitely going to be some action if that girl ever met Hinata. Hmm…that could be good for my next book."_

* * *

Three months passed with Jiraiya and Naruto remaining in the Land of Snow. Unfortunately with Koyuki taking up her duties as leader of the nation, she didn't have as much time to dedicate to finishing the movie, but it eventually found itself done and the filming was now over.

Naruto's dance lessons had proven to be a success and he was even beginning to enjoy himself out on the dance floor. He couldn't wait until he returned home to Hinata to 'sweep her off her feet', as Jiraiya put it.

Also for Naruto, the three months proved enough time for Yukigakure's ramen stand to resume operation and he was able to get his passport stamped for their specialty ramen, putting Naruto's total count up to 12.

The master and student duo now found themselves on the deck of a large ship, ready to leave port and resume their journey.

"Once again, the people of the Land of Spring can't thank you enough for what you have done. You will always be welcome here and please do stop whenever you get the chance" said Koyuki, giving Naruto and Jiraiya a bow.

"Don't worry, I'll stop by again, -ttebayo!" exclaimed Naruto.

As the ship began to leave port, Natsuki called out to Naruto. "Goodbye my love! I'll be waiting for the next time our hearts cross!"

"_L-love?! Oh crap, don't tell me…fangirls! Oh no, if Hinata-chan ever finds out…" _thought Naruto as he finally realized why all those girls were fawning over him for the past few months. Jiraiya caught Naruto's reaction and couldn't help but laugh, earning a glare from Naruto.

* * *

Land of Snow, 6 months later,

Four figures were wandering around Yukigakure, looking for any information regarding a certain person. Seeing as the person they were searching out was considered a hero in this town, it wasn't hard to find someone who knew the name 'Uzumaki Naruto', or should I say 'Namikaze Naruto'.

Unfortunately for the searchers, many of the people of Yukigakure could sense that something was wrong with these guys, especially the giant in red armour, and while they mentioned the name of their hero, they only mentioned that he left five months ago, no information of where his destination was.

It was at this point that the four searchers caught a slight waving motion coming from a back alley that was trying to capture their attention. The searchers readied themselves while carefully making their way towards the alley and a man stepped out from the shadows. This man was Sengetsu, the same man who had been captured and interrogated months ago.

"I hear you're looking for someone" said Sengetsu.

"We might be. Why, do you have something that might help?" asked one of the searchers, handing a photo to Sengetsu.

"That brat left five months ago. I believe the white-haired bastard said something about the Land of Iron. I honestly wish I could give you more, but that's unfortunately all I've got" said Sengetsu with an obvious tone of hatred towards the two heroes.

"Hmm…interesting. Your information's proved most useful" said one of the searchers.

"Whatever I can do to help make those bastard pay for what he did to my friend" he said, pointing to the small toad on top of his head.

"Don't worry, we'll see to it. There's nothing more you need to worry about" said one of the searchers before plunging a kunai into Sangetsu's stomach. While he might have provided them with some valuable information, he was still considered a loose end to the searchers that they couldn't afford for him to alert people to their true intentions.

* * *

Six months before that, in the Land of Iron,

"Damn, it's getting cold again" sighed Naruto as he started to shiver a little. The Land of Iron was located just a bit south of the Land of Snow on the mainland, and while it was slightly warmer than the Land of Snow, sadly that wasn't the case during this time of year.

Jiraiya and Naruto trudged onward until they came upon the landmark that showed they had nearly arrived at their destination. From atop one of the smaller mountains they were descending from, the Three Wolves Mountains appeared in the distance. The three mountains towered above the rest, resembling a wolf's maw. At the base of the mountain was the town of Sangaku, home to the samurai of the Land of Iron.

"There it is Naruto, the Land of Iron" said Jiraiya as he pointed off into the distance towards the mountain.

* * *

Jutsu

Uzumaki-style: Siphoning Containment Seal: an Uzumaki-style barrier seal that traps anything within and begins siphoning the chakra of those trapped; Rank: A; Users: Uzumaki Naruto

Hyoton: Fierce Tiger; Rank: B-; Users: Roga Nadare

Ninpo: Needle Jizo; Rank: B; Users: Jiraiya

Hyoton: Shredding Blizzard: Nadare sends out a blizzard of razor-sharp ice shards towards his opponent, piercing and shredding their flesh; Rank: B; Users: Roga Nadare

Summoning Jutsu: Toad Mouth Bind: Rank: A; Users: Jiraiya, Uzumaki Naruto

Hyoton: Black Dragon Blizzard: Rank: B; Users: Kazahana Doto

Hyoton: Twin Dragon Blizzard: Rank: A; Users: Kazahana Doto

* * *

Well, there's chapter 63. Hope you enjoyed.

Regarding Naruto's ramen passport, I won't be going through all 50 different ramen as I don't think I will have time to cover 50 different ramen stands, especially if they are at a town that Naruto's just passing through.

And yes, Naruto will be learning about the joys (or pains) of fangirls. They won't be in Konoha, but they'll be in nations where he's considered a hero (Wave, Snow/Spring for now). Don't worry, this won't do too much to harm the Naru/Hina relationship, but it will add a little bit of drama to it that I think the relationship needs to further develop.

Well, that's it for the Land of Snow arc. The Land of Birds arc will probably be the third arc in the Shippuden book (book 3), and will take place after the Snake's Lair arc (or whatever it's called in cannon where the new Team 7 first goes after Sasuke and Orochimaru), and the Kazekage rescue arc. For this story, I will be reversing the order of these two with respect to cannon so that the Snake's Lair is first (in cannon the Kazekage rescue arc was first) and don't worry, I've got the adaptations all figured out for this book. I am also going to be including some content from other filler arcs as well as potentially another movie or two. Oh, and one last little teaser for the Land of Birds mission, let's just say might life might be in danger from a jyuken strike or two…

Till next time, please be sure to review.


	64. Student of the Ancient Master

Well, things have settled down this week for me and I was able to put some good time into writing. Even to the point where I have gotten pretty far in the next chapter of Rewriting the Past as well and I am hoping to get the next chapter to that one up soon (this weekend perhaps).

Anyways, for now I'll start off by addressing one of the concerns a few of you have brought to me regarding this story.

**You seem to be focusing on the Uzumaki aspect of Naruto's heritage, what about the Namikaze side?** While this story itself will focus more on the Uzumaki aspect of Nauto's heritage, I will most certainly delve deeper into the Namikaze side. While I am not viewing the Namikaze as a clan, they definitely have some interesting history that will be included. I most likely will not be including it in this portion, but it will appear within the Third book.

Well, enjoy the chapter.

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own Naruto.

Posted: 4/16/13

* * *

**Chapter 64: Student of the Ancient Master**

Sangaku, the capitol city of the Land of Iron, and home to an army of samurai that even the shinobi nations held in high regards. Normally, a shinobi would disregard a samurai as a sword-bearing grunt, and usually that was the case. Against a trained shinobi, samurai really didn't stand much of a chance. The samurai of the Land of Iron however, were a little different than your average samurai.

For the most part, the Land of Iron was a peaceful and neutral nation. They preferred diplomacy over some mindless war that was fought between the greed of men and were often sought to act as mediators when it came to international disputes, but that didn't mean that they were weak cowards who were afraid of combat. No, the last thing you could do was insult a samurai from this proud nation by challenging his conviction. It was the last thing you could do, because it most likely would be the last thing you did before you found yourself dead at the samurai's blade.

The samurai of the Land of Iron were regarded as masters of the sword, driven by faith and conviction that knew no rivals. These samurai could go toe to toe with even the most powerful of shinobi and they were feared by many nations who ever had the displeasure of meeting them in battle. However, there was one who stood out amongst them all…the shogun, or high general of the Land of Iron, Mifune. To this day, Mifune widely recognized as the most skilled swordsman, having been trained by the only individual throughout history who could have claim himself as Mifune's better in the art of swordsmanship.

Mifune sat in front of a koi pond in the middle of his personal tranquility garden. Unless you were looking directly at the man, one would not even know he was there. Mifune was that synced with his surroundings and himself that he didn't even notice the messenger approach him, or at least he made no motion to appear disturbed in any sense. Taking one last deep breath, Mifune opened his eyes and ended his meditation, turning to and addressing the messenger.

"Sir, there are two individuals at the city gates asking for your presence. They appear to be shinobi and one matches the descriptions of the Toad Sannin Jiraiya. The other appears to be a blonde adolescent, not older than 14" reported the messenger.

"I see, thank you for that information Isamu. Tell them that I will be with them momentarily" said Mifune. Isamu bowed to his commander before going to deliver the message to the shinobi. _"It appears as if it is about time to meet the last remaining descendant of my master."_

About three weeks ago, Mifune had received a message delivered by a toad, of all creatures, stating the existence and desire of an individual by the name of Uzumaki Naruto to train under him in the ways of kenjutsu.

Under normal circumstances, Mifune would have turned away the young Uzumaki, having already taken responsibility for the training of his own grandson Hiro, but the second piece of information about this young Uzumaki made him rethink taking on a second student. This second piece of information was also the most surprising piece as well. His new prospective student just so happened to be the great-great-grandson and last living descendant of his former master, Uzumaki Shuichi. It was Mifune's own conviction that made him agree to train the young Uzumaki. He still owed so much to his late master, and perhaps this would be a way to repay his own debt.

* * *

Naruto and Jiraiya were currently waiting outside the gates to Sangaku. The cold mountain climate was not doing well for Naruto's patience but Jiraiya assured him that everything would be alright once they were inside of the city.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to the freezing Naruto, the gates opened and an older-looking man with a bandaged head and long grey hair coming out from the back stepped forward. Even Naruto could feel the aura around this man. He was certainly a powerful individual that commanded respect.

"Welcome to the Land of Iron and the capitol city of Sangaku, Jiraiya of the Sannin and Uzumaki Naruto. I am Mifune, the commanding general of the Land of Iron. Please, step inside. It is warmer inside the city."

With the much welcomed invitation, Naruto quickly made his way into the city and Mifune guided the pair towards his quarters. Once they were situated inside Mifune's personal study, the samurai general finally spoke.

"Now Jiraiya, would you mind explaining to me why this boy, who you mentioned as the great-great-grandson of my master, is here? I see no such resemblance to my late master or his clan" said Mifune. Sadly, that was true regarding Naruto. The most defining feature of the Uzumaki clan was the red, or white in older years, hair; something that Naruto was clearly lacking.

Naruto was taken aback by this, someone actually questioning his heritage like this. Sure it had happened before back in Konoha, but no one had ever said something like that directly to his face.

"What?! I'll show you I'm an Uzumaki! –ttebayo!" Naruto was immediately restrained by Jiraiya.

"Did you already forget what we talked about? The last thing you want to do is insult this man" Jiraiya whispered to Naruto before turning his attention back to Mifune.

"I understand where you're coming from, but I assure you he is the real deal" said Jiriaya. "If you take a closer look, you might be able to recognize someone familiar in him."

Mifune gave a slight nod and examined the blonde closer, before his eyes shot open. "Kushina?" With the exception of the hair and eyes, the boy in front of him certainly did have the looks of the former Uzumaki.

"His mother. His hair seems to take more after his father" said Jiraiya.

"So my goddaughter and Minato really did get together" said Mifune with a slight chuckle in his voice. Naruto's jaw was now hanging agape.

"Your goddaughter? My mother was your goddaughter?" asked Naruto.

Mifune nodded. "She was. I was studying under my master at the time of her birth and was a close friend of the entire family and for some reason; they gave me the honor of being her godfather."

"Now that I look at you, I can see a lot of her in you" said Mifune. "I apologize if I may have come off questioning at the beginning, but you must understand I consider it a grave insult for anyone not a blood relative of the clan to bear the name Uzumaki."

"No, I kinda see where you're coming from Mifune-sama" said Naruto, adding the polite honorific.

"Please, call me Mifune-sensei or –shisho, as I am correct that is why you are here" said Mifune. Naruto nodded.

"Yes, I asking you to please teach me the way of kenjutsu, Mifune-sensei" said Naruto. Jiraiya just grunted at this.

"_Sure…he calls Mifune Mifune-sensei, but it's still Ero-Sennin for me. Damn Gaki!"_

"I will, but first do you have a sword? I cannot teach you what you already have" said Mifune.

"Actually…" Naruto took out his Uzumaki book and opened it to one of the seals he had made, unsealing the Uzumaki sword and now it was the usually stoic Mifune's turn to imitate a gaping fish.

"That sword…" was all Mifune could get out. "Where did you find my master's sword?"

"It was inside his blood-locker, back in the Uzushiogakure archives" said Naruto.

"I see, may I?"

Naruto nodded, not seeing any harm in the request made by Mifune and handed the samurai general the ancient katana. Mifune unsheathed the blade and carefully examined it, now missing out any detail as he wanted to ensure it was genuine. Feeling satisfied, he spoke. "This truly is my master's blade. It was thought lost decades ago." Mifune then slightly touched his finger to the blade and that was even enough to cut the master swordsman's experienced hands. "It's still sharp. Very well Uzumaki Naruto, I will do everything I can to make you worthy of my master's blade."

"Mifune-sensei, I've been wondering. I've heard rumors about that sword being special. Do you know what makes it so special?" asked Naruto.

"I do, but I will not tell you yet" said Mifune. "That is something you have to earn."

"_Damnit, I really want to know what makes this sword so special!" _thought Naruto. "So when do we start? I can't wait to get started! –ttebayo!"

"We will start tomorrow. For now, there are a few things I need to discuss with your sensei" said Mifune, summoning Isamu. "Isamu here will escort you to your quarters where you will be staying for the next months."

Naruto nodded before following Isamu out of the door.

"First, I want to say thank you for agreeing to this, Mifune-san" addressed Jiraiya.

"Think nothing of it. This was the very least I could do honor my master's legacy and my great-godson. Besides, I believe he make for a good influence on my grandson" said Mifune. "Hiro's grown arrogant and distant lately. If he's anything like Kushina, I'm sure he can get my grandson to see the light. Now, what will you be doing while I am working with your student? If you think I'm letting you near the hot springs, you might as well just commit seppuku now and save my samurai the trouble."

Jiraiya gulped, but shook it off. "Actually, I need to check up on my spy network and I was wondering if I could leave him in your care for the next six months. Something's stirring that's making me rather uneasy."

"I will train him and allow him quarters, but if any trouble arises, then it will be on his and your shoulders" said Mifune. "You must realize that we are samurai and I will not spare someone to care for him 24/7."

"I don't think that will be an issue. Naruto's actually a rather independent person. Just give him a bed and point him towards the nearest ramen stand and he'll be fine" joked Jiraiya. "Anyways, I should go find Naruto and let him know." Jiraiya bowed to Mifune before leaving the study.

* * *

Naruto had just finished unpacking his scrolls when a knock came on his door and Jiraiya stepped in. "Ero-Sennin?"

"Stop calling me that, Gaki" said Jiraiya. "Anyways, I want to let you know that I won't be around for the next six months while you're training with Mifune-san in kenjutsu."

"What? Why not? You're supposed to be the one to train me!" replied Naruto.

"Naruto, you have no need for me here. Even you'll probably be too tired in the evening to do much training other than fuinjutsu. Besides, something's stirring out there that's got me uneasy. I need to check in with my spy network. There've been rumors about something going on with Iwa."

"Iwa?" said a slightly startled Naruto, remembering the night of the chunin exam when he and his team were ambushed by the 15 Iwa genin.

"Yeah. You should understand why I need to look into this further. You've improved a lot over the past year, but you're still not ready to face the full force of Iwa just yet" said Jiriaya. "You'll be allowed to stay here and train with Mifune and his grandson for the next six months. There's a ramen stand somewhere in the city, but please try to eat something besides ramen every night. Even for you, Mifune's training's not going to be easy. He's going to drive you to the bone and expect you to do it all over again the next day. If you hope to survive, you need to eat properly."

"I understand" said Naruto.

"Good. When I get back, we'll head off and resume the next phase of your training" said Jiriaya. "Well, see ya in six months. And remember; don't get into too much trouble."

Naruto was up early the next morning, making his way to the dojo where he would begin his boot camp…err training. He was no longer wearing his usual outfit consisting of the orange shirt, black pants, and black vest. Instead, Mifune had provided him with a grey battle kimono for training purposes and his ancestor's sword tucked in the sash on his side.

As he entered the dojo, he saw Mifune sitting in a meditative position with his sword stretched out in front of him. Another person was in the room, facing Mifune and in the same posture as the samurai general. The person in question was a boy around Naruto's age, wearing a brown battle kimono. His hair was the same color as the kimono, brown, and tied back into a short ponytail, kind of like Shikamaru's only a tad shorter.

Entering the dojo, Naruto decided to take the same position as everyone else in the room and set his own sword in front of him, before kneeling in a meditative pose.

"I hate to be rude" spoke the boy to Naruto's left. "But I believe you're interrupting my training session."

"Your training session? Hey, I don't know who you are but I'm in the right place, right Mifune-sensei?" asked Naruto. Mifune simply remained silent.

"Hmph, like Mifune-jisama would train someone like you. How could you ever hope to be a samurai?" asked the boy.

"Actually, I'm a shinobi…"

"That's even worse! I'd rather be one of those spineless thugs pretending to be samurai than a shinobi!" replied the boy.

"Hey! I don't care who you are, all my friends are shinobi and you think I'm just going to let you insult them, then I'm going to kick your ass hard!" declared Naruto as he cracked a few knuckles. The boy did the same, standing up and slamming his fist into his palm, completely forgetting his sword. This blonde kid wasn't worth his sword after all.

"Naruto! Hiro! Enough!" Before the two boys even knew what was happening, they were pinned to the ground, underneath Mifune's knees. "I will not have both of my students acting like a bunch of Neanderthals!"

"But Jiisama, are you really taking this, this shinobi as a student?" asked a shocked Hiro.

"I am…" said Mifune before he was cut off.

"But why?! I'm your student! Why are you taking HIM as a student?!" shouted Hiro.

"Enough Hiro! I decided to take him as a student for the next six months as a way of giving back to my master for giving me everything I have" said Mifune.

"But what does this guy have to do with your master?" asked Hiro.

"You know, I have a name. It's Uzumaki Naruto" said Naruto.

"Uzu-uzumaki?" asked a stunned Hiro. He had never imagined an Uzumaki to show up.

"He is the great-great-grandson of Shuichi-sama. I am doing this in the name of my late master and I felt a training partner could do you good, Hiro" explained Mifune.

"What do you mean? You think I'm not good enough that you have to get me a training partner?" said Hiro. "Let's go gramps! I'll show you that I'm good enough that I don't need a training partner." Hiro immediately grabbed his sword and faced Mifune. Mifune just let out a sigh and took his sword and faced his grandson in their little spar.

In the blink of an eye, the match was over. Before Hiro could even react, Mifune's sword was pressed gently against the side of Hiro's neck, not enough to hurt the poor boy, but enough to show just who won.

"_Whoa…I didn't even see that"_ thought Naruto. He just heard a whistle in the back of his head and it was obvious that Kurama was slightly impressed with the samurai's speed.

"First Hiro, there is nothing wrong about a training partner. Someone to train with and hone your skills against is a blessing to even the greatest of swordsmen. Second, you need to get the idea out of your head that this world revolves around you. Who I train is none of your concern and if you still desire an explanation, just look to Naruto's name and you'll know why I've agreed to take him as a student" lectured Mifune. "While you are here, you will both respect one another and you will respect me as your sensei. Am I clear?"

"Hai, Mifune-sensei" said both Naruto and Hiro.

"Good, now let us begin, shall we?" asked Mifune.

* * *

It was later in the night and a certain blonde was currently lying in his bed, unable to move his limbs at all. Jiriaya had mentioned that these training sessions were going to be hard, but the training session today was beyond hard. Hell, even Gai would be in the amount of pain that Naruto was in after the day was over.

A knock was heard on his door and Naruto was just able to grunt a 'come in'. The door opened to reveal Hiro. It had been two weeks since Naruto had begun training and while he couldn't say that he and Hiro were friends yet, they…acknowledged…each other's presence. "What do you want?" asked Naruto.

Hiro burst out in a fit of smug laughter. "Just to come see your sore ass after being through one of Jiisama's Gauntlets" said Hiro. "And let me say it's hilarious." He poked Naruto in the shoulder and a jolt of pain ran though Naruto's body.

"Yeah, just wait till I kick your ass in the morning" replied Naruto.

"As if. If you're lucky, you'll be able to get up to go to the bathroom by next weekend" retorted Hiro.

"Wanna bet?" grunted Naruto as he struggled against the pain to rise to his feet, actually earning a surprised look from Hiro. "Now, just point me to that ramen stand I've been hearing about for the past two weeks."

"Wait, you like ramen?" asked Hiro.

Naruto just stared blankly at his 'training partner'. "Are you kidding me?! It's the Food of the Gods! Of course I love ramen! –ttebayo!"

"We'll see about that" grinned Hiro. It was time to put this shinobi to the ultimate test.

Hiro had dragged Naruto (more like Naruto dragged Hiro) to the local ramen stand. As he sat Naruto down at a table, he pointed to a plaque on the wall behind them. "12 bowls. No one has bested that. That means I'm the true lover of ramen in this nation" bragged Hiro.

"_**Oh no…why did that idiot have to go and do that?"**_ thought Kurama as he knew he was about to be drowned in the aroma of ramen that had practically embedded itself in Naruto's seal.

"12 bowls is what I have for an appetizer. Hey Old Man!" Naruto shouted towards the chef. "I'll have 12 extra-large pork ramens!"

The chef nodded and before anyone knew what had happened, the bowls were in front of Naruto and gone seconds later, a still hungry look on Naruto's face. "See, I'm not even getting started yet" said Naruto as he ordered another twelve bowls.

Not wanting to be outdone, Hiro ordered 24 bowls to match Naruto's 24, but found himself on the verge of a ramen-induced food coma by the 13th bowl. Needless to say, Naruto finished his 12 along with the 11 others that Hiro had yet to eat.

"H-how?" asked Hiro.

"When it comes to ramen, I'm second to no one" replied Naruto.

"So you really re an Uzumaki then…" acknowledged Hiro.

"I've been telling you that all damn week and you just now get it through your head?" asked Naruto.

"In my defense, you don't fit any of the descriptions from the stories Jiisama has told me" said Hiro.

Naruto looked down a little. "You know, I only learned about my clan not even two years ago and I still have yet to find anyone who can tell me what they truly were like. Ero-Sennin's given me a story or two, but nothing much. I just wish I knew more…"

"If that's the case, then go talk to Jiisama" said Hiro. "He's told me countless stories about his master's clan. I'm sure he can tell you more about them."

"Really? Thanks, but why are you doing this? I thought I was nothing but a hindrance to your training?" asked Naruto.

"Look, perhaps I might have gotten off on the wrong foot. Oh and just so you know, there was a bet going on between me and a few of the other students around the village on how long you would last under Mifune-jiisama's instruction" said Hiro. "I think there was one person who said you'd make it two days before you were crawling your way out of the village."

"Two days? Do you really think I'm that much of a wimp?" asked a slightly insulted Naruto. "How do you think I'm going to become Hokage someday if I can't even handle a little training?"

"Hokage, huh? Well It seems as if we have yet another thing in common besides the belief that ramen's the Food of Gods" said Hiro.

"Huh?" asked Naruto, tilting his head and looking at Hiro. "What makes you think you're going to become Hokage?"

"I'm not talking about becoming Hokage. But I suppose you could say my dream is to become the equivalent of your Hokage. One day I'm going to surpass my grandfather as the shogun of the Land of Iron!" declared Hiro.

"What's the shogun?" asked Naruto curiously, earning an 'are you kidding me' look from Hiro.

"You've been studying under the shogun and you don't even know what he is?" asked Hiro. "He's the commander of all the samurai in the Land of Iron. Like I said, he's the equivalent to your Hokage and I'm definitely going to be the next shogun after Jiisama! That's why I've gotta do everything to become the strongest samurai and that's why I can't have any deadweight shinobi dragging me down."

"I could say the same about you" said Naruto.

"As if. Like you shinobi could keep up with us" said Hiro. "Even the Five Great Shinobi Nations acknowledge us as worthy" said Hiro, before turning to look around at the village. "And even if they didn't, we'd make them see just who we are. The people of the Land of Iron are proud folk, who possess a conviction that no one can rival. We will defend our home, honour, and reputation with our lives."

"You know, that sounds a lot like the Will of Fire Jiji used to preach about" said Naruto, a saddening look coming to his face. That was the first time in a long while he had mentioned the Sandaime's name and the loss still hurt, despite Sarutobi Hiruzen being gone for over two years now.

"Jiji?" asked Hiro. Naruto returned the same 'are you kidding me' look.

"Yeah, he was the Sandaime Hokage, the one who made me want to become Hokage in the first place. However, he died in battle defending our village from Orochimaru-teme years ago. But even then, his belief in the Will of Fire never dimmed. In fact, I'd say it only grew stronger in his final moments" said Naruto.

"Hmm…I've heard about the Sandaime Hokage. If what you say and everything else I've heard is true, he was a man of honor" said Hiro. "Look, I'm sorry for how we started off. But don't think this means I'm going to go easy on you. After all, I can't lose to some shinobi."

"Heh, I don't expect you to. Besides, I can only prove myself your better if you give it everything you've got as well" said Naruto as he finished the very last bowl of ramen in front of them. "Anyways, thank you for that, Hiro. I was wrong as well, you're not too bad yourself. You said Mifune-sensei would be able to tell me more about my clan?"

"Yes, I believe he's usually in his study around this time" said Hiro.

* * *

Currently, Mifune was sitting at his desk, writing a piece of literature. Despite his hard appearance, Mifune was also fan of the finer arts such as writing and literature. Thankfully, the literature he was interested in wasn't the same genre as the literature, as some called it, that Jiraiya wrote.

Immediately, Mifune's guard was raised and he reached for Kurosawa. He heard a knock on the door and Naruto's voice immediately called out, allowing the shogun to relax his guard. Being as powerful of an individual as he was, Mifune had his share of enemies and he was no stranger to assassination attempts…those cowards. Raised as a samurai, Mifune was always one who favored an honorable fight over guerilla-like tactics, one of the reasons most of the samurai from the Land of Iron actually looked down upon the shinobi.

Making a motion for his guest to enter, the blonde Uzumaki entered the study. "I must say, even I am impressed you are walking today" said Mifune, remembering the beating Naruto had at the hands of Mifune's gauntlet. The 'Gauntlet' was a series of 50 spars using wooden swords, that way no one would die, but that still didn't mean it didn't hurt when you got hit with them. At full speed, even a wooden sword hurt like hell, and add to that the fact that Naruto only had about two weeks of experience, it was definitely a surprise that the blonde was able to stand.

"Would you believe me when I said I'm a fast healer?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, I am aware of your 'condition'" said Mifune. "Now, what is it that you have sought me out for?"

"Well, you see I only just learned about my heritage not even two years ago and I'm kind of ashamed to say that I don't know as much about them as I wish I did" said Naruto. "Hiro mentioned that you have a ton of stories about my ancestors and I was kind of wondering if you'd be willing to share some with me."

"There is no shame in asking where one comes from" said Mifune, sensing a hint of shame in Naruto's voice after admitting that. "And I would be more than happy to pass down some of the stories I have the pleasure of knowing. Now, what is it you would like to know?"

"Well, I'm not even really that sure. I've tried to find some records on them in the Konoha library, but from what Ero-Sennin and Baachan have told me, the civilian council in Konoha went to great lengths to try and erase the Uzumaki name from Konoha. I honestly don't know why and I'm actually rather disappointed I can't find anything else on them" explained Naruto.

"Hmm…that truly is a shame" said Mifune.

"Outside what Ero-Sennin and Baachan told me, all I've ever heard about them was when Kakashi-sensei mentioned their last stand at the beginning of the Second Shinobi War" said Naruto.

"Ahh…truly a great battle" said Mifune.

"What do you mean? They were all killed!" defended Naruto.

Mifune merely chuckled. "There is more to the glories of battle than who wins or loses. Your ancestors were honorable warriors with a conviction that rivaled even my own. While it is true that they fell in the end, the Uzumakis fought with all their heart, defending their honor and kin to the very last" explained Mifune. "Hmm…Perhaps I have found our story for tonight, come and take a walk with me."

* * *

Begin Mifune's Tale

I wish you could have seen Uzushiogakure as I did, back in its glory. The city had thrived, not only being a center of many of the major trade routes in that region, but also a center of military might. While Uzushigakure wasn't the largest of the villages, it was the home of many powerful clans, but one stood out amongst them all…the Uzumaki clan. Over the years, the Uzumaki clan alone had built up a reputation as fierce fighters. While they had been considered powerful users of ninjutsu, their strengths lied in close combat and swordsmanship. But what they were truly known for, and feared for, was their mastery in the art of sealing techniques.

I was in my late teens when I journeyed there, seeking instruction from the renowned sword-master Uzumaki Shuichi; however, that is a tale for another day. Needless to say, it was not an easy task to convince Shuichi-sama to accept me as an apprentice, and it was a much more difficult journey once he did accept me.

"Mifune, again!" my master ordered. We were currently engaging in our morning spars, as we had been for the past seven years since being accepted as his student. I forced myself to my feet, a cry rang out through the courtyard of my master's estate, but it was silenced moments later as a beautiful young woman came out into the courtyard carrying an innocent looking child. The child was but a day old, and it was the first time laying my eyes upon such a gentle being. It was only a day, but this child was already bouncing with energy and even the woman carrying her was having trouble restraining the bundle of energy. The woman in question was the child's mother, Haruo. Both mother and child bore the same red hair upon their head.

"Perhaps we can continue later" my master said to me as he went to see his firstborn great-granddaughter. The way he played with the child was rather humorous yet heartwarming at the same time, seeing such a hardened warrior's exterior melted but the giggles of a newborn.

A few minutes passed and Haruo made her way over to me, carrying her infant daughter before motioning me to take her. "Are you sure?" I asked. As much as I wanted to hold the child, I still felt as if I had no right to take her away from her mother, if even for just a moment.

"Of course, she is your goddaughter after all." I was literally at a loss for words at that time. I knew the family of my master and I had grown close over the years, but never in all my life had I imagined such an honor would have been bestowed upon me. I had expected the role of godfather to go to someone in the family, since the role of godmother went to Shuichi's younger sister, Mito. Yet here I was, standing completely speechless and yet I managed to do the only thing I could…I cried and thanked the family for bestowing me this honor upon me.

Still, if there was one thing that whole event did to me, was it filled me with a sense of hope. You see, during my years in Uzushiogakure, I had fallen in love with a very beautiful woman by the name of Kairi Uzumaki. She had beautiful red hair like the rest of her family, although I still believe to this day that hers was the most beautiful out of all. But the most striking feature was her eyes. They were a soft blue that literally shone when the moonlight reflected off of them. She was the daughter of another prominent family in the Uzumaki clan, until her parents fell honorably saving their comrades from what was believed to be certain death. At the age of 7, she had been taken in by her own godparents, Morio, the son of my master, and his wife Kotori. However, if you didn't know better, you'd think she truly was their daughter. She was treated as such and was loved by everyone. Even Haruo saw her as the younger sister she had always wanted.

To me though, she was an angel that I had never in my wildest dreams ever thought I'd meet. I loved her, and she loved me back. We had grown close over the years and with the family accepting my like they just had by making me little Kushina-chan's godfather, I realized that I finally had the chance to ask Morio and Kotori for Kairi's hand in marriage.

It was just after night fall that I met with Kairi beneath the full moon, to tell her my intentions that I wished to marry her. She would have said yes on the spot, but we both knew that the proper way about this was to obtain the family's permission first.

However, I never got the opportunity as the Bells of Uzu rang out through the night sky. That was the end to Uzushiogakure's last day of peace.

Even now, the reasons are still unknown. Many believe that it was a preemptive strike, with hopes to stem the ever growing power of the Uzumaki clan. It was on that night, that the combined forces of Iwa, Kumo, and numerous smaller nations launched their assault on the great city. Together, they numbered 40,000 strong, almost 10 times the population of Uzushiogakure itself. One thing was certain though; this force was meant to obliterate Uzu from the map.

Their initial strike came hard, but Uzu withstood the attack. You see, the city was protected by numerous sealing arrays that blocked most jutsus, making any sort of long ranged assault ineffective. Likewise, the island which Uzushiogakure was situated on was protected by roaring tides and ripping currents, making sea assaults an unwise plan of attack. The only way on or off the island was across a rather large bridge that stretched between the island and the mainland. Being the only way on or off the island, it was the only logical point of attack for the enemies and as such it was easily defendable.

For the next three days, numerous attempts by the enemy to gain control of the bridge were carried out, but none succeeded. As long as the warriors of Uzu could control the bridge, they could keep the enemy away from the village and the civilians and children.

Now, they could have attacked the enemy head on, but that would have been suicide as even the greatness of the Uzumaki clan couldn't withstand against the combined forces of the elemental nations, at least not until their allies in Konoha and Suna arrived to break the impending siege. So long as they controlled the bridge, they would be able to withstand.

However, there was one thing that Uzu did not count on, and that was the betrayal of one of their own allies…Kiri. As the one nation who had the capabilities to reach the island by sea, the Uzumaki clan had hoped to foster close relations with Kirigakure, even giving them the Seven Swords as a token of friendship, but apparently it was for naught.

On the third day, the ships of Kirigakure were spotted closing in on the island and it was immediately clear to the Uzumakis that they weren't here as allies. What made it worse was the presence of the Rokubi jinchuriki.

You see, the warriors of Uzu could have probably repelled the forces of Kiri while keeping the bridge secure. However, a jinchuriki, and one who could control their biju, was a different story. Even then, the Uzumakis could have probably sealed away the biju before it wiped them out, there most certainly would have been massive casualties on the civilian side, something the people of Uzu were not willing to accept.

It was at that point that the Uzumakis made the decision to abandon Uzu and save the lives of the women and children while challenging the power of their attackers head on. It was on that day, that the Uzumakis would charge forth and make their last stand against the combined forces of the Great Nations and that day that their name would go down in history, a history that had held tightly despite the efforts of some to erase it from the books.

The entire population had gathered just before the bridge ready to move out. For the most part, the army of Uzu would cut a path through the attacking army, providing a route for the civilians and those warriors escorting the civilians to escape towards Konoha. It was at that point that my master approached me.

"Mifune. I am sorry to say that it is today that our paths diverge from one another. While I lead the armies, I want you to help guide those who cannot fight to safety" my master told me. I argued and begged him to reconsider and allow me to fight beside him, but alas it was never destined to happen. While I had grown to love my master and his family, my destiny lied in my own homeland and to ensure that I would eventually guide my own people in the same way he led his. I will never forget my master's last words to me.

"Mifune, it has been an honor to train you these past years. You turned out to be by far a better student than I had ever expected. I wish I could see the day where you raise as fine a student I did, but even I know I will not survive this fight, nor do I want to" he said to me. "I will die proudly by my faith, fighting alongside my comrades who I have served for years, and defending those I hold precious. Help me with ensuring that those I hold precious make it to safety."

While I was not destined to fight alongside my master that day, I knew for a fact that he would be fighting with me, ensuring the safety of those precious to him. As Uzumaki Shuichi went to prepare his comrades, I was approached by his son, Morio.

"Mifune, I would like to ask a favor of you" he said to me. Without hesitation, I accepted his request without even knowing it. "I want you to take care of Kairi for me in my absence. I have always seen her as my daughter and I trust no one else to take as good of care of her as you. I am also aware of the feelings you and Kairi have for one another and I just want you to know there is not a better man for my daughter than you. Should it be your destinies to be together, then I have no reason to oppose."

I was speechless at that point. Despite everything that was occurring, I had gained the approval of Kairi's family and I found myself more determined than ever to see her and the rest of the refugees to safety.

The moment finally came where the forces of Uzushiogakure, led by the Uzumaki clan charged forth across the bridge with the rest of us following closely behind, just in time to avoid being hit by the incoming assault from the Rokubi and Kirigakure from behind.

Clad in sealed armour that gave them protection from most attacks, the forces of Uzushiogakure clashed with the attacking armies, quickly cutting a path through the enemy frontlines and towards Konoha so that the rest of us could escape. With a quick push, we broke through the enemy forces and made a break for Konoha with the majority of the forces taking up position between us and the enemy, blocking their advances to stop us.

We were free, or so I thought. Apparently the enemy had sent multiple units to confront Konoha and stall them from breaking through to aid their allies in Uzu. We ran straight into the back of the enemy guard and immediately found ourselves fighting for our lives.

However, I had promised my master that I would see to the safety of his people and I was not going to lose them, before I dropped over dead myself.

We fought off the enemy assaults with all our might, cutting down their ranks, but sadly not without taking casualties of our own. We fought with all our might but we soon found ourselves overwhelmed, but then…she went down. The very woman I had sworn to protect was struck down before my very eyes, protecting me from an incoming jutsu.

It was then that I am ashamed to say that I lost it, gave into the despair and anger that had been building up inside me throughout the entire battle. I was angry. Angry at the enemy. Angry at the combined forces for attacking. But mostly, I was angry at myself for not being able to protect her.

As one of my comrades finally snapped me back to reality, there were only few of us left in our party who could fight. As we thought we were about to be done in, salvation came in the form of three ninja in particular. Konoha had arrived, to our aid, sending three of their greatest ninja. It was then that I first met master Jiraiya and to this day, I'm still in his debt.

By the time we reached Konoha and had regrouped with the other parties, it was clear that we had all taken many casualties. Some units fared better, some fared worse, some had managed to escape but ended up in different locations, but the important part is we made it. After encountering that enemy resistance en route to Konoha, it was becoming clear that Konoha wouldn't have made it in time to save Uzu from the oncoming assault, as it took Konoha five days to break through the blockade that had prevented them from assisting Uzu.

It wasn't until Konoha was able to break through the blockade that I learned the fate of my master and his valiant comrades.

All of them, Uzumaki or not, fought together as they worked to repel the enemy forces. Even those who were not of Uzumaki blood fought as if they were. They tapped into their very life force to provide themselves with the necessary strength in order to live up to their conviction and prevent the enemy's main forces from getting to those who were retreating to safety.

After two days of constant fighting, much of the Uzu army had fallen, whether it be to a blade or that they had nothing left to give. At that point in time, the enemy army had been reduced down to 33,000, but was still being held back by the remaining 50 members of the Uzu army, all belonging to the Uzumaki clan. It was their renown vitality and skill that had allowed them to survive for so long and still remain standing as if it were just a warm-up and it was exactly that that would make the enemy ever regret the assault in the first place.

The 50 remaining Uzumakis, led by none other than Uzumaki Shuichi, your great-great-grandfather and my master, figured that it was now time for them to show the world that they would never be able to erase the Uzumaki legacy from the history books.

For another two days, the 50 Uzumakis fought side-by-side with their brethren, cutting the enemy forces to half their original numbers. By then, even they were running on fumes, their legendary stamina had carried them far and their knowledge in fuinjutsu was one of the main reasons that they were able to survive against the enemy.

At that time, they had just enough energy to pump into one last seal, one that would ensure their legacy never faded. After saying their final words to their brethren, the remaining Uzumaki took up their positions, forming the symbol of the Uzumaki around a large portion of the enemy's forces with Shuichi-sama taking up the position in the center as they activated their final jutsu, one that would cost the remainder of their energy, but one that would make their enemies know just who exactly they were. Their jutsu went off in a bright flash that could even be seen from here and when the light subsided, the last Uzumakis were gone, taking with them all who were within the area of their seal and leaving behind the symbol of their clan, carved into the very battlefield they had fought on and instantly wiping out any enemies who were standing within the seal.

End Story

* * *

"Woah…" was all Naruto could really say after hearing that.

"If you ever get the chance to travel to the battlefield, there is a tall cliff that if you climb and look down upon the battlefield, you will see the Uzumaki symbol still there, carved into the very earth itself" said Mifune. "They died fighting for what they believed in. They fought for the safety of those they cared about. If it wasn't for them, everyone in Uzu, including myself would have dies at the hands of the combined forces of Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri. It is also believed that if it wasn't for the Uzumaki's battle, the war would have ended differently for Konoha and her allies."

By this time, they had arrived back in Mifune's house and were standing in front of a sliding door that led to Mifune's tranquility garden.

"So, did my story help you understand just where you came from?" asked Mifune.

"I can't believe they were that powerful, and that they were the people they were" said Naruto.

"Neither could the enemy" said Mifune, cracking a rare joke. The laughter quickly subsided and Naruto's expression grievened.

"I'm sorry though that you lost so much in there though. She sounded like an amazing woman, the one you loved" said Naruto.

Mifune could only help but let a small smile creep onto his face. "Who said that part of my story had a sad ending?" With that, Mifune opened the wooden door to his garden and sitting in the middle was an elderly woman with red hair which was tied into a single bun and also reached down to her shoulder-blades. Despite being elderly, she looked no older than her thirties and was as beautiful as the woman Mifune had just described in his story.

"Have you been leaving parts out of your story again dear?" asked the woman.

"Is she? But how?" asked Naruto, mouth agape.

"Jiraiya-sama is not the only Sannin I owe a great debt to. If it had not been for Tsunade-hime and her medical expertise, then the story certainly would have ended differently" said Mifune, as the woman joined Mifune at his side.

"Naruto, this is my wife, Kairi" said Mifune, introducing the redheaded woman to Naruto. "Kairi, I'd like for you to meet Uzumaki Naruto."

"So this is my sister's grandson I've been hearing so much about lately" said Kairi. At this point, Naruto didn't know what to feel. He was happy, but that was probably the biggest understatement of the century. He was actually looking at someone who was close enough to be regarded as family.

"But I thought…"

Kairi just smiled at Naruto's attempted speech. "Thought what, that you were all that was left? There's still a few of us left, Naurto-kun."

"Well, that was tonight's story. I'm certainly willing to share more, but I think it's best we retire, we've got a long day of training ahead of us tomorrow" said Mifune.

"Right!" said Naruto. _"I'll work my ass off and I'll make you all proud"_

* * *

The next months passed incredibly fast for Naruto and when the day before Ero-Sennin was scheduled to return, he found himself actually wanting to stay a bit longer. What was probably the closest thing he knew to family was here in the Land of Iron. He and Hiro's friendship had grown after that night, as did the competition between them. He was even able to coax some more stories out of Mifune and Kairi about the Uzumakis.

However, if there was one thing that grew even faster, it was the total number of bruises Naruto had earned as a result of training, but even then Mifune was impressed by the blonde's progress, although something about Naruto wielding a sword looked almost…unnatural. It wasn't to say that the blonde hadn't become rather skilled in kenjutsu, it was just that it felt like his fighting style was more adept for a different weapon, perhaps a chakra blade. Still, the blonde Uzumaki had picked up more than Mifune thought possible in six months and perhaps it was time for him to come through on the promise he made at the beginning.

Yet again, Mifune heard a knock on the door of his study and his student from Konoha entered. "You wanted to see me, Mifune-sensei?"

"Yes, as you are aware, your master will be arriving tomorrow to resume your training with him. I will say though it has been a pleasure to train you and should you ever wish to continue your training here, you're more than welcome" said Mifune. "Now, I believe I have a promise I must keep to you. When we first met, I said I would tell you more about your sword when I felt you were ready, well I think you're ready to know."

Naruto was ecstatic. He was finally going to know what made his blade so special. "Really? Thank you, Mifune-sensei."

"There is no need to thank me; I feel you've earned it. First understand that the sword you bear is like my sword. It is a Meito, an excellent sword and a unique blade at that. Now, as I have told you repeatedly, every Meito has a name that's associated with it. I have taught you the basics of swordsmanship and I feel that you are ready to advance to the next level. In order to do that, you must be able to show proper respect for your sword and to do that; you need to know its name. Can you tell me your sword's name?" asked Mifune.

Naruto sat for a moment, holding his blade in his lap. Over the past six months, one of the most important lessons Mifune had drilled into the young jinchuriki's head was to listen to your sword and to fight as one with it. Right now, he was trying to do just that, listen to his sword.

It was in the back of his mind that he could barely pick up on a faint voice, but it was there and it wasn't the other voice that he had in his head.

"Arashi, isn't it?" asked Naruto. Mifune couldn't help himself as a warm smile crept onto his face.

"It appears as if my master's sword may have found a potential wielder after all" said Mifune. "You are correct; the sword's name is Arashi. As for the power it possesses, perhaps you could also tell me. I'm sure you've spent countless hours examining the sealing matrix inscribed into the blade."

"I have, but I'm not entirely familiar with the seals on it. I mean they look a lot like the absorption seals I have on some of my special kunai, but it's slightly different" said Naruto. "Wait, does that mean it can absorb enemy jutsus?"

"So it does in fact appear as if we have a seal master in the making. You are close, but they do more than just absorb an enemy jutsu. In fact, it's more like they store it, allowing you to use their own jutsu when you wish and against them" said Mifune. "The reflection seals, like the ones on Arashi, are some of the more powerful seals in the Uzumaki arsenal. The ability to not only absorb an enemy's attack, but turn it completely against them is one of the many reasons why your ancestors were so feared. However, they were extremely complex seals and only my master and his son were able to utilize them to their full potential."

That immediately got Naruto thinking as he reached for his book. For the most part, he had finished studying and learning all of the seals in that book, but something just didn't feel right. He remembered Hiashi mentioning that the strongest seals in the Uzumaki clan were in that book, but after hearing about the seals on his sword, he couldn't recall learning about the reflection seals, and was now thinking he might have missed a few.

Well, I am sorry but I am going to have to call it night, and I suggest you do the same Naruto" said Mifune as Naruto closed his book after not finding anything he missed. With than Naruto rose and bowed to Mifune before leaving, continuing onto his room, but not before running into Hiro.

"Oy Naruto, want to go grab some ramen?" asked Hiro. It wasn't even a question as the two boys were immediately on their way to the ramen stand. However, even there Naruto looked to be in deep thought. "What's up? You've barely touched your ramen. Come on, don't tell me an Uzumaki can't handle a measly bowl of ramen…"

"It's not that. It's this book. I just feel like I'm missing something. I've looked over the seals in this book countless time and there's just something I'm missing. I'm sure of it" said Naruto.

"Hmm…here, let me see" said Hiro, grabbing for the book before Naruto could even answer.

"Hey, what are you doing?! You could…" a tearing sound was heard as Hiro managed to pull off part of the cover. "Now look what you did!"

"Sorry! I didn't think it would rip so easily" apologized Hiro. However, he was right, the cover ripped rather easily and after looking at it further, it even looked as if the cover was meant to rip. Hidden within the cover itself was what looked to be a piece of paper, but as Naruto pulled on it, it became evident that there was a sort of scroll mechanism hidden within the bindings of the book itself and on that piece of paper Naruto pulled out were five more blood seals…the Uzumaki family secret sealing techniques.

"I knew it! I knew I was missing something! These are them, they've gotta be! –ttebayo!" shouted Naruto.

"You know, I think this next round's on you" said Hiro.

That night, Naruto couldn't wait to get started on seeing just what sort of awesome techniques had been hidden within the book. Just as he was about to unseal the first scroll, a frantic knocking was heard on his door and he could clearly make out Ero-Sennin's voice on the other side.

"Hey Ero-Sennin! I found them, I found the Uzumaki secret sealing techniques!" declared Naruto.

"Naruto we need to…what?" asked Jiraiya, who was taken aback slightly by Naruto's find. "Never mind, there's no time for that. I checked in with my sources and it appears Iwa did in fact send a team to hunt you down. We need to get out of here quick; it appears as if they'll be here by tomorrow."

"Well can't we just kick their asses and send em back crying?" asked Naruto.

"Against a normal team, maybe; but I know who they sent" said Jiraiya.

"So it appears my scouts' reports are correct as well" said Mifune, approaching Jiraiya and Naruto. "I just received word of a unit of Iwa ninja approaching the border of the Land of Iron."

"Yeah, I can't believe they actually sent HIM" said Jiraiya.

"Who?" asked Naruto.

"His name's Han of the Steam Armour. Coincidentally, he's also the jinchuriki of the Gobi."

Naruto's eyes widened at that statement. "We can take them, right Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto.

Jiraiya shook his head. "I highly doubt that. Even I would be hard-pressed against him and I don't think I could actually beat him, just survive long enough to escape. There's only one thing I can think of that will allow you to fight on even grounds with him, but we need to get out of here first. There are too many people here and if we fight, there's bound to be casualties."

"_I can't believe it's actually come to this, but if Iwa's truly starting to come after Naruto with full force, then it can't be helped" _thought Jiriaya. "Mifune-sama, thank you for helping my young apprentice, but it appears as if our time here has come to an end."

"I understand. I wish you the best in your future endeavors and just know Naruto that you'll always be welcome here" said Mifune.

"Thank you, Mifune-sensei. Thank you for everything you've given me, it really means a lot" said Naruto.

"So you're leaving without saying goodbye?" called out Hiro from down the hall.

"I am, but don't worry, I'll come back and when I do, I'll kick your ass!" declared Naruto.

"Pft, yeah right. Besides I'm going to be the one to become shogun before you become Hokage!" declared Hiro.

"Is that a challenge?" asked Naruto.

"It's not a challenge, it's a truth. One that you're just going to have to eat" replied Hiro.

"Oh it's so on" said Naruto as he and Hiro glared at each other and lightning bolts shot out of their eyes, connecting in the middle.

"Naruto, let's go. We need to try and put some distance between us and the Iwa chasers so that we're ready for them" said Jiraiya.

* * *

_**Author Notes**_

Well, there's chapter 64.

So now Naruto's got the ability to use the sword. I know I didn't show too much of the training, but the important aspect was that story of Mifune's, finally giving a little bit of history regarding the Uzumaki clan, and even Mifune's connection with the clan. And yes, the reason Hiro likes ramen so much is that he does in fact have Uzumkai blood.

As Kairi mentioned there are still a few Uzumakis throughout the world. Besides the ones in the Land of Iron, there's Naruto, Nagato, Karin, and a few others who may come in later chapters.

At this point in time, about a year and a half have passed since Naruto left Konoha. He is currently 14 years in age and has grown considerably since the start of his trip.

Things are starting to pick up again with Iwa finally catching up with Naruto and Jiraiya. How will things turn out and what will happen when Iwa catches their prey. Stay tuned for the next chapter…

Please remember to review.


	65. Hakke Fuin

Okay, so it may have come off last chapter that Han appears to b stronger than Jiraiya. While that is not the case, he is one of the few ninja in the world who can give Jiraiya a good run for his money. Hopefully the chapter will explain a little better, but Jiraiya does have Naruto he has to worry about. Just because he can take Han and his accomplices does not mean he can do so without putting Naruto at serious risk.

Just going to address a comment or two before I start.

** Larry: ** So yes, the Mito I referred to in the previous chapter is the same Mito Uzumaki who married Hashirama Senju. To put the Uzumaki family tree in perspective, you have Shuichi Uzumaki (Naruto's great-great-grandfather). Shuichi's son is Morio (great-grandfather). Morio's daughter is Harou and she was married to Hayase Uzumaki (Naruto's grandparents). Their daughter was Kushina (mother). Seeing as Tsunade is Mito's granddaughter that puts her in the same generation as Naruto's grandparents AND closely related to Naruto. While she is not Naruto's real Baachan, she's pretty damn close, close enough to warrant the 'Baachan' from Naruto. And regarding Kairi, she was adopted, kind of, but she's still an Uzumaki and that makes Naruto and Hiro second cousins in a sense.

** Narutofan306: ** Karin is going to be integrated into the story in the beginning of the 3rd book. She will play the same role as Naruto's fangirls, to add some drama to the relationship, but Sasuke's love interest will be Sakura (SasuSaku). Pairing wise, I've got most of them figured out if they haven't been introduced already. I think the only one I'm still struggling to come up with for is Sai.

** NaruHinalover20:** Let's just say I don't plan on testing out Arahshi vs. Tailed Beast Ball for some time yet.

** arb6646:** There is still a lot of mystery surrounding the Mist and it is supposed to be that way. I do have plans for them that will be revealed in time.

* * *

**Chapter 65: Hakke Fuin**

Iwagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Rocks, the strongest of the Five Great Nations…or at least they used to be until their encounter with the Yellow Flash of Konoha during the Third Shinobi World War. It was during this war, that Namikaze Minato singlehandedly wiped out a large portion of Iwa's army and sent the village into a long period of decline. Even to this day, the village was still suffering and it only got worse. They thought the threat of the Yellow Flash and Konoha's Namikaze family had passed. The space-time users had plagued Iwa for too long, and they thought with the death of the Yondaime Hokage, the Namikaze were finally no more. That is, until 15 of their genin died at the hands of a child who bore a shocking resemblance to the man all of Iwa loathed. Now, Iwa wanted blood and they aimed to get it. Iwa had unleashed four of their most powerful warriors to track down and eliminate this new threat before it could manifest into something that would bite them in the ass…hard.

The first of the four was Okami Kenta, the wolf master of Iwa. Yes, this man was the father of Kucha, one of the 15 genin who fell before Team 7 during the second round of the chunin exams. If there was anyone who wanted blood, it was this man. The second was a man by the name of Yurei Gorou. This man belonged to one of Iwa's infamous clans who possessed an even more infamous bloodline that allowed this man to practically become a ghost at will, making he and his kin a deadly foe to anyone without strong sensory abilities as invisibility was one of the techniques associated with this bloodline. The third member of Iwa's famous Baku clan, bearers of the feared explosion-release kekkei genkai. Baku Jin was his name. The last and final member of this team was one who didn't want to be near his three teammates at all. The only reason he had even agreed to come long was to gain his freedom from the village that had tormented and ostracized him for so long. The fourth member was none other than Han of the Steam Armour, jinchuriki of the Gobi.

These four had been sent to bring down the vengeance of Iwa. The target of Iwa's vengeance…one Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto.

They had tracked the young Namikaze to the Land of Snow/Spring in the north where they were able to gain a lead on his whereabouts…the Land of Iron. By the time they arrived in the Land of Iron, it was clear their target had already left, but the good news was that he was maybe only a day ahead of them at most. The bad news, he knew they were after him now. The foxhunt was on…figuratively speaking (and literally to some extent).

* * *

As it was, both Naruto and Jiriaya had just crossed the southern border of the Land of Iron and were now speeding through the Land of Stars. It had been almost a day since they left Sangaku and Naruto had already received the memories from the first of his shadow clones, indicating that Iwa was now hot on their trail.

As more clones dispelled, it was clear that Iwa was gaining ground on them.

"_Damn, at this rate they'll catch us. I had been hoping to put some ground between us and them to give ample time to prepare, but sadly that's not appearing to be the case_." The Iwa ninja were traveling much faster than Jiraiya had expected, almost as if they had five tails worth of horsepower propelling them forth. Foxes might be quick and agile, especially in close quarters, but in a flat out land race, the horse was far superior.

Jiraiya knew they weren't going to escape their pursuers, especially not with the Okami clan tracking them. The Okami clan of Iwa was the only clan who rivaled the Inuzukas in tracking throughout the elemental nations and at the rate with which they were catching up, there was no way they'd be able to out maneuver their pursuers. Jiraiya's best bet now was to find a suitable place and use whatever remaining time they had to prepare for the oncoming attack. He figured that he could probably take on the three ANBU, but by adding Han into the equation, that added a whole nother element into the mix.

Rumors out of Iwa were that Han had gained complete control over the Gobi, making him the third known true jinchuriki behind both Killer Bee and Yugito of Kumo. If that truly was the case, then Jiraiya couldn't afford to hold back against Han. A true jinchuriki such as Han would require everything Jiraiya had, and even then there was still one other problem.

If he was their target, things would be different, but their target was Naruto and he had to fight to protect the blonde. While he could fight them, he wasn't entirely confident in his ability to keep them all at bay and away from Naruto. Naruto would most likely be required to fight as well and given who Iwa had sent, brought a difficult decision upon Jiraiya.

Jiraiya eventually realized that it was probably about time to pop Naruto's seal, giving the blonde the power he would need to defend himself against the best Iwa could throw at him, such as a fully transformed Han if it came to that. Even if Han didn't, go biju mode, Iwa was now on the move against Naruto and the blonde jinchuriki would need all the help he could get.

Despite the contract and all the help the Kyuubi had been offering Naruto, Jiraiya still didn't fully trust the Kyuubi, but as the clone that was only 12 hours behind them suddenly popped, and Jiraiya was now left with no other option. If the Toad Sennin waited much longer, not only would he not have enough time to release Naruto's seal, but also gather enough natural chakra to summon the two honored toad sages to help him out. He also had to get somewhere where a large scale battle could take place without too many disruptions.

As some more time passed, the Konoha duo eventually came into a large uninhabited valley and Naruto's next clone popped, indicating that they only had a few hours at most before the Iwa team arrived.

"Ero-Sennin, why did we stop?" asked Naruto.

"Because kid, I don't think running's going to get us anywhere now" replied Jiraiya.

"But what you said back in the Land of Iron two days ago…you didn't think you could take them" said a concerned Naruto.

"I could take them, but I'm not sure I could while protecting you at the same time" said Jiraiya. "I can't think of any more options Naruto. I could try to reverse-summon you back to Mt. Myoboku, but I need to get permission from the toads first and the rate at which they get stuff like that done makes even Tsunade-hime look like a professional at doing paperwork."

"So what are we going to do?" asked Naruto.

"We're going to have to fight" said Jiraiya. "And there's only one thing I can think of right now that'll help you survive should it happen that I can't manage to keep all four of them away from you."

"What do you mean?"

"Summoning Jutsu!" shouted Jiraiya as he slammed his hand into the ground and a familiar scroll-like toad appeared.

"What's up Jiraiya?" asked Gerotora.

"Naruto and I have found ourselves in a tight mess that requires drastic measures" said Jiraiya.

"And by drastic measures, you mean…" replied Gerotora.

"Yeah, I need you to give him the key to his seal" said Jiraiya. Naruto's eyes immediately shot open upon hearing this and he wasn't the only one in shock at Jiraiya's statement. Kurama was currently checking his hearing, or the connection he had with Naruto's senses. Did he hear right? Was the seal going to be released?

"You're joking, right?" asked Gerotora.

"I'm afraid not" said Jiraiya.

A few moments of silence between Jiraiya and Gerotora ensued before the toad burst out shouting. "ARE YOU CRAZY? THIS IS REMOVING ANY RESTRICTION ON THE KYUUBI OF ALL THINGS HERE!"

"I know, but we need his power right now" said Jiraiya.

"Just what sort of situation have you gotten yourself into this time? Don't tell me you're going to use the Kyuubi to protect yourself from being beaten every time you get caught peeping" asked Gerotora.

"It's nothing like that. Look, Iwa found out about Naruto's heritage and they've sent people after him. If we don't do this now, we're screwed" said Jiraiya.

"You're telling me you, the _Great Toad Sage_ can't handle a couple of lousy Iwa ninja?" asked Gerotora.

"They sent Han" said Jiraiya, instantly shutting Gerotora up.

"As in Han of the Steam Armour?" Jiraiya nodded.

"I see, you really are in a bundle then" said Gerotora. "Wait, couldn't you just reverse summon Naruto back to Mt. Myoboku?"

"I've already thought about that and you know how fast the Great Toad Sage moves on stuff like that" said Jiraiya.

"Yeah, I suppose that option's out then" replied Gerotora.

"Besides, if we don't do anything about them now, they're just going to keep coming after us and that means Konoha might even have to deal with another biju attack if they decide to use Han to attack Konoha directly" said Jiraiya.

"Hold on, I thought Han hated Iwa. Why's he helping them out?" asked Gerotora.

"I don't know. Perhaps the Tsuchikage struck a deal to allow him to leave or something" replied Jiraiya. "Look, I wouldn't be asking this if I didn't have any other option."

"I see, very well then" replied Gerotora as he unfurled himself, revealing the key to Naruto's seal.

"Naruto, what you do now with the seal is up to you. I trust you to make the right decision with it, whether you feel that is releasing the seal or not. But I just want to make one thing clear between the Kyuubi and myself" said Jiraiya. "If he so much as thinks of harming you or any of Konoha, I will seal him away for eternity in a seal that makes even your mother's seal look like a five-star resort."

Upon hearing that, Kurama cringed at the mentioning of Kushina's seal. Those were by far the worst couple of years of his entire life. Spikes were driven through his tails and limbs and he even had a large spike through his chest. And then there were chains that were so tight that they actually dug into him every time he even tried to breathe. The worst part of it however was the isolation. Unlike Naruto's seal, Kushina's was, for the most part, seperate from hers consciousness. Even he liked to have some interaction with his tenant and the outside world, which Naruto had been gracious enough to allow after they first met. He could have only come to Kurama whenever he needed chakra and stop it there, but the blonde kept the mental link open and didn't try to block out the link between their senses, except for those times when he'd tease his blonde vessel while on a date with Hinata, but that was different.

"He understands Ero-Sennin, and so do I" said Naruto. "Don't worry; I won't disappoint you or anyone."

"Okay. I trust you, Naruto" said Jiraiya as he motioned to Gerotora.

"Now, just channel some chakra into the seal on me" instructed Gerotora as Naruto did what he was told. As he did that, the sealing matrix for the key appeared on his right arm. "Well, I guess that's it. Looks like I'll be going into storage then."

"Storage?" asked Naruto.

Gerotora nodded. "Yep, now just open wide and say 'ah'." For some bizarre reason, Naruto did as the toad asked and the next moment, he found himself with a toad jammed down his throat and Kurama bursting out in tears and laughter at the scene. A few moments of choking later, and Naruto was making sure to take frog legs off of his 'things-to-try' list.

"You okay?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yeah, just promise me I'm never going to have to swallow a whole toad again" replied Naruto.

"I'm going to go on ahead a little, see if I can set some traps and prepare for when they come" said Jiraiya. "You do understand what's at stake here. If given the chance, those guys will kill you. I'm going to go prepare, I suggest you do the same."

With that, Jiraiya left to go prepare himself for what was likely going to be his most difficult battle since when he failed to stop Orochimaru from leaving. He knew what the upcoming battle involved. He would need to keep Han and his three companions at bay best he could, but even then he was afraid one of them would slip through and get to Naruto.

Naruto sat down to reflect what it was that Jiraiya had exactly done. Jiraiya had just given him the key to completely open his and Kurama's seal without any sort of worry of a failsafe activating. The only question that remained is would he? It was clear that Ero-Sennin still didn't quite trust the Kyuubi, but Naruto was a different story.

He may seem like a trusting individual, but in reality there were very few people Naruto truly trusted, thanks to all the times he had been betrayed and tormented as a child. Iruka-sensei, the Ichirakus, Ero-Sennin, and Baachan were probably the most obvious on that list. After that nearly disastrous birthday, Hinata-chan found herself on that exclusive list. She had never been mean at all to him and it was that trust that he had in her that ultimately led to their relationship forming. Following the chunin exams in Kumo, his own team made their way onto that list, showing him that they wouldn't abandon him regardless of the danger, and the fact that he trusted them was shown by the revealing of his largest secrets to them. And then there was one more…

Ever since their first meeting in the Land of Waves, Kurama had, for the most part, been nothing but helpful to Naruto. If it wasn't for Kurama, he and his teammates probably wouldn't have survived against Orochimaru or Gaara in the first chunin exams. And then there was the time when they encountered the Sound Four and Sasuke was nearly killed. Naruto knew how much Kurama hated the Sharringan and the Uchiha, due to this entire mess he was in being the result of a certain Uchiha's actions. Kurama could have just let Sasuke bleed out, yet he decided to give Naruto the necessary power to save his friend. And then there was the chunin exam in Kumo. Had it not have been for the giant furball, he would not have survived against the Rokubi jinchuriki, and neither would Tenten, Ino, nor Chouji. Hell, Naruto had even accepted the fact that Kurama had a hand/paw in getting he and Hinata together.

The only thing that Kurama did do to Naruto that shook their trust was not tell the blonde about his mother or the fact that his mother was his previous jinchuriki, yet they had plenty of time to talk that over and work things out.

Most people saw Kurama as a demonic entity filled with hate and rage, however Naruto saw something much different. Kurama never wanted to attack the village in the first place and Naruto could easily tell that was the one thing he regretted the most…allowing himself to be controlled like he did. For some reason, Kurama had been the one to come forth and make the deal with Naruto. It had started off as a selfish bargain, Naruto accepting because of the promise of gaining power to become Hokage and Kurama accepting because of the prospect of freedom, but it quickly evolved into something much more. To best explain it, Naruto and Kurama had practically become brothers in a sense. They had their fun, their arguments, they teased one another but they had each other's backs when it came down to it.

In truth, there really was no choice for Naruto to make, and he could also tell that Ero-Sennin knew this as well. The Toad Sage was just trying to satisfy any doubts he may still have before the moment came.

Naruto sat down and meditated, as he ventured into his subconsciousness.

* * *

Naruto's mindscape,

"**Well, I see that pervert's finally given you the key"** said Kurama. Naruto held out his right hand and the seal matrix of the key appeared. Even to Naruto, it was a truly complex sealing matrix, and if the key was that complex, he could only imagine what the seal itself was like. The seal that his dad designed really must have been something. **"So what are you going to do? You going to keep me locked up in here any longer or are you going to give me a bit more room to move?"**

"You already know what I'm going to do. Regardless of what everyone initially thought, you've never been some 'demon fox' in my eyes. You've always been my comrade and even more than that, you've kind of been like a brother to me" replied Naruto. "You and I've been through much together, so if you're ready move forward, I'm ready to pop that damned seal off."

"**Heh…you certainly are an interesting one, Uzumaki Naruto. You always have been. You've shown countless times that no matter what's thrown at you, you'll find a way to persevere. Yet I know that the challenges you have yet to face are going to be more difficult than anything you've ever faced"** replied Kurama as he lifted his hand/paw and stuck it through the bars and balled it into a fist before Naruto. **"I'm ready, let's show these Iwa bastards just who exactly their messing with and perhaps I can have some fun with Kokuo again. He always was a fun one to fight."**

Naruto grinned at this and bumped fists with Kurama, showing the bond that had developed between the two. Following that, Kurama opened up his hand, which Naruto stepped on as the blonde was lifted up to the tag on the gate that read 'seal'. With the key activated, he reached out to grab hold of and rip off the tag that had been holding Kurama's gate closed.

However, before he could manage to do such, he felt something grab onto his wrist and pull him away and to the floor of the seal.

"**It can't be…"**

As Naruto opened his eyes to see what, or who had just pulled him away from the seal, his eyes widened in shock upon seeing the man wearing a long white cloak with blonde spiky hair just like his. Naruto knew this man, if only from pictures and from what he had been told by Kakashi-sensei and Ero-Sennin. The man standing in front of him was…

"Dad…"

"**Yondaime…"**

"I've been wondering why I'd appear here" spoke the Yondaime.

"W-what? But how?" gasped Naruto.

"It was one last failsafe worked into the seal. I sealed some of my own chakra into the seal so I'd appear if the seal was ever about to be broken or release. What would happen when I showed up would depend on the circumstances" explained Minato. "And give me at least one chance to meet my son."

"Tou-chan…"

"I see you know who I am. I'm glad that someone told you. I was afraid I was going to show up and you'd have no clue who I was" said the Yondaime. However, the face of Namikaze Minato sullied a little. By having been sealed inside his son who kept the seal open to his memories, Minato knew some of the pain and loneliness that his son had gone through. "Naruto, I'm…"

Minato was cut off as Naruto's fist slammed into his father's stomach and Kurama did everything in his power to hold back the laughter. "Why the fuck did you have to seal the Kyuubi inside me?! Do you know what sort of hell I've been through because of that?!" shouted Naruto before he started to cry.

"Naruto, I know I've caused you a lot of pain. I honestly wish I could have been a better father, but all I can do now is apologize" said Minato.

"No it's okay. I was told why you did it and I don't blame you. In all honesty, I'm kind of glad you did" said Naruto, earning a curious look from his father. "In all honesty, being a jinchuriki isn't all that bad. If it wasn't for that, I don't think I ever would have gotten the chance to form the bonds I did. Ero-Sennin, Baachan, Iruka-sensei, all of my friends, Hinata-chan…"

"Hold on a moment…wasn't Hinata what Hiashi was going to name his first daughter?" asked Minato with a gleam in his eye. "This isn't the same Hinata I'm thinking about is it?"

"**Someday he and that vixen are going to have little kitlings together."** Kurama's comment cause a red blush to creep onto Naruto's face and Minato couldn't help but laughing.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with Hinata-chan? She's nice, pretty, smart…"

"**Don't forget has a nice body that's going to be sexy as hell one day."**

"Don't you even start, you ero-Kitsune!" retorted Naruto, however he wasn't denying any of Kurama's comments. It had started off as small remarks, but ever since the trip with Jiraiya started, Kurama had been acting a bit more perverted. Naruto was becoming convinced he and Ero-Sennin were somehow in cahoots with one another. "And what are you laughing at?"

"Oh it's nothing. I just remembered a few jokes Hiashi and I made about our children ever getting together. I can't believe it actually happened" laughed Minato. A few more seconds and the laughter stopped.

"So why exactly are you here? You mentioned something to do with the seal?" asked Naruto.

"Yes. As I said, I sealed away a small portion of my chakra into your seal before completing the seal so that I would appear if your seal was ever about to be release or broken. You see, I knew that the Kyuubi was being controlled when he attacked Konoha 14 years ago so when I placed the seal on you, I also gave the Kyuubi one chance" explained Minato.

"**Chance?"** asked Kurama. **"What are you getting at, Yondaime?"**

"You see, I knew my son would need your powers someday, when he was confronted by a foe that no one who didn't have a unique set of abilities could face him" said Minato. Immediately, Kurama knew who he was talking about. "Yes, it's the masked man who was the one behind the attack. He's no ordinary man, and I couldn't even defeat him, only force him to retreat."

"**So what's this have to do with the seal and this chance you're talking about?"**

"Ah yes, you see the moment I appear, which happens to be now, a decision was to be made regarding your fate. As I said, I knew you weren't mindlessly attacking my village so I gave you a chance. I gave you the chance to help my son. If you did so, then I have a seal set up somewhere in the Land of Ages where you will be resurrected only a few days after Naruto dies, and it had better be as an old man, so that you don't get resealed and have a chance to live free again. Though, I cannot guarantee whatever fate befalls you after that" explained Minato. "However, if you tried to force your way out of the seal then the seal itself would effectively sap you of all of your chakra, giving it to Naruto to use while you just withered away within the seal until the rest of your being was claimed by the Shinigami himself."

"And that decision?" asked Naruto, desperately hoping things wouldn't go terribly bad for Kurama.

"It was made the day the two of you agreed to that contract…" Minato was cut off.

"**Wait, so does that mean you made the contract?"** asked Kurama.

"I did. And so long as you honor your end of the agreement, I have seen to it that you'll be set free in time" said Minato. Naruto could only help but stare in awe at his dad's work. This seal was more impressive than Naruto had initially thought if it was capable of doing something like Minato had just described. "I'll disable the failsafe, but you're going to have to wait a little longer, Kyuubi. My chakra's limited and I want to use the remaining time I have left to get to know my son, if only a little." With a snap of his finger, the sealing tag on the cage burst into flames revealing the spiraled locking mechanism of the cage underneath.

"**You do realize we don't have a lot of time…"**

"I do. Another thing I can only apologize for. I had wished that Iwa would have waited longer, but it appears as if their hatred is stronger than I had originally thought" said Minato. "Still, this is the only chance I have and before we leave, and there is one person I want to introduce to you, son. Someone who I think you've been dying to meet for years."

"Huh?" asked Naruto. With that, Minato snapped his fingers and Naruto's mindscape immediately changed from the flame-lit chamber where Naruto was originally into a sort of white space. "Where are we?"

"Naruto"

Naruto's eyes snapped open and tears came to his eyes as he eyed the beautiful red-headed woman standing in front of him. "It can't be…"

"Naruto, I'd like for you to meet…" Minato didn't have time to finish as Naruto ran forward and wrapped the woman standing in front of him in a big hug.

"Kaa-chan"

"Well, at least he didn't punch you in the gut" said Minato.

"I've always wanted to see you, -ttebayo!" declared Naruto.

"-ttebayo? Oh dear, you did take after me then" sighed Kushina.

"There's so many things that I've always wanted to ask the two of you!" said Naruto, enthusiastically.

"Well, seeing as I don't need to use any chakra to rebuild the seal, we've got more time to get to know our son" said Minato.

"Hmm…" Naruto was in deep thought, earning a curious look from both of his parents. "Yep, I do wish I would have gotten your hair." Minato faulted at this and Kushina could only help but laugh.

"What's wrong with my hair?" asked Minato.

"Well, for one it's impossible to straighten out or comb" argued Kushina before turning back to Naruto. "You know, you're the second one to compliment my hair."

"Huh? Really? Who was the first?" asked Naruto. Kushina just pointed to Naruto's other side, where Minato had taken a seat next to Naruto as did Kushina. "You know, there's something I've always wanted to ask you two if I ever got the chance. How did you and dad fall in love?"

"What?! It's kind of embarrassing, -ttebane" said Kushina.

"-ttebane?" asked Naruto before breaking out into laughter.

"Oh just tell him honey, It's not that embarrassing" replied Minato.

"Well, I guess" said Kushina.

* * *

Jiraiya had just finished tagging the entrance area to the valley he and Naruto had stationed themselves in before falling back. Those traps would buy them some more time and hopefully injure them if only slightly.

Currently, the Toad Sennin was sitting on top of a rock perfectly still with his hands together, as he gathered enough natural energy to summon the Two Great Toad Sages to assist him. Jiraiya cracked his eyes, if only slightly, as a sound rang from in front of him. His traps were being sprung and the enemy would be here momentarily.

Slowly, a thick veil of fog, or in this case steam, rolled over the clearing where Jiraiya was sitting and before anyone could see what had happening, a powerful fist slammed itself down upon Jiraiya, causing the earth to buckle beneath him. The strength of the hit was almost Tsunade-level and the attacker, wearing red armour with steam emitting from the junctions in the armour, smiled. He had just gotten the legendary Jiraiya of the Sannin with one blow, or so he thought.

"Fuinjutsu: Ensnaring seal!"

The ground beneath the attacker glowed and black sealing chains erupted from the seal that had formed beneath the red giant's feet, ensnaring Han of the Steam Armour in his tracks.

"Really lad, I don't know why you even needed to summon us here. I was in the middle of cooking dinner" bickered Shima, now sitting upon a sage-mode Jiraiya's shoulder. Jiraiya wasn't in the location he should have been, but was now standing upon a tree overlooking the clearing Han was now trapped in.

"Don't underestimate him Ma. Han of the Steam Armour is one of the most powerful shinobi from Iwa" said Fukasaku. "Although she is right you know, you really should learn how to enter sage-mode on your own Jiraiya-chan."

"But why is he after you?" asked Shima.

"It's not me who's their target, it's Naruto" replied Jiraiya.

"You mean your student and Minato's boy?" asked Fukasaku. Jiraiya merely nodded. "I see…"

"But I still don't see why we're needed here. I was in the middle of backing a casserole and now it's going to get burnt" replied Shima.

"Now's not the time you should be worrying about your grasshopper casserole Ma" argued Fuksaku.

"He's right. Iwa's sent four of their strongest after Naruto and if we're not careful, they could actually get to him" said Jiraiya as he looked down to Han, who was just standing there, looking up at the Toad Sennin calmly. "Besides…rumor has it that Han has recently succeeded in gaining control over the Gobi."

"I see…so he's the Gobi jinchuriki" said Fukasaku.

"Yeah, and it doesn't help that…" Jiraiya was interrupted as he ducked just in time to miss the slash of a blade that came out of nowhere. As Jiraiya turned around to see who had just attacked him, he couldn't see anyone, but his enhanced sensory abilities from Sage-mode were telling him otherwise. Jiraiya jumped back just to avoid another knife strike that would have more than likely given him two hearts.

"Whose there, Jiraiya-chan?" asked Fukasaku.

"If I'm correct, his name is Yurie Gorou" said Jiraiya. "The Ghost Blade of Iwa."

As Jiraiya landed, he was hit in the back by a fist, followed by a subsequent explosion. But Jiraiya 'poofed' away just as the explosion went off and a log was shattered into thousands of splinters.

Elsewhere in the forest, Jiraiya hopped down from a tree following his substitution. "Yurie Gorou and Baku Jin" said Fukasaku. "Iwa's really pulling out all the stops if they sent those two along with Han." Both Gorou and Jin were high A-ranked shinobi out of Iwa, on the verge of S-rank. Han was already low S-rank, but if he had control over the Gobi, that would most certainly not help the situation.

"Summoning Jutsu: Wolf's Den!"

Before Jiraiya could react, he and the two Toad Sages were surrounded by nearly a dozen enormous wolves. "Welcome to my den, Jiraiya of the Sannin. Here, I'm the alpha and you're nothing more than an afternoon snack to my pets."

"Okami Kenta as well. Certainly is an interesting combination Iwa sent" muttered Fukasaku.

With a quick flash of his hands, the wolves all pounced Jiraya, causing the Toad Sage to jump away and retreat as the wolves quickly followed suit. The Wolf-master smiled as he actually had the Legendary Jiraiya on the run, or so he thought.

A frantic Jiraiya came to a stop as he hit a dead end in the small canyon in which he was chased into.

"Well, had I known the _Great Jiraiya_ could have been beaten this easily, I would have had Tsuchikage-sama send an assassination team after you earlier" smirked Kenta from atop one of his wolves. Now, an experienced ninja such as Kenta should have known that nothing is as it seems when it comes to ninja. However, the entire hunt that had taken place over the past few hours had the wolf master seeing red and only seeing an easy kill. That mistake would prove to be fatal.

"Senpo: Goemon!"

Kenta's eyes only had time to widen before he and his pack were slammed from behind by a massive wave of supercharged, boiling oil. 'Jiraiya' got hit with the jutsu, but disappeared as he had only been a shadow clone. The wolf pack had tried to run away in time to get away from Jiraiya's jutsu, but there was no escape, seeing as they had trapped themselves and the Wolf Master of Iwa soon found himself facing the same fate his own son had faced about two years ago.

"Well, one down, but he never really was the one I was worried about" said Jiraiya as he looked through a gap in the trees to see Han, who was still just standing there in Jiraiya's seal. That was what troubled Jiraiya the most, the fact that Han wasn't struggling to break free.

Jiraiya's attention snapped back to the current situation at hand as he just barely dodged a fatal blow from a knife slash. Still, it was enough to leave a good sized cut along the back of his shoulder. _"Damn, Yurei and Baku are the ones I need to watch out for. If I can't do something about them, I don't think I'll get a good shot at Han."_

"Jumping around like this swinging at nothing ain't gonna get us nowhere" said Shima.

"Don't strain yourself Ma, you'll just give yourself more wrinkles" commented Fukasaku.

"Shaddap, Pa! I know what I'm doin!" argued Shima as her tongue emerged from her mouth and began sniffing around before it locked onto Yurei's location. With blazing speed, the tongue wrapped its self around Yurei's body and sprayed some sort of liquid over the Iwa shinobi.

"What the fuck is this stuff?!" swore Yurei as he found himself unable to go invisible again.

"I got him" said Pa as he shot a highly compressed jet of water towards Yurei. The Iwa 'Ghost' just smirked and the water passed directly through him and he slipped out of Shima's binding. _"Hmm…this guy certainly is troubling."_

"_Okay, I think I'm starting to figure this guy out a little, thanks to what my spy network was able to get me regarding the Yurei clan. The two main abilities of their bloodline are invisibility and intangibility. Ma was able to catch him while he was invisible, which means he wasn't intangible then. That probably means he can't do intangible and invisible at the same time"_ analyzed Jiraiya as he tried to figure out Iwa's famed Ghost Body bloodline. _"Likewise, if I can't attack him while he's intangible, that means he shouldn't be able to attack me, making it so that he has to become tangible again in order to attack. The only question is how long does it take in-between switching tangibility?"_

Jiraiya was forced to cut his train of thought as the ground beneath him shuttered and erupted in a massive explosion, uprooting the earth around Jiraiya and forcing him into the air. He saw Baku jumping towards him and Fukasaku shot out his own tongue, grabbing hold of a tree just as Baku swung his fist, missing Jiraiya.

"_I say we fight firepower with a little firepower. A senjutsu-enhanced __Exploding Clone__ should do the trick_" thought Jiraiya as he made what appeared to be a normal shadow clone and sent it towards Baku.

"You think a measly clone can withstand my explosive fists?" scoffed Baku, feeling almost insulted. He took the bait. "Bakuton: Landmine Fist!" The explosive fist connected with Jiraiya's clone and an even larger explosion erupted.

The Landmine Fist was designed to direct the explosion away from the user, minimizing any potential recoil. However, the power of Jiraiya's senjutsu-enhanced Exploding Clone was enough to overpower the momentum of Baku's blast and hit him with a good portion of recoil, sending the explosion-user sailing back into the trunk of a rather large tree.

"Now then, all that's left is you" said Jiraiya, turning to Yurei.

"_Damnit. With this stuff still on me, I can't go invisible. At least I can still go intangible. If he can't beat me, then he can't get to stopping Han from killing the last of the Namikaze plague"_ thought Yurei.

Yurei ran towards Jiraiya and Jiraiya prepared to counter Yurei's attack, hoping to be able to be able to take advantage of when Yurei struck. However, Yurei didn't strike out at Jiraiya, he simply went straight through the Toad Sennin, sending a disturbed chill down Jiraiya's back. As soon as Yurei had completely passed through Jiraiya, he gave the toad sage a good fast kick in the back, sending Jiraiya stumbling forward. Yurei saw this opening that had been created and proceeded to run Jiraiya through with his blade. However, a grin appeared on Jiraiya's face as he disappeared in a puff of smoke, being replaced by a tagged log.

"Senpo: Demonic Binding Seal!" called out Jiraiya as the seal he had on the log lit up and ensnaring seal sealing chains wrapped themselves around Yurei.

"You're not getting out of that anytime soon. I suggest you just relax until I get back" said Jiraiya.

"Oh yeah?!" Yurei laughed out. "You think this can hold me?" The 'ghost' tried to go intangible but was stopped the moment a shocking jolt of energy was sent through his system from the seal, preventing him from activating his bloodline.

"Are you sure you needed us, Jiraya-chan? It seems like you could have taken those three by yourselves" commented Fukasaku.

"You're probably right about that, Pa. But it's Han I'm going to need the help with" said Jiraiya as he approached the clearing where Han was still ensnared by Jiraiya's initial seal. As he reached the clearing, Jiraiya began charging up a sage-powered, oversized Rasengan before running at Han before the giant of a jinchuriki could make a move.

"I'm sorry, but I won't let you or your comrades hurt Naruto" said Jiraiya as he thrust the oversized spiraling sphere into Han. "Senpo: Ulta-Big Ball Reasengan!"

However, even Jiraiya didn't think it would have been that easy as Han simply exploded into a cloud of steam, indicating that the person Jiraiya had captured at the beginning was a steam clone. The steam clone had exploded upon impact, covering the entire area in steam and clouding Jiraiya's vision.

"Oh, this steam will do wonders fer your wrinkles Ma" said Fukasaku.

Jiraiya wasn't having any of the old toads' bickering as he was now in the middle of a gigantic steam cloud with no idea where exactly Han was. His answer, though, came to him when he felt a strong kick strike him upside the back and send him flying. The steam that was backing the kick also served to cause a nice burn on his mid-back. Had it not have been for the increased durability he gained in Sage-mode, that kick of Han's would have done more damage. Just as Jiraiya had recovered, he was locked into a taijutsu spar with the gigantic jinchuriki.

"You know, I should be thanking you for ridding me of those bastards I've been stuck with for the past year" said Han. "But sadly, I've gotta mission to complete, one that will get me out of that hellhole for good."

Jiraiya figured that with Han being a jinchuriki and his attitude towards Iwa and his comrades, the armour-clad giant probably wasn't treated the best in Iwa. Jiraiya took a few steps back and Han charged again. Immediately, Pa shot a pressurized water jet into Han, piercing through the giant, only for said target to burst into steam again.

"Damnit, where'd he go?" asked Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya-chan, I can sense some strong chakras just a little that way" said Fukasaku, pointing off in the direction towards Naruto.

"Shit…" said Jiraiya before he was cut off.

"Haha! That Namikaze-brat is probably dead by now" laughed Baku, who was barely pulling himself out of the forest. He had honestly seen better days with splinters of wood sticking out of him and portions and from the looks of things, one of his legs was definitely broken.

"You'd better pray that he's not or I'll…" growled Jiraiya.

"Or you'll what, kill me? Please the only thing I can do right now is to ensure you die as well!" shouted Baku.

"What the hell are you doing you idiot?!" screamed Yurei from the next clearing over as he realized what Baku was talking about.

"Bakuton: Kamikaze Explosion!"

Baku's body began to glow as he activated his final jutsu and Yurei struggled desperately against his binding seal to free himself, but to no avail. Within seconds, Baku detonated and a massive explosion engulfing the entire area Jiraiya and Yurei were standing in, leaving only a crater behind.

As the dust settled, nothing was left. But then a cloud of smoke appeared on the edge of the crater and Jiraiya appeared with Fukasaku sitting on his shoulder still and Shima down to his side.

"It's a good thing you got off when you did, Ma" said Fukasaku.

"Oh, I just wanted to enjoy that steam a little more. I figured you boys could handle things without me" said Shima. The female toad sage had dismounted from Jiraiya's shoulder when Jiraiya had begun to engage Han. Coincidentally, this worked in Jiraiya and Fukasaku's favor as it provided them with a way to return to the battle field after Fukasaku reverse-summoned himself and Jiraiya to Mt. Myoboku just in time to avoid the blast.

While Jiraiya was glad he had gotten out of the blast in-time, he was not happy about losing Han. And his worries only increased dramatically as he felt the ground beneath his feet shake, a piercing cry ring through the air, and a massive explosion of chakra. When Jiraiya managed to see the cause of all three of those events, he immediately realized that the rumors were true.

Nearly a kilometer away from where Jiraiya currently was, at the approximate location of where he left Naruto, stood the towering figure of the Gobi. However, the biju had its sights set on a target other than Jiraiya; perhaps it preferred foxes over toads.

"I see why you were so worried now, Jiraya-chan. This could be troubling indeed" said Fukasaku.

* * *

Naruto's mindscape,

Kurama really wasn't happy at this point in time. He was so close to getting the blasted cage removed and then the Yondaime, of all people, had to stop Naruto from releasing the seal. It's not like he was going to take over Naruto's body as his own. I mean sure there might be a time or two that he would take over Naruto's body, especially when he wanted something to eat besides ramen, but he would give control back.

Then again, he couldn't really blame anyone. Not even he knew about this final fail-safe and the assurance that he would be freed upon Naruto eventual death was rather comforting. As for Naruto, this was the first time he ever met his father, and he honestly couldn't blame Naruto for wanting to spend as much time with his father as possible since it seemed like the Yondaime would only be around for a little longer. Still, he was worried that they were taking too long as it had already seemed like a few hours and he was certain those Iwa shinobi would be upon the pair of Konoha ninja any moment now.

However, the surprises didn't end with the Yondaime.

"It's been awhile, Kurama."

Upon hearing that voice, Kurama's head immediately perked up and he gazed upon the figure standing in front of him. Said figure was wearing a long coat with a high collar, had spiked hair that almost resembled horns, but the most striking feature was the pair of rippled eyes. **"No…It can't be…"**

"And you really thought Minato-chan was the only chakra in here alongside you?" called out the figure.

"**But there's no way the Yondaime could have sealed you in here"** said Kurama.

"No…you're right. The Yondimae Hokage didn't seal me within Naruto. I sealed apart of myself within you a long time ago" said the figure. "Do you remember the words I said to you, your brothers, and your sisters back when you yourself were just a young kit?"

Flashback

"Shukaku, Matatabi, Isopu, Son Goku, Kokuo, Saiken, Shoumei, Gyuki, Kurama…Even if you are separated now, you will always be together. Everyone of you has a name, and you each have a different form from before. Differently from when you were inside of me, I want you all to follow a rightful path and search for what true strength is…

End Flashback

"**I do"** replied Kurama.

"And I am happy to see that you've found the correct path" said the figure. "You had many chances to give into the hatred that has been building up inside of you for so long, and yet when the time came, you put that aside and saw fit to help the young one who would need your help to face the approaching storm."

At this time, the figure took a seat up top Kurama's head, between the fox's ears. "I tried Kurama, and for a time I succeeded. However, peace is but temporary unless someone is there to maintain it, else the darkness and hatred finds a way back. The peace I created long ago has since them all but disappeared and the time is approaching for the next generation to restore that peace and perhaps finds a way to keep it from disappearing."

"Even now, hatred is pitting you against your very brother. It truly is a disgusting entity that spreads like the plague. I'm sad to say that even my own kin has succumbed to it and those struggling to fight it are having to face the hardships associated with it. I'm sure you can attest to that. I'd like to be able to apologize and make up for all the strife my descendants have caused you, but sadly I can only help but to ask one last thing out of you."

"**You know I don't blame you and if there's anything you want, you only have to ask"** replied Kurama.

"I'm glad to hear that your mind is still open, Kurama. This world is once again about to be overtaken by a horrendous amount of hatred. Some have already succumbed to the hatred, even some of your own brethren. However, wherever there is darkness, there is always light, no matter how faint that glimmer of light may be. This child, whom you are sealed in, will play an important role in the battle for peace and I want you to help guide him along his destined path. Likewise, I would also like you to try and help your brothers and sisters who have already given into the hatred. It's still not too late to save them and I feel as if you're going to need all the help you can get when the time comes."

It was then that the ripple-eyed man looked off into space before speaking. "Sadly, it appears as if our time together is over. I just want you to know that I'm proud with how you've turned out. Perhaps someday, we will meet again and you can share with me the stories of your time together with this child." It was at this point, that the ripple-eyed man began to fade as his chakra ran out, but not before saying a few last words. "You know, I only just realized, but this place smells a lot like ramen. Such a delectable and heavenly food, ramen is."

"**Goodbye for now, Old Man. Perhaps the day will come when I decide to join you, but even I know there are too many things that need to be done here. And don't worry, I'll see to it that the Kit lives up to what he was made for."**

Kurama just sat there for a few moments, contemplating everything his father-figure had said to him. This day truly was full of surprises and they didn't stop when Naruto appeared back in the level of subconscious that he was in, accompanied not only by his father, but also…

"See, I knew it all along you were a big softy inside" said another familiar voice.

"**Uzumaki Kushina. I'd say I was surprised to see you, but after today, nothing can surprise me anymore" **said Kurama.

Kushina's attention was drawn to herself and Minato as she saw that they were both beginning to fade.

"Kaachan? Touchan?" asked Naruto, wondering what was going on.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but it looks like our time is up" said Minato.

"What? But you guys can't go! –ttebayo!" exclaimed Naruto. "I've still got soo much more to tell you and I have to introduce you Hinata-chan and all my friends!"

"And we don't want to go either Naruto. We've missed out on so much of your life already and it pains me that we're going to miss the rest" Kushina began to tear up. "But these precious few moments where we got the chance to meet you were worth more than anything the world could ever give us."

"Kaachan…" said Naruto as he began to tear up as well and he hugged his mother.

As their hug brike, Minato placed his fading hand on Naruto's head. "No matter what happens, remember that your mother and I will always be proud of you. And I know that someday, you'll make a fine Hokage."

"You really think I will be Hokage?" asked Naruto. Minato just smiled at Naruto.

"Of course, I am your father. It is a parent's job to have absolute faith in their child after all" said Minato. "It's our time to go now Naruto, we'll see you one day on the other side."

"But please, try not to hurry" said Kushina as she turned to the Kyuubi. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank you for taking care of Naruto for us, you big furball."

"**Pft…I've only been doing it out of self-interest. If he dies, I die and trust me, if it wasn't for me he'd be dead already. This Kit's as thick headed as you were."** replied Kurama, trying to make it so he didn't look too soft.

"Hey, watch who you're talking to you overgrown ball of fur! –ttebane!" Still Kushina didn't seem convinced that what Kurama said was really how he felt, and she was right even if Kurama was never going to admit it to her.

With a few final words, Minato and Kushina faded, their chakra running out.

"**Naruto…"**

"I know" said Naruto as he prepared to release the seal, although he never got the chance as he was forced out of his own mindscape.

* * *

Naruto was forced to jump off the comfy rock he had been sitting on for what had actually turned out to be a few hours as a steam-enhanced punch shattered the rock and sent Naruto flying back. The blonde jinchuriki was now faced with the giant otherwise known as Han of the Steam Armour.

"_So this is the Gobi jinchuriki Ero-Sennin was talking about"_ thought Naruto. _"He certainly is big."_ Naruto deactivated the gravity seals on his limbs, knowing he couldn't afford any sort of restriction in this fight.

"Hmm, so you're the Namikaze brat that old fool's so afraid of" said Han. "You honestly don't look like much of a threat."

"Yeah? Let's see if you're saying the same after you see what I can do" said Naruto. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Immediately, dozens of Naruto clones popped into existence but Han seemed unfazed. The clones pulled kunai and charged Han, using the speed and agility Naruto had gained over the past year and a half. Had this have been another opponent, they would have overwhelmed him, but Han wasn't just any other opponent.

The clones were able to land a few hits on Han, but his armour proved to near impossible for their ordinary attacks to break through, giving Han an opportunity to attack and dispel the clones.

"_Damnit, normal attacks aren't going to work against that armour. Let's see, I could always try that. Besides, if he's jinchuriki the last thing I want is for him to tap into his biju's power" _thought Naruto. "Futon: Heaven's Hammer!"

Han waited for a second for the jutsu to come, but when he quickly saw that Naruto had given him an opening, he took a step forward, intending to charge the blonde. It was then that it hit him, the massive column of highly pressurized air that Naruto had summoned from up within the atmosphere slammed down upon Han, forcing the giant to his knees. Channeling more chakra into the jutsu, Naruto increased the pressure and forced Han to his hands, struggling to keep himself up. Naruto made a motion to a few of his clones to take the tagged kunai in his pouch that he kept around for suppression seals and just as the clones were about to plant the tags…

"Ninpo: Pressure Cooker!"

A massive explosion of pressurized steam that had built up within Han's armour erupted all around the armour-clad jinchuriki. The outward pressure was strong enough to completely force back Naruto's jutsu and allow Han to escape before Naruto even had a chance to start the suppression seals. Based on the preliminary reports that Iwa's intelligence network had gathered from, Han was already aware of this child's Uzumaki heritage and his ability to utilize fuinjutsu to a high degree. There was no way he was going to let Naruto capture him in one of those seals of his.

"_Damnit! I should have had him there!"_ swore Naruto.

"Okay, I'll admit there's something to you, maybe" said Han. "But it's going to take more than just a slight change in air pressure to take me down."

Han pointed his arms forward towards Naruto and begun to pressurize steam around them. "Ninpo: Steam Cannon."

Naruto jumped out of the way of the incoming attack just in time to avoid being hit by Han's attack.

"_Hmm…I think it's about time to put that to the test"_ thought Naruto as he drew Arashi and Han fired another round. _"Mifune-sensei said to channel some chakra into it and activate the seals, then all I have to do if activate the seals again to fire the attack."_

Following Mifune's instructions, Naruto channeled some chakra and drove the blade head-on into Han's attack with the seals active.

Han just grinned as it looked like Naruto wasn't going to dodge this attack, but his grin was wiped off his face when his attack just swirled slightly and looked as if it was sucked into the sword that Naruto had drawn. What surprised him more was when the very attack he had just fired at Naruto was send sailing back towards him.

"Heh that got you" commented Naruto as the steam attack connected with Han. But when the seam cleared, Han just stood there as if nothing had happened.

"_Hmm, so that's the sword that Roshi talked about in his older stories. The Uzumaku Shio no Ken, that blade was thought to be lost"_ thought Han. "That's an interesting sword you have there, but my own attacks won't harm me."

"_Damnit, I should have known. Had that have been most other jutsu, that would have gotten him, but he's practically surrounded by steam all the time, there's no way steam would harm him"_ thought Naruto. "Fine, looks like I'm just going to have to go about it this way then."

A white glow appeared around the sword as Naruto channeled his own wind chakra into Arashi. "If that armour of yours is going to be such a problem, then I'll just have to cut it off." As soon as Naruto as off, Han was already backpedaling, trying to keep out of range of Naruto's sword.

"_The brat's strikes are fast and destabilizing, always forcing you to stay on your toes and not giving you a moment to relax. It's not really a surprise considering who he was trained by"_ thought Han. Naruto then jumped back, giving Han some much relieved time to catch his breath, but not before Naruto grinned and the armour covering Han's left arm shattered and blood spilled from a deep gash along his forearm.

"How? I thought I was just out of your reach" said Han, but then he looked at Naruto's sword and saw a faint chakra glow surrounding it, making the sword look a few inches longer than it should be. _"I see, so the brat's actually a strong wind-user. Fine, I can't afford to play around anymore. Kokuo!"_

Naruto was about to make his next move, but felt a massive burst of chakra emanate from Han and a massive cloud of steam begin to swirl around him as it increased in size.

Naruto was forced to stumble back a few steps when the giant figure of the Gobi erupted from the cloud of steam. "Shit!"

"**Naruto! Do it, it's the only way I can help you out. Now, release this blasted seal and let's show him our power!"**

"_Right! Let's go Kurama!"_

On the outside, Naruto revealed the seal on his right hand and Han could only watch as Naruto slammed the seal into his own stomach before giving it a small twist and another massive burst of chakra erupted, only from the blonde this time.

Naruto felt the power flowing through him, the full force of Kurama's power. It was unlike anything he had felt before and even the four-tailed form paled in comparison to this. At first, the massive rush of power felt like it was going to tar Naruto apart, but its wild fury was soon contained, until it all exploded at once.

As Han looked onto what was going on, where once stood his target now stood the menacing figure of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

* * *

_**Jutsu**_

Bakuton/Explosion-release (bloodline): A chakra-nature type bloodline. The components of this chakra are unknown, however it is believed to be earth-based as lightning can negate the explosive powers of this kekkei genkai. This kekkei genkai allows the user to utilize chakra to create explosions. **Users: **Baku clan (Iwa/Akatsuki. _Note: Deidara is/was a member of this clan. It should also be known that the Baku clan does make up Iwagakure's Explosion Corps)_

Ghost Body (bloodline): While it may sound a lot like Dan Kato's abilities or even Tobito's (yes, Tobi + Obito = Tobito) this bloodline is different. For one, unlike Dan's ability which releases his own soul from his body, the entire body becomes intangible. Also, this is not a space-time jutsu like Tobito's as it does not send a portion of the user's body to another dimension. This bloodline allows for two main abilities, invisibility and intangibility. **Users:** Yurei clan (Iwa)

Fuinjutsu: Ensnaring Seal: A sealing jutsu that ensnares anyone caught within its area. **Users:** Jiraiya; **Rank:** A

Senpo: Demonic Binding Seal: A senjutsu-enhanced seal that binds anyone that it comes into contact with. This seal has the power to bind even those with the Ghost Body bloodline and prevents them from going intangible. **Rank:** S; **Users:** Jiraiya

Summoning Jutsu: Wolf's Den: An advanced summoning jutsu of the Okami clan of Iwa that summons an entire pack of large wolves to the summoner's command; **Rank**: A; **Users**: Okami Kenta

Bakuton: Kamikaze Explosion: A suicidal jutsu used by the Baku clan to destroy their enemies with them in one final explosion. It should be noted that this is not the same as Deidara's C0 explosion. Deidara's attacks are different and much more powerful due to him stealing forbidden jutsus, hence why he's an S-rank criminal. **Rank:** A; **Users:** Baku clan.

Ninpo: Pressure Cooker: A steam-based attack where Han builds up steam pressure throughout his armour and releases it all at once. The force behind the explosion is even strong enough to beat Naruto's Heaven's Hammer; **Rank: **A+; **Users: **Han

Ninpo: Steam Cannon: A steam-based ninjutsu where Han builds up a massive steam pressure in the gauntlets of his armour and fires a highly pressurized blast of scolding steam towards his opponent; **Rank:** A; **Users:** Han

* * *

_**Author Notes**_

I do apologize to all of those who wanted to hear what Naruto and his parents were talking about, but if you want the general idea, just read manga chapters 440, and 498-505. Also, realize since Naruto was removing the seal AND gaining control of the Kyuubi's powers, Minato and Kushina came at the same time. There are a few other things, but they will appear in flashbacks later in the story.

So, with this chapter comes the full-Kyuubi mode. It will not be like the Kyuubi-mode from cannon, where the chakra shroud is just that, a Kyuubi-shaped chakra shroud. The full Kyuubi transformation will be in the form of the Kyuubi himself, kind of like Bee's Hachibi transformation.

Oh, and before any of you ask, no this will not be a Rinnegan-Naruto story. As much as I like a Rinnegan-Naruto story every now and then, this was never intended to be one and will not be.

I'll just let you know that this chapter marks the half-way point of Book 2. I knew it was going to be short (~100k words or less) and 10 chapters gives me enough time to get the important pieces of information out. Chapter 70 will mark the end of Book 2 and then I will get into the Shippuden book. Again, I apologize to those who would have rather me put all of the training trip in flashbacks, but as I stated before I felt some of stuff presented in Book 2 was too important for a mere flashback. Regardless, there are still some things that happened during this time period that will be shown in flashbacks if they didn't appear in the story.

Also, I will say now that I am not intending to save every biju/jinchuriki. Akatsuki will still succeed in capturing most of them, but I will be leaving more than just Bee and Naruto. As for which ones will survive, I've already decided on them and they will be revealed in time.

For those of you interested in RWtP (Rewriting the Past), I won't guarantee it, but it is highly likely I will have the next chapter up sometime this week.

Well, that's it for now. Remember, I like reviews so please review.


	66. Hatred, Peace, and the Perv

**A/N: Okay, so this chapter is the first chapter where full-Kyuubi mode Naruto makes an appearance. The hard part here was thinking of how to do this while not confusing between Naruto and Kurama or whatever form Naruto's in. Below is the new key (let me know if it's too confusing and I'll look for a way to improve it).**

Normal speech/jinchuriki in control of full biju-mode form

_Normal thought_

**Demonic speech when biju is in full control of the body and projecting themselves outward/boss summon/pissed off Tsunade**

_**Demonic thought and speech when speech is only within the conscious of the vessel/boss summon thought/Inner Sakura**_

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto

Posted: 4/27/13

* * *

**Chapter 66: Hatred, Peace, and the Perv**

Jiraiya could only help but look on as a massive cloud of steam erupted from the area where he had left Naruto and a moment later, the Gobi emerged from the steam.

"That's the…" commented Fukasaku.

"Yeah, I know" replied Jiraiya. _"Damnit. I'm not going to make it there in time. Let's just hope I made the right choice in giving Naruto the key."_

Jiraiya immediately knew his question was just about to be answered when he soon felt the full pressure of the Kyuubi's chakra emerge from the same area where Han. In all honesty, this is what Jiraiya had been hoping for, yet he still couldn't help but feel uneasy about the whole 'releasing the Kyuubi' thing. On one side, the Kyuubi had been the reason for so much destruction and hatred years ago in Konoha. Nobody in their right mind would trust someone if something like that happened. But then there was the other side. The Kyuubi had been helping Naruto for over two years now and had not once tried to manipulate the blonde. Also, between the notes from Minato he uncovered before Minato succumbed to his own jutsu gave some credibility to the Kyuubi's alibi. And then there was that contract. The Kyuubi had willingly agreed to aid Naruto by signing that contract and what made it even more intriguing is that the seals on the contract he was familiar with. He was familiar with the style of those seals, but the only person he knew who used that style of seals was Minato himself. Did that mean Minato had written the contract? It couldn't have been possible…couldn't it?

Still, now all Jiraiya could do was pray that Naruto was actually in control of the full biju transformation and that he wouldn't have to carry through on his threat from before.

* * *

In Gobi-mode, Han watched as a massive amount of chakra surged through his target and a following explosion of said chakra revealed none other than the Kyuubi no Kitsune. The kid that Iwa had been so afraid of was a jinchuriki, the jinchuriki of what was arguably the most powerful of the biju, and also one he appeared to have control over.

For Han, this little assassination mission was quickly turning out to be the most fun he had ever under the service of Iwa. There was only one person who he could truly enjoy himself around, and that was the other jinchuriki in Iwa, Roshi. Roshi was the only one who understood Han and knew the same suffering and scorn he did. They understood each other, even if their entire perspective of Iwa was entirely different. While Han hated Iwa for the pain they had caused him, Roshi was head-strong and loyal to the village to a fault. Once this mission was over and he was no longer in Iwa, there was only one person he would miss, and that was Roshi, the man he called a brother.

But before he could leave, he had one task at hand and that was to kill a certain blonde kid from Konoha, the same blonde child who had just transformed into the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

"_Whoa, this feels kind of…weird"_ thought Naruto.

"_**What do you mean 'weird'?"**_asked Kurama.

"_Well, you know. I've got nine tails that I have absolutely no idea how to control"_ replied Naruto. This was true as all nine tails seemed to be flapping around wild and aimlessly, smashing into the ground, nearby trees, and the side of cliff. Thankfully, no one was around to get hit by them. _"Oh, and I'm a GIANT FOX!"_

"_**So, what's weird about that? You seem perfectly normal to me. Although you do need to work on your tail control, you nearly flattened the super pervert over there."**_

"_Oh crap, Ero-Sennin's gonna kill me."_

"_**Not if Kokuo doesn't first. Look out!"**_

Naruto saw the giant horse/dolphin charging at full speed towards Naruto with his horns lowered. Still not knowing what exactly to do or how to fully control the new form, Naruto had run out of time to dodge and had decided to attempt to grab the horns in order to try and hold the charge off. This however proved to be the wrong thing to do as Han simply continued to push the Kyuubi-Naruto back, with no signs of stopping until a friendly cliff decided to give Naruto a hand.

Naruto was slammed hard into the solid rock face as he and Han came to a halt. The charge had been stopped, but one of Han's horns had found Naruto's upper arm, leaving a nice wound which immediately began to heal the moment the horn was removed.

"_**Damnit! You can't expect to go up against Kokuo in a contest of brute strength. In terms of physical strength Kokuo, Son Goku, and Gyuki have me beat"**_ said Kurama, obviously a little mad at Naruto for getting wounded, even if the wound was healing rather fast.

"_What?! But you said you were the strongest of the biju!"_ replied Naruto.

"_**I am, but not in terms of brute strength. Think…I'm a fox. We're nimble and quick**__. __**I may not have as much strength as Kokuo, but I've got more speed and agility than he does. Use that to your advantage to get in, attack, and get out before he can retaliate"**_ advised Kurama.

Using the cliff behind him and all nine tails as leverage, Naruto was able to push Han away from him just enough to escape being pinned against the wall. Taking Kurama's advice, Naruto made the next move, jumping in and taking a swipe at Han with his claws. Naruto jumped back to avoid the horns that Han sent his way just in time, landing behind the horse. Once again, this proved to be a mistake as Han landed a powerful barrel kick to Naruto's chest, sending the giant fox skidding back.

"_**Baka, you're still getting thrown around like a rag doll!"**_ commented Kurama.

"_Yeah? But I finally got a hit on him, I'd like to see you do better!" _retorted Naruto. _"You know, never mind."_

"_**Stop talking and roar, now!"**_

Naruto did as told and let out a powerful roar, unleashing a ripping gale in Han's direction just as the Gobi jinchuriki had turned around. Han dug in deep to withstand the powerful gale sent his way, and was actually forced back quite a few meters. As Naruto ended what Kurama had dubbed Kitsune Tempest, the foxy jinchuriki was off, running full speed at Han.

Han saw this as well and began his own charge, quickly accelerating to full speed and lowering his horns. As they closed in, Naruto finally was starting to get a hang of the high degree of agility in the full-Kyuubi form as he was able to dodge Han's charge quickly, making a quick turn and smacking Han in the side using his tails as a sort of lash.

Han skidded a bit before coming to a halt and steam started to erupt from the tips of Han's horns, encompassing the area around Han in a thick cover of steam.

"_**Brace yourself and be ready to move. He's going to come charging out of that cloud any moment now using the steam to add to his speed"**_ advised Kurama. Naruto nodded and crouched into a ready position. As Kurama had predicted, Han came charging out of the steam with a greatly increased velocity as he closed in on Naruto. Naruto just barely jumped out of the way to avoid the brunt of the blow, but Han ended up clipping one of the tails_. __**"Oi watch the tails!"**_

"_Hey, it's not my fault they're all over the place!"_ shouted Naruto.

"_**Then get them under control! It's not that difficult!"**_replied Kurama._**"Anyways, **__**Fox Fire**__**!"**_

Naruto obliged and opened his mouth; shooting out a powerful stream of golden-white flames shot out of Naruto's mouth and incinerated the area around where Han was currently turning for his next charge.

"_Did that get him?_" asked Naruto. However, his question was answered when Han came charging out of the flames straight towards Naruto. As Han lowered his head, Naruto jumped as the horns passed just beneath Naruto's feet. Seeing his opportunity, Naruto came back down upon Han's back, using his back feet to push Han's head downwards and into the ground.

"_**Now you're starting to get the hang of it"**_ commented Kurama.

"I'll admit Gaki, this is the most fun I've had in awhile" spoke Han with a demonic tone to his voice. "But it's time to end it."

Han rose to his feet and began gathering chakra in front of him.

"_**Tailed-Beast Ball! And make sure you compress it**_**"** said Kurama.

"_Huh? Compress it?"_ asked Naruto.

"_**Just do it!"**_

As Han gathered his chakra, Naruto did the same and two tailed beat balls hovered in front of Naruto and Han. Making sure to compress it as per Kurama's instruction, the chakra ball was taken into Naruto's mouth, as it was for Han, before both balls were fired at a high speed directly towards each other. The two balls of compressed chakra met in the middle and a violent explosion followed, a dome of pure energy expanding and engulfing anything between the two biju-mode jinchuriki.

"_**Naruto, we've gotta end this soon. With this being your first full transformation, we can't maintain this form for much longer. Maybe a few minutes more at best"**_ said Kurama.

"_What? And you're just telling me this now?!"_ replied Naruto.

"_**And why are you just sitting around?!"**_

Shaking his head at Kurama's constant complaining, Naruto made his way, dashing across the newly formed crater in the landscape. Han had done the same thing and was now charging down the slope of the crater as well, using gravity to add to his momentum.

While on the run, both Naruto and Han charged up a few less powerful tailed beast balls and sent them flying towards each other. Explosions ricochet through the air as many of those chakra balls impacted with one another, while the rest were either dodged or just flat out missed. As the two chargers neared each other, Naruto prepared to jump.

Not wanting Naruto to pull the same stunt he had before, jumping on top of him and kicking his head into the ground, Han jumped as well to intercept Naruto. But that was not what Naruto had done. The intent to jump was simply a bluff and Han had ended up jumping over Naruto. As Naruto was now directly under Han, the foxy jinchuriki unleashed another strong blast of wind. Having nothing to anchor himself with, Han was sent flying in an unstable flight and crashed into the ground.

As Naruto prepared to make what was likely to be his last move in Kyuubi-mode before Kurama said that he would have to rest a bit before being able to enter the full Kyuubi-form, his attack was halted as a familiar voice called out.

"Summoning Jutsu: Food Cart Destroyer!"

At this time, Naruto jumped back just in time to avoid Gamahiro, who had come crashing down upon Han, pinning the Gobi-mode jinchuriki to the ground.

"Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto, his voice also a combination of his own and the Kyuubi's.

"That you in there, Naruto?" called out Jiraiya.

Naruto nodded his large fox head before the full Kyuubi-form began to recede, the time limit having expired as Jiraiya jumped down from Gamahiro's head to catch an exhausted Naruto, now back in his original form.

"Heh, how do you like that, Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto.

"Damnit Gaki, you've gotta watch where you're throwing those tails around in that form. You nearly hit me!" complained Jiraiya.

"Hey! Don't blame me. It's Kurama's fault for not telling me how to control them!" retorted Naruto.

"_**Speaking of which, you and I've got a lot of work to do once you're recovered"**_ replied Kurama.

Naruto sighed, realizing that he was probably in for another boot camp, Kyuubi-style. It was then that they heard Han speak.

"If you're here, then that means they're dead, right?" asked a still Gobi-mode Han.

"Yeah, that Baku guy blew them all up trying to get me" said Jiraiya.

"He always was an idiot" said Han as the Gobi-form receded to reveal a battered Han who crawled out from underneath Gamahiro. "If they're dead then there's no reason to continue this fight."

"If you think I'm just going to hand over Naruto, then you're just as idiotic as that Baku guy" replied Jiraiya.

"No, it means I can finally use that as an excuse to get the hell out of Iwa" said Han as he looked over at Naruto. "I'd imagine the kid knows what it's like to be singled out and tormented for something out of his control. I took on this mission as a way to get out of Iwa, but I knew they had no intention of allowing me to leave quietly. I knew that upon arriving back in Iwa with the blonde brat, that I would be killed and Kokuo transferred to someone they could control. At least this way, I can die without Iwa getting their dirty hands on him."

"What?! So you're just going to give up?" asked Naruto. People like this, who just wanted to give up and take the easy way out always did get on the blonde's nerves.

"Not exactly. As of now, Han of Iwagakure no Sato is officially dead. I'm just Han now" said Han.

"So you're just going to leave?" asked Jiraiya.

Han nodded. "We're far enough from Iwa that I can slip away without setting off any alarm. All I wanted was to just get away from Iwa. I don't want any of those bastards ordering me around and then thinking they can walk over me. I have no love for Iwa and I'd be better off without them."

"I see, so you're going to use this to fake your death and just go" said Jiraiya. Han nodded.

"Hey look, I know you hate Iwa and all, but why don't you come back to Konoha. I'm sure I could talk to Baachan and she could do something for you" suggested Naruto, earning a face-palm out of Kurama.

"Heh, such a naïve and innocent brat. You could never understand. Even if I were to come back to Konoha, I would never find peace. People all around the Five Great Nations hate me for what Iwa made me do, and to be completely honest I hate the whole village system as it is" said Han. "Those who believe that peace will come to the shinobi world are fools."

"_**Kokuo, can you hear me?"**_ called out Kurama, forming a mental link between himself and his brother.

"_**It's been awhile Kurama"**_ replied Kokuo. _**"Honestly, I'm surprised to see you here, let alone you actually working with your vessel. Seeing as how exhausted he looks, I take it that was his first transformation?"**_

"_**Yeah, we've actually been on good terms for awhile, although getting my tail hurt like that is making me reconsider. It was only just before you caught us that we were able to release the seal on him"**_ said Kurama.

"_**You always were one to fuss over your tails"**_ chuckled Kokuo.

"_**What do you expect, they're one way we foxes make ourselves look good"**_ replied Kurama. _**"Anyways, I didn't want to talk to you about that. There's a storm coming. A group of powerful individuals is coming after us for a reason I don't even know. All I do know is that their intentions can't be good. You should try to convince your host to come back and give us a hand when it hits. It's the only way we can preserve the peace the Old Man created."**_

"_**Kurama, the peace the old man created is long gone, replaced by nothing more than hatred. Peace will never come back to Land of the Shinobi and you know it. Hell, you used to believe it yourself, what made you change your mind?"**_ asked Kokuo.

"_**At first, it was the Kit I'm sealed inside right now, but just recently, I met HIM. I actually talked to the Old Man and he said that there is still hope, but it's not going to be an easy journey"**_ said Kurama.

Kokuo remained silent for a moment before speaking. _**"I'm sorry Kurama, but I just can't see it. My vessel is right; those who believe peace can be returned to the shinobi world are fools. The Old Man might have believed it and I may have believed it at some point, but that time has long passed. The only one who has the power to bring peace was Rikudou Sennin himself, and his time ended over 1000 years ago. I've learned the hard way, through my past vessels that peace won't come to the shinobi world. The best we can do right now is to find a place to make our own peace, away from all the violence and hatred and let it rid itself from this world."**_

"_**So you think you can just run away from it? It'll just spread, Kokuo. Hatred will spread. No matter how far you run, it'll eventually catch up. The only way to stop it from spreading to confront it head on and to stop those who wish to allow it to consume us"**_ said Kurama.

"_**Kurama…I'm sorry, but there's just no way…If you want to continue with this foolish mission, then go right ahead, but leave me out of it"**_ said Kokuo before severing the mental link.

"Your brat already knows what I'm thinking, Jiraiya of the Sannin" said Han. "There's nothing more you or the kid could say that'll stop me from leaving this land. We've been surrounded by hatred long enough that all we want is some time to our own, to do what we want and live how we want."

"So where will you go?" asked Jiraiya.

"Wherever I want. I don't know where that place is yet, but I'll find it" said Han as he turned to walk away. "Oh, and I would appreciate it if the two of you spoke as if I was dead."

At that point, Han removed his helmet, revealing sleek black hair with the exception of four spikes that almost resembled Kokuo's horns, and threw it on the grown before cracking it himself.

Naruto made a motion to try and go after the giant, but Jiraiya stopped him. "I'm sorry Naruto, but I don't think he's going to be convinced. Let's go, there's a village a little over a day from here and I'm sure both of us could use some rest."

* * *

Naruto and Jiraiya had stopped to make camp for the night. Some of Naruto's energy had returned, but it was still obvious that he was exhausted from fully tapping into Kurama's power. Still, even as much as Naruto wanted to fall asleep, there was still something on his mind.

"Ero-Sennin…"

"Hmm?" Jiraiya turned to his apprentice as he stirred the coals on the fire at their camp site.

"What Han said back there, about there being no hope for peace…what exactly did he mean by that?" asked Naruto.

"Peace, it's a tricky concept to grasp. It's something that I've been trying to find myself for years now" said Jiraiya. "You've read my book, so you know."

"Hatred is driven as we grow and experience new pains. But it's that pain that allows us to grow, to see the world, and to be kind" said Jiraiya. "Currently, the world is filled with pain and hatred and that makes me think about how much I want to change the world. I know the answer is out there…the answer to peace, but I still don't quite have it yet. Well, I already know the answer, but I don't know how to get there."

"Really? So what's the answer?" asked Naruto.

"Well, 1000 years ago, legend says there was a priest who appeared called the Rikudou Sennin. They called him the messiah and he saved the world from endless years of war, bringing peace to the world. But even then, the peace wasn't permanent. However, I believe that he believed peace would come the day when people truly understood one another" said Jiraiya. "That's the biggest question out there. How do we get people to coexist with one another in a truly friendly and respectful manner? I've been searching for the answer to that question for years now, and even now I'm still looking. I once had a past student by the name of Nagato, who I felt might be the answer, but sadly he passed away over 15 years ago."

"You know, now that I think of it, he was the inspiration for the main character of my book. He believed there would be peace and understanding someday" said Jiraiya. "Even though he may be gone, I still hold out hope that one day, I'll find the answer. And if I can't perhaps I'll pass it down to you to find the answer." Naruto's eyes widened at Jiraiya's statement, feeling as if the perverted sage was truly acknowledging him.

"I see a lot of my own self in you and your father. You both never gave up, no matter what the world threw at you and if I can't find the answer, then I know for a fact that you will" said Jiraiya. "Now, it's been a long day. After everything that happened today, and the fact that you've been training non-stop under Mifune-san for months, I think you're deserving of a nice break. There's a nice resort town about 4 days from here, maybe a day if you want to travel like shinobi and not walk. We'll stay there a few days before getting back to training, how's that sound?"

There was no answer and Jiraiya turned around to see that Naruto was already out. Chuckling, Jiraiya put another log back on the fire before leaning back up against a tree and pulling out a notebook. _"That resort town has some of the finest beaches, and bikini-clad girls, in all the nations. That'll be a perfect stop for some much needed research."_

About an hour passed and Jiraiya heard some rustling coming from Naruto. He knew the kid was anything but a light sleeper and normally he would just ignore it, but still Jiraiya perked his head. Upon doing so, he noticed that Naruto's eyes were cracked open. Normally, this wouldn't have meant anything, but Naruto's eyes were red, not blue.

"_Kyuubi? Damn he can't be thinking of…"_ thought Jiraiya, reaching for a sealing tag in his back pouch.

"**Relax pervert. I mean no harm for you or your student"** spoke Kurama through Naruto's voice. Jiraiya huffed at the Kyuubi of all beings calling him a pervert.

"I'll have you know I'm not a pervert! I'm a super pervert!" corrected Jiraiya, causing Kurama to sweat drop.

"**Oookaaay…Anyways I just want to talk. Is that so wrong?"** commented Kurama. **"What you and the Kit were talking about earlier, peace."**

"Are you telling me you of all people are interested in peace?" asked Jiraiya in complete disbelief.

"**Is that really so hard to believe?"** asked Kurama, earning a nod from Jiraiya. **"Regardless, something happened when the Kit popped the seal. Apparently his father had sealed some of his own chakra in the seal and appeared to Naruto before fully releasing the seal…"**

"Wait…are you telling me Naruto actually met him?" asked Jiraiya.

"**And his mother. Apparently it was one last fail-safe in case I tried to force my way out, but that's…"**

"Naruto met Kushina as well? What did they say to him?" asked Jiraiya.

"**Will you be quiet for a moment?! I'm trying to tell you something important"** yelled Kurama. **"I don't know what was said between the Kit and his parents, you'll have to ask him yourself, but there was one more person who appeared. I guess you could call him my father as he was the one who brought me into this world, the Rikudou Sennin."**

Jiraiya was on the verge of resembling a gaping cod fish. Not only had the Kyuubi just claimed he met the Rikudou Sennin, but also said man was his father. "Y-you talked to the Rikudou Sennin? H-how?"

"**Even in death, that man continues to surprise me. Apparently some of his own chakra had been sealed inside myself and chose that time to appear to me"** explained Kurama. **"Anyways, just figured you should know that even he believes this child is destined to find a way to bring peace to this world."**

"W-what? The Sage himself said that?" asked a stunned Jiraiya. As unbelievable as it may have sounded, for some reason Jiraiya believed the Kyuubi's words. Kurama nodded.

"**I know it may be hard for you to believe, but I truly do care for this Kit and I'll see that he accomplishes what the Old Man believes"** said Kurama. **"Oh, and I have a name you know, it's Kurama and I'd much rather be called that than 'Kyuubi'."**

Jiraiya looked at Kurama questioningly. "And perhaps I'd rather be called by name rather than 'pervert' or 'Ero-Sennin'."

"**Fine, Jiraiya. But I make no guarantees about the Kit. Sadly, I think you're stuck with 'Ero-Sennin' no matter how hard you try"** laughed Kurama.

Jiraiya sighed. It was worth a shot. "Alright Kurama. Is that all you wanted to talk to you about or are you going to tell me more about the Sage you said you met?"

"**That's a story for another day. Even I'm tired. That first transformation takes a lot out of you, even for me"** said Kurama before lying back down and allowing Naruto's body to go back to sleep and leaving Jiraiya alone to his thoughts.

Jiraiya wasn't sleeping the rest of the night. No, he was too busy contemplating what the Kyuubi…I mean Kurama has said. Kurama had actually claimed the Rikudou Sennin as his own father, causing Jiraiya to sift through his own knowledge of the legends of the Sage. Did this mean all the nine biju were descendants of the Sage? It was some revelation, a crazy one in fact, but Jiraiya couldn't get that thought out of his head. And Kurama mentioned even the Sage himself said Naruto was a big factor in the search for peace? Yeah, he definitely wasn't getting any sleep tonight.

* * *

"Yeah! We're finally here!" shouted Jiraiya as he and Naruto passed through the gates of the bustling resort town know as Ogasarawa situated in the Land of Oranges, situated along the western coast of the continent. "Can't you just feel it? The summer sun? The warm breeze? And most importantly, the babes clad in bikinis?"

"_I should have known…"_ thought Naruto. It was only a matter of seconds before Naruto was looking for a hotel while Jiraiya went to scope out possible…sources of entertainment. The inn that Naruto had checked them into was a rather nice place and they just happened to get a room with a view overlooking the beaches, which Naruto would soon be regretting. Although he did have to admit that the place was nice and even he could have some fun here over the next couple of days before getting back into the full swing of training. Speaking of which, Naruto was now trembling at the thought as Kurama had mentioned that he'd be taking over Naruto's training for a little bit to get the blonde used to using the full power of Kyuubi-mode. Yeah, Naruto was going to enjoy these last few days of relaxation even if it killed him.

The following day saw Naruto enjoying the sun and the ocean out on the beach, something he had been dying to do for ever now. This was actually the first time he ever got to cut loose and enjoy something like this for once. Perhaps the closes he had gotten to being able to go swimming in the ocean was back in the Wave, but he was stuck doing physical labor with his clones and helping Tazuna finish the bridge.

"Oi Naruto, come over here for a moment" called out Jiraiya. Currently, the Toad Sage was lounging underneath a beach umbrella 'reading a book', however Naruto knew better. Currently, Jiraiya had his wandering eyes hidden by said book as to not draw any attention to himself while he fully examined some of the women at the beach. It also didn't help the pervy sage that Naruto knew the book he had his nose buried in was the same notebook he used to scribe ideas for the Icha Icha series.

"What's up Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto.

"Will you stop calling me that?" asked a flustered Jiraiya.

"I'll stop calling you that when you stop being a pervert" replied Naruto.

"That aside, there's something real important I want to teach you" said Jiraiya.

"As excited as I am that you actually want to teach me, I thought we were on vacation" replied Naruto.

"Well, this is actually something that's best learned while just sitting back and relaxing, so pull up a chair" commented Jiraiya. Naruto immediately knew he was going to regret this as he pulled a beach chair next to Jiraiya.

"Now, what do you know about sizes?" asked Jiraiya.

"Sizes?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Yeah, you know sizes of women" replied Jiraiya, making the outline of a woman's breasts with his hand. Naruto immediately went red. "I mean, check out the cutie playing volleyball in the yellow bikini. I'd say she'd be a C, and with a nice figure to boot as well. Now check out the brunette by the ice cream bar. She may be a bit smaller, probably a B, but she's got a pretty fine ass."

"W-what the hell you pervert?!" shouted Naruto as Jiraiya clamped a hand over the blonde's mouth, shutting him up.

"Trust me, this is something that a man should know and I just so happen to be the perfect man to teach you everything you need to know about the joys of a woman's body" said Jiraiya smoothly. "And I know exactly where to start. Let's take that cute girlfriend of yours for example."

"You're not bringing Hinata-chan into this, you pervert!" defended Naruto.

"Naruto, we've been over this how many times? I'm not a pervert, I'm a super pervert. And as such, I do super perverted things like tell you just how lucky you're going to be when you get back" said Jiraiya. "Now when you left, she was what? 13 years in age? For someone who's already a B in terms of breast size, that's pretty damn impressive."

"I don't want to hear this…" said Naruto as he tried to drown out the perverted thoughts about Hinata.

"Now, you see that pretty babe sunbathing over there?" said Jiraiya, pointing to a young woman with ling black hair and wearing a red bikini and a rather busty chest. "That's what a D looks like, and I wouldn't be surprised if that was Hinata by the time you got home or maybe some time in the near future after you got back."

As Jiraiya said that, Naruto immediately stopped resisting. Of course it didn't help that Kurama wasn't helping the blonde boy at all. In fact, he was helping the blonde's inner pervert. You see, ever since the seal had been removed, Kurama had been able to project images and thoughts into Naruto's head. Not like he was trying to manipulate his vessel, but enough to show the blonde a picture. And right now, he had just taken the image of that woman with a D-cup bust and curvy yet trim figure, and basically put Hinata's head on the body, trying to portray what Hinata would look like in a few years.

Jiraiya instantly knew he had the boy in his perverted grasps when he saw a stream of red come from his student's nose. "So are you interested in what I have to offer?" Very slightly, Naruto's head nodded.

"Good, my young apprentice. When I'm done with you, you'll be able to tell me the measurements, and not just bust size, of any woman you see and only the baggiest clothes will obscure your senses" said Jiraiya. "Now, the first thing I will teach you about the Ways of the Perv is to be discrete. So wipe that blood off your face and pull out a book or something."

* * *

Back in Konoha,

Tsunade was sitting at her desk making her way thought the mountain of paperwork, if only there was a way to make like two or three of her, then she could get through the paperwork like it was nothing, but alas she had found herself unable to find a way to duplicate herself and was condemned to the nightmare of all Kages.

"Oh cheer up, Tsunade-sama" said Shizune, trying to make it so her master wouldn't throw a fit about the never ending stack of paperwork, for the seventh time that day. As Tsunade took a sip of her tea, her fist instinctively clenched, shattering the cup.

"Tsunade-sama!" screamed Shizune.

"Shizune, I've got a bad feeling" Tsunade said as she racked her knuckles. "My womanly senses are telling me that pervert of a teammate of mine's going to be so dead when he comes back."

Shizune could only help but gulp as Tsunade glared at no one in particular.

* * *

With Naruto and Jiraiya,

It was late in the evening and Naruto and Jiraiya had returned to the village to get food. Presently, they found themselves at one of the local bars where master and student were sitting inside one of the booths. It had been a good day for Jiraiya as not only had he gotten a good number of ideas for his next book, Icha Icha Tactics, but he had also succeeded in teaching his student some valuable skills in reading women.

It was then that Jiraiya felt a chill run down his spine as he suddenly got a bad feeling about something, like someone was going to beat him to death one day, but he just shrugged it off. "Now, this skill may not apply as much to you seeing as you've already got a girl, but it can still come in handy and that's picking up and chatting to women at the bar" said Jiraiya. "What you've first gotta do is scope out what you have to work with, once you have your target in sight, then you gotta figure out what kind of woman she is. Is she the one that will cut lose without much of a push, or is it going to take a little bit of effort to get in there? Probably one of the best ways to loosen up a woman is with a drink and a harming conversation. If everything goes smoothly, then you're in for a good night."

Naruto sweat dropped at this. The pervert was just looking for an excuse to get lucky for the night and pass it off to Naruto as a sort of training. Jiraiya's first attempt at getting lucky failed miserably and Naruto figured it was best to just finish his meal and leave before his perverted sensei did anything too embarrassing.

Simply walking around town was a pleasant feeling. By now, it was mid-summer and there was a cool coastal breeze coming of the ocean to make it so that the warm summer night wasn't sweltering hot like it should have been. Naruto's little walk eventually took him to the top of a cliff that jutted out into the ocean, giving Naruto a good view of the town in its evening light.

"_You know, this place is actually pretty nice. When Baachan finally gives me some vacation time when I get back, I need to find some way to bring Hinata-chan here"_ thought Naruto.

"_**Just admit it, you want to see her in a bikini"**_ replied Kurama.

"_I DO NOT! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU ERO-KITSUNE!"_ objected Naruto.

"_**I know you do. That's one of the benefits of not having this seal on anymore is that unless you specifically keep your thoughts away from me, I know exactly what you're thinking. In particular a certain midnight-blue haired girl in a light violet bikini, showing off the insanely hot body that she's grown into over the past few years. You're perverted teacher's right when he said that you're lucky if she turns out like I think she is. I mean did you see the picture of her mother? I may not be human, but even I think that woman was pretty hot!"**_ commented Kurama.

"_I don't what to hear it!" _shouted Naruto, trying to drown out Kurama's teasing. A few moments of silence filled their conversation before Naruto spoke again, fiddling with his fingers in a very Hinata-esque fashion. _"Do you really think she's going to turn out like that?"_

"_**Oh that's a minimum. I wouldn't be surprised if she'd turn out to be even more of a babe than that"**_ teased Kurama.

Blood began trickling out of Naruto's nose as the perverted thoughts that were associated with guys his age flooded his mind, along with the laughter of a certain perverted fox.

"_Hey Kurama, what was she like?" _asked Naruto, turning the conversation back on his tenant.

"_**Who are you talking about?"**_ replied Kurama, trying to avoid the subject.

"_You know who I'm talking about. You were the one who told me you could tell what I was thinking unless I specifically tried to block it out"_ replied Naruto. _"Back in Uzu, you said you had a girl or vixen I guess. What was she like?"_

"_**It's not something I really want to talk about, Kit"**_ replied Kurama.

"_Are you really going to keep that bottled up?"_ asked Naruto. Kurama remained silent. _"Look, I'd imagine it's hard, especially if you really did love her, but I've been reading up on a few things and I think you know what it is I'm talking about. You've just been trying to block those thoughts out of your head."_

"_**Naruto, just stop!"**_ roared Kurama.

"_No. You need to hear this, not just moap around like nothing's going to happen. One of those five sealing scrolls that I found is on demonic containment seals, kind of like the one that's sealing you into me. According to that scroll, a seal used to seal a demon within an object is not strong enough to actually kill a demon, maybe only weaken them if something goes wrong. I also know that there has to be some sort of medium for the sealing, such as an alter or shrine for the demonic chakra or essence to pass through"_ said Naruto. _"My theory is this, what if she's still alive, but got weakened by the sealing and instead was sealing inside the medium."_

"_**And what would make you think that? Even your own kind's history scrolls claimed that they had killed her**_**"** replied Kurama. This whole conversation was only making him mad, but it was one that Naruto knew he had to have with his tenant if he wanted to further solidify the trust between biju and jinchuriki.

"_Even history kind of lies to make us look better. Take my own dad for example. The village said that my dad killed you, yet he could only seal you in me. While the cover may not have worked so well, in the end Jiji was trying to make my dad look more powerful. What if her death was only exaggerated to make the ones responsible seem more powerful?"_ asked Naruto. _"I may be an idiot at some things, but stuff such as sealing I don't consider myself an idiot at. It's probably the only thing I actually know what I'm doing. And it was one thing I asked my parents. They also think the sealing was exaggerated and that she's alive."_

Kurama's eyes shot wide open. Could it really be true? Could _she_ really be alive, and just sealed within some silly shrine? _**"So you're telling me that you know where she might be sealed?"**_

"_Me? No. But my mom told me that she had been working on figuring that out. You see, my dad wasn't the only seal master in the family. I mean you were sealed inside her, you should know my mother was skilled with them as well"_ said Naruto. _"She said that she was working on trying to untangle the mystery of where she might be sealed and she said that she had some notes on the subject. When we get back to Konoha, I'll ask Baachan to get me those notes and I'll pick up where she left off."_

"_**And why would Kushina do something like that? She always hated me"**_ commented Kurama.

"_No, she didn't. She saw that you were suffering and wanted to do something to try and get you to open up to her" _replied Naruto. _"Look, what I really want to say is that I trust you and I can tell you trust me, but I want to know more about you. I'm not asking you to tell me your story this very moment, but I'd like to know more about you when you feel you're ready to talk about it. Just think about what I'm asking okay?"_

Kurama sighed. _**"Alright, I promise I'll tell you before we get back to Konoha, but not right now. It's not exactly something I can just tell, you know."**_

"_That's all I'm asking and I feel it will really help the two of us move forward with this"_ replied Naruto. _"Now let's get back. I've got a feeling Ero-Sennin's unconscious in some dark alleyway right about now."_

* * *

A few more days of their vacation passed with Jiraiya teaching Naruto some more 'stuff that every man should know'. Sadly, both of them had accepted the fact that either Tsunade or Hiashi was going to beat their ass within an inch of death when they got back, but realized that it was too late to do anything to correct the situation, so Jiraiya continued on with Naruto's 'education'.

Unfortunately for both Naruto and Jiraiya, today happened to be the day a large storm system was passing through the resort village and the two were condemned to the resort in which they were staying.

For Jiraiya, this gave him the opportunity to put some of his 'research' into the draft of his new book. For Naruto, this meant reading and editing Jiraiya's attempts at a story. Some were decent, but most were just pretty bad. Thankfully for the blonde, there came a time when Jiraiya had decided to stop writing for the day and Naruto could turn to his own book, more importantly continuing on those five secret Uzumaki seals. He had already looked into one scroll on the way to the resort village, which was the Uzumaki Demonic Sealing Scroll. After looking at it some more, he decided to hold off on that one seeing as he didn't think he'd be sealing a demon within a person or shrine anytime soon, and he was really anxious to get onto the next type of sea.

Naruto unsealed the scroll in the second hidden cover seal and read the inscription on the scroll; "Regression seal."

Upon hearing the name of the seal come out of Naruto's mouth, Jiraiya instantly froze and dropped the pen he was writing his own drafts with. "What did you just say, Naruto?"

"It's one of the five secret Uzumaki techniques. The scroll says 'Regression Seal' on it. I wonder what it does" said Naruto as he opened the scroll to uncover what had to have been the most complex seal he had ever seen and Jiraiya was immediately over the blonde's shoulder scanning over the fuinjutsu, taking a certain scroll out of his own pack to analyze it as well.

"Holy shit. The rumors are true; it actually does exist" gasped Jiraiya.

"Ero-Sennin, what are you talking about?" asked Naruto.

"There were rumors that the Uzumakis had developed what was known as a Time Seal. It's not the same as time-space jutsu because while those jutsus manipulate and control dimensions and dimensional barriers, this seal actually is rumored to be able to reverse time" explained Jiraiya.

"So it's a time travel jutsu?" asked Naruto.

Jiraiya shook his head. "Not quite. A time travel jutsu is a theoretical time-space jutsu and something that while there are some theories behind it, has proven to be virtually impossible to implement. However, this is actually something much different and has much more potential. Unlike the theory behind time travel, this only reverts the state of something enclosed within the seal to an earlier condition. I know it may sound complicated, but it only helps to show the complexity behind this seal, but also the potential behind it."

"Okay…" said a slightly confused Naruto. He might be an expert in sealing, but he was no theoretical physicist.

"Let me try to explain. Let's say you put a dried out piece of fruit within the seal and activate it. If you use the seal enough to take the fruit back let's say three days, then your fruit will be three days younger or it will exist at the state it was three days ago. You with me so far?" asked Jiraiya.

"Eh, kind of. So let's say I have day old ramen and use this seal to take it back a day, then I'll have fresh ramen?" asked Naruto. Jiraiya slapped his face at this. Leave it to Naruto to use ramen as a reference for something. But still, that was the general idea.

"Now, let's say you used this on a seal. If you could regress the seal far enough to the point where it was before it was applied, then theoretically, the seal never would have been applied" said Jiraiya.

Naruto's eyes shot open as he just realized where Jiraiya was getting at and what scroll Jiraiya had in hand. "Does this mean…"

"I think it does, Naruto" said Jiraiya. "Get cracking on that seal."

"Right! I'll have it down, just you wait! -ttebayo!"

* * *

Konoha,

Tsuande was sitting at her desk doing…do I really have to say? Okay, she was doing paperwork. More of the goddamned paperwork. Can someone please come up with a jutsu that can help her with the paperwork? I mean, it can't be that hard to come up with something that can duplicate yourself so that you can have the duplicates do the paperwork while you relax, isn't it?

Anyways, Tsunade was sitting at her desk doing paperwork when Shizune came bursting through the door, followed by a toad.

"Tsunade-sama!" shouted Shizune, handing a scroll that the toad had delivered to Konoha, addressed to Tsunade. Tsunade took the scroll and began to read. "What's it say?"

"Shizune, summon Team Gai in here immediately!" ordered Tsunade.

"Hai! Right away!" addressed Shizune before running out the door.

"_So you guys have finally figured it out, have you?" _thought Tsunade as she read through the scroll.

About 10 minutes later, Team Gai was standing in front of Tsunade's desk awaiting whatever orders the Hokage had for them.

"We've just received an urgent mission request and you four are the ideal team for such a mission" addressed Tsuande. "There is a _distinguished_ and _famed_ writer that is desperately in need of an escort and protection. Apparently, he's being targeted by assassins and has asked our village to send him aid." Tsunade, for some reason, had greatly struggled to get out the 'distinguished' and 'famed' part of the sentence, nearly vomiting at one point.

"You are to report to the location indicated in the mission briefing and provide him with protection against whoever is targeting him" said Tsunade.

"Hokage-sama, just how youthful of challengers are we to expect?" asked Lee.

"According to the report, there is believed to be at least a jonin-leveled on the mission" said Tsunade.

"Yosh! An excellent challenge! I will fulfill the mission or else I shall return home, walking on my thumbs in shame" declared Lee.

"That's the spirit Lee!" said Gai, giving Lee the nice-guy pose.

"Anyways…You four are to depart immediately. The location is over a week away and it is imperative that you reach the client in time" said Tsunade. "Dismissed!"

"Hai!" addressed all of Team Gai. The three chunin on the team went to prepare for their mission and this jonin-leveled threat while Gai remained behind in the office.

"Hokage-sama, I apologize for asking, but what is the real objective of this mission?" asked Gai.

"I was going to tell you anyways. This is to remain an S-ranked secret until you reach the destination indicated" said Tsunade, handing Gai the scroll that she had just received.

"I see" said Gai. "I understand, Hokage-sama!"

* * *

_**Jutsu**_

Kitsune Tempest: I mighty roar that unleashes an extremely strong shearing gale of wind at the opponent or area in front of the Kurama/Naruto. **Users:** Naruto, Kurama

Fox Fire: A powerful fire that can be utilized when Naruto's in full Kyuubi mode that takes on a golden-white color, indicating that these flames are rather hot and intense. **Users: **Naruto, Kurama

Tailed Beast Ball: A Biju's most powerful attack where they gather chakra in the form of a ball with a 8:2 ratio of black and white chakra. Once the ball is formed, three things can happen: a) the ball is fired as is, b) the ball isn't compressed and is expelled as a giant shock-wave beam, or c) the ball is compressed and fired. Option C is usually the most powerful of these options as the compression adds an extra element of power to the attack.

* * *

_**Author Notes**_

**Okay, so hopefully the Kyuubi-transformation part wasn't too hard to understand. If it was, please let me know and I'll try to make some adjustments to make it clearer.**

**Well, Jiraiya's corruption of Naruto continues and apparently there's a chance Kurama's vixen could be alive.**

**Also, the new seal will be explained more in the next chapter, so don't start freaking out just yet.**

**So, Naruto's jinchuriki forms will resemble those of Bee, with a version 1, version 2, and full-biju mode. As I said before, I have other plans for the golden chakra cloak Naruto gets in cannon.**

**So some of you have been asking when this arc is going to end. There are four more chapters before I return our heroes to Konoha. When they do return, there will be a few chapters for me to catch up on the pairings that I've neglected for the past so many chapter. As such, those first couple chapters of Book 3 will be primarily dedicated to Naru/Hina, Shino/Fuu, Shika/Tema (although it's going to be troublesome...then again, everything's troublesome to Shikamaru), Neji/Ten, and I'll be delving a bit into the pairing that have developed while Naruto and Jiraiya were away (you didn't think anything didn't happen, did you?). So any ways for those of you who are getting desperate for some pairing stuff, just bear with me for a bit longer.**

**Well, that'll be it for now. ****PLEASE REVIEW!**


	67. The Regression Seal

**A/N: Well, here it is, the next chapter. There is a note on the Regression Seal at the end of the chapter if you still need some clarification on it after reading the chapter. I'll start with a few comment responses seeing as I didn't do so last time.**

** theIrishWriter: **Yes, Hiro and the others in the Land of Iron will come back in Book 3

** KuramaFTW: **For the most part, Sakura and Sasuke's training will be covered in flashbacks. Unlike Naruto's training, Sasuke's was (for the most part) just training. Sakura's been on missions and if I feel anything's important, I'll just use a flashback for them

** Princeofhavok:** See note at end on the regression seal

** thestorymaker2:** My normal chapters are between 8-10k words already and that's actually the length I like them at length so sorry.

** wacko12: **Yes, Naruto basically resembles Kurama in full biju-mode (just like Bee resembles Gyuki). While yes, Naruto can partially transform as well (such as a fox tail. Again, like Bee can partially transform), he's not a half demon. He's merely exchanging his body for Kurama's temporarily.

** Larry:** Sorry if that last response might have been a bit confusing. Karin won't be a Naruto-fangirl, she'll be a Sasuke fan-girl and play the same role in the SasuSaku relationship for a bit that the fangirls from the Wave and Snow are for the NaruHina.

**On a side note:** I am still trying to think of a pairing for Karin and am open for suggestions on that one.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto

Posted: 4/29/13

* * *

**Chapter 67: The Regression Seal**

"It's one of the five secret Uzumaki techniques. The scroll says 'Regression Seal' on it. I wonder what it does" said Naruto as he opened the scroll to uncover what had to have been the most complex seal he had ever seen and Jiraiya was immediately over the blonde's shoulder scanning over the fuinjutsu, taking a certain scroll out of his own pack to analyze it as well.

"Holy shit. The rumors are true; it actually does exist" gasped Jiraiya.

Naruto's eyes shot open as he just realized where Jiraiya was getting at and what scroll Jiraiya had in hand. "Does this mean…"

"I think it does, Naruto" said Jiraiya. "Get cracking on that seal."

"Right! I'll have it down, just you wait! -ttebayo!"

Four days so far had passed with Naruto making little progress on learning how to make that seal. _"Damn this thing's more complicated than I originally thought!" _screamed Naruto in his head as he had already gone through about a dozen large scrolls that he was drawing the regression seal on.

"_**Well what do you expect for a seal that can practically reverse time itself? A meager little storage seal? And keep it down, I'm trying to take a nap!" **_replied Kurama.

"*sigh* I've gotta go clear my head. Just getting all frustrated over the damned thing isn't going to help" said Naruto as he put down his own brush and ink that he had for sealing.

About an hour later, Naruto returned to see Jiraiya looking over the scroll that he left open on his bed. "You know, you really shouldn't leave something like this just lying around, Naruto" said Jiraiya. "I know the odds of shinobi operating in this area are slim, but you can never be too careful, especially not with a seal of this potential."

"Heh, sorry about that. I'll be a little more careful next time" said Naruto. "So did you find anything out about it?"

"Yeah, there are a few things you're going to have to watch out for when you use it" said Jiraiya. "The first is when you use it, you're going to have to be extremely careful what you encase within the regression field. For example, if we're going to use it to rid Neji of that seal, you need to make sure you've only encased the Caged Bird Seal and nothing else. If you catch his brain in the field, you'll revert it back to the state it was in when he was only four years old."

Naruto laughed at the mental image of toddler Neji that Kurama had created.

"It's not funny Naruto" said Jiriaya. "I've got a few test seals made up already that we can use to give you some practice on only encasing the seal and we'll only proceed with it when you're confident you can encase just the seal. I'm also concerned about the chakra cost of this thing."

"What do you mean, Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto.

"Naruto, you may never have had to think about the chakra cost of a jutsu before because of your abnormally large reserves, but the chakra that's going to be required for you to use this seal is ungodly, even to your standards" said Jiraiya. "Especially considering you've got to fully regress what? An almost 12-year old seal?"

"So, chakra requirements have never stopped me before" said Naruto.

"Kid, you don't understand" said Jiraiya. "If my estimate is correct, you yourself would only be able to regress that seal up to two or three, and that's only because the Caged Bird Seal is a relatively small seal. The chakra required for this seal is enormous and the cost only increases the further back you go. Look, the amount of chakra required for it is influenced by two things, the containment area and how far back you regress what's in the containment area. While the seal itself is fairly small, you've gotta go back 12 years. I said you have enough chakra to go back 1 year, well to go back another year, you're going to need twice as much as you had for the first year, and the chakra for each year after that is only going to double or more."

"Well, if I need more chakra, I'll just use some of Kurama's" replied Naruto.

"Even I don't know if that'll be enough" said Jiraiya.

"_**And now I'm offended"**_ replied Kurama.

"_This would be a lot easier to explain had he paid attention in math class back in the Academy"_ thought Jiraiya. "We say the biju are infinite masses of chakra because for all intents and purposes, they are. But even they have a limit as to how much they can exert at one time."

"Well if that's the case, then why can't we just do it in multiple goes? Regress Neji's seal as far back as possible, stop and rest, and then go again" asked Naruto.

"No can do. It's gotta be done in one shot" said Jiraiya. "It's a failsafe on the seal itself to stop the use of that seal from completely screwing up the universe and disrupting the time-space continuum."

"The what?" asked Naruto.

"Don't worry about that stuff just yet, but what I'm saying is that seal can only be used once and after that, Neji would most likely be ripped from this dimension" said Jiraiya.

Naruto cringed at the very thought. Somehow, he knew what Ero-Sennin was talking about. But even he didn't know how he understood it.

"I see you get what I'm saying" said Jiraiya.

"Yeah, but I'm not exactly sure how. I've never once heard about this time-space continuum thingy and even the whole concept of dimensions just gives me a headache" said Naruto.

"It must be the Namikaze in you" said Jiraiya.

Naruto's eyes widened as his teacher mentioned his father's family. "Ero-Sennin, who were they?" asked Naruto. "What was my dad's family like?"

"Give me a moment to activate the privacy seals" said Jiraiya as he went about doing such. "I guess I'll start with this. You come from two families of seal-masters. You know your Uzumaki heritage rather well by now I assume after the time you spent with Mifune and his family in the Land of Iron. While the Uzumakis were considered the most powerful seal-masters in the entire shinobi world, there was one area of fuinjutsu that they were surpassed in. That was space-time ninjutsu. And the family who surpassed them in that area was the family your father came from, the Namikaze."

"Woah! Really?" asked Naruto. Jiraiya nodded.

"They were feared almost as much as the Uzumakis and as such were highly targeted" said Jiraiya. "Unlike the Uzumaki's you're the only one alive with Namikaze blood that I know of."

"So what exactly is space-time ninjutsu?" asked Naruto.

"It's the ability to manipulate dimensions and dimensional voids. In short, they're teleportation techniques. The most common form of space-time ninjutsu are summoning techniques, but beyond that there aren't many who can use space-time ninjutsu to a higher level" said Jiraiya as Naruto was about to speak. "Before you ask, even I can't use space-time ninjutsu to a much higher level than summoning. If you want to learn that stuff, you're going to have to ask someone else to teach you."

"Really? But who?" asked Naruto.

"There's one person I can think of who would know some space-time jutsus besides just summoning and that would be your dad's only remaining student" said Jiraiya.

"You mean Kakashi-sensei can teach me?" asked Naruto, excited at the thought that Kakashi could train him again.

Jiraiya nodded. "He's the only one in the village who can use space-time jutsu to a higher degree than just summoning."

"Now, back to that seal you're working on. It's to some extent a space-time jutsu, but it only utilizes the time component, which is why it's so unique and powerful" said Jiraiya. "But that's also why it requires so much charka, to repair any damage the effect of the seal does to the space-time continuum and to separate the space from the time. The only reason you can use it once on an object is because the second time around, you won't be able to repair the space-time continuum."

"I think I get what you're saying, although I still don't quite get this whole space-time continuum thing" said Naruto.

"I would be worried if you did" joked Jiraiya. "Anyways, this means we can't waste any more time. I'm going to send a request to Tsunade to send a team with Neji on it to meet us under the guise of protecting a famous author from an assassination attempt. We're about ten days from Konoha at a normal shinobi's pace, but given that Tsunade will most likely be sending Neji's team, meaning Gai, they'll probably be here in seven days. We need that seal ready by the time they get here. The longer we wait, the more chakra it will require for the regression seal and the bigger the chance that we risk of not being able to remove it."

"_**You know, I still feel insulted by that pervert saying MY chakra might not even be enough"**_ said Kurama.

"_Yeah, I get where you're coming from, but Ero-Sennin is right about this seal requiring a ton of chakra. So I'm going to need all you can give me at that time"_ said Naruto.

* * *

Six days later,

Finally, the blonde had finished it. It had taken him the equivalent of about a dozen years (thank Kami for shadow clones, now if only someone could find a way to deal with the paperwork), and hundreds of scrolls (courteously supplied by the toads of Mt. Myoboku), for him to get what he believed to be the correct matrix down.

"Alright Naruto, let's see if you have it" said Jiraiya, pulling out one of the test seals he had constructed a few days ago. Naruto took and placed it upon the scroll in which he had drawn the regression seal. Nearly fifty Uzumaki hand seals later (who knew Naruto could string together that many hand seals), Secret Uzumaki Technique: Regression Seal!" From the scroll, the sealing matrix erupted, forming what nearly resembled a giant clock and the seal began to coat the test seal in charka. Seconds later, the seal itself began to glow ad Naruto could immediately feel the chakra drain start to take effect as the seal did its work on the test seal.

As soon as Naruto saw the seal disappear from the test scroll he cut off the flow of charka and fell to his knees. "So it does work. And now you see what I mean by that thing has a huge chakra cost?"

"Yeah…how long was that test seal?" asked Naruto.

"I made that seal six months ago. You're going to have to go for twelve years" said Jiraiya. That trial run had shown Naruto just how big the chakra requirement for the seal was as he was already feeling as drained as the time he first summoned Gamabunta. Six months, and even Naruto of all people was feeling the drain and Ero-Sennin had mentioned that the amount of chakra required per year only increases with each year.

"_**Alright, I'll give it some credit. This seal's going to need a crap ton of chakra. I'm going to start building some up, so don't disturb me until you're ready to give it a go"**_ said Kurama, getting a nod from the blonde.

"Now, the next thing you've gotta do is make sure you've only encased the seal. You can't affect anything else in Neji's head or else there's a risk for mental retardation" said Jiraiya. "Now, these seals are only a week old and I've drawn two seals on them. Keep practicing until you can successfully get rid of one without affecting the other."

The Jiraiya got more serious. "Naruto, you do realize that if this works, Neji won't have the seal on his forehead and Hiashi can truly begin preparing for what he calls the 'Hyuga Revolution'. It may be possible for that seal to remove some of the older seals, it may not. But as long as Hiashi can get the seal removed from Neji, then he can have Neji take a spot as a clan elder. That should be long enough to keep the remaining two elders at bay until either Hiashi or Doranji succeed their fathers."

"Who's this Doranji? I've heard his name before…wait, isn't he one of those bastard main-branch Hyugas?" asked Naruto.

"He is a main branch Hyuga, but he's sided with Hiashi, wanting to protect his own newborn daughter from being sealed when she turns six" said Jiraiya. "Once Neji is able to take the spot as an elder from Ihro, who just so happens to be that Shinji kid's grandfather, then Hiashi and Neji will begin to restrict the elder's influence and slowly work one of the remaining two elders out of power, giving them more control of the clan and banning the practice of the Caged Bird Seal. While this won't affect you in the long run, it is possible that Hinata will have to take over as head of the clan until Hanabi would come of age 17 if Hiashi is the one to assume the role of elder."

Ero-Sennin was right. This would be the first big step in fulfilling his promise to Neji and Hinata-chan to change the ways of the Hyuga clan.

* * *

"So, are you ready for this?" asked Jiraiya.

"I am. Last night, I got it so that only the one seal was affected. And don't worry, I'm doing this for Hinata's family and the promise I made to Neji. I won't fail, -ttebayo!" declared Naruto.

"Okay, I just got a message from the toads I have set keeping an eye on the area. They're about half-a-day out, meaning they should be here by this evening" said Jiraiya.

"_Awesome! I can't wait to see some of my friends again and who knows, maybe Lee will be up for a spar" _thought Naruto. _"You know, I should go pay them a visit…hehe."_

"Naruto, I know what you're thinking, but you can't waste any chakra. If anything, you should be resting right now to ensure you're ready to go when we start the sealing procedure" said Jiraiya. "I know you're excited to see them, but right now you need to be conserving every ounce of chakra you can."

"No, I understand" said Naruto as he decided he would try to find a nice place around town to simply rest.

"_This is it. I haven't been able to find a way to remove that seal, and if anything is going to be able to do the job, it's going to be that __Regression Seal__"_ thought Jiraiya.

* * *

"Gai-sensei, we need to pick up the pace! If we do not, then that poor and respected author could be in trouble. And besides, my youthful flames are dying to test themselves against this jonin-leveled enemy!" declared Lee as he and the rest of Team Gai sped their ways through the trees and towards the coastal village of Ogasarawa.

"Neji-kun, does something about this mission seem off to you?" asked Tenten as she and her boyfriend trailed slightly behind Lee and Gai.

"Besides those two getting all worked up again? I will admit I have felt that something about this mission is..off" said Neji. "First, why does a simple author have a jonin-leveled ninja targeting him or her. Even if they were some sort of political dissident, someone such as an author shouldn't require a jonin to take him out. Second, why are we meeting them all the way out here? Suna would be a much better village to ask for aid from as they're at least three days closer and I would imagine there are other smaller ninja villages in the region this author could hire protection from. Not that I'm complaining, but it seems a little odd that we're being rushed out like this."

"HURRY UP SLOWPOKES!" called out Gai.

"Gai-sensei is right! If we are to reach our client in time, we must double, no triple our pace!" said Lee.

"Well said Lee. Let's GOOOO!" shouted Gai, causing Neji and Tenten to sweat-drop.

A few hours, one panting Neji, and one exhausted Tenten later, the team of Konoha ninja found themselves at the entrance to the resort city.

"Wow, this place is actually really nice. Sigh, it's too bad we're going to be stuck on guard duty, and I so want to go to the beach!" exclaimed Tenten. "Don't you Neji-kun? You know, relaxing on the beach underneath the warm summer sun? I'm wearing this new sexy swimsuit I just bought from one of the designer shops on the boardwalk…" Neji was trying his very best to stop the blood from trickling out of his nose at the thought of Tenten in a bikini.

"No time for dawdling, slackers! Let's go find our client!" declare Gai as he marched his team into the city, both Neji and Tenten praying that they would have some opportunity for relaxation on this mission.

"Gai-sensei, where is our client?" asked Lee as Gai pulled out the scroll containing the mission briefing. "He should be located at the Ocean Sunset Inn, which is this way!"

Ten minutes later, Team Gai found themselves in the shady part of town, the same place where all the thugs tend to hand out. "Umm Gai-sensei, I don't think this is the right place."

"Why sure it is! Don't you see all these youthful faces? I'm sure our client is around here somewhere!" declared Gai, not bothering to look at the sign which read 'Shipwreck Dive Bar', which was not even close to what they were looking for. The Konoha ninja received a few glares that basically said 'get the hell out of here before we beat you up and string you on a line as shark bait.'

Deciding to be the responsible one here, Tenten asked a villager after they were away from the hotel for directions and they were pointed in the correct direction.

As they approached the correct inn, there was a rather annoying laugh coming from the bar on the bottom floor of the inn and as they looked in, a familiar white-haired man was sitting at the table sipping on some sake with two busty women, still clad in swimwear from the day to either side of him.

"Is that?" asked Tenten.

"Hmm, I knew something was off about this mission" said Neji.

"Excellent observation my pupil!" said Gai, giving Neji a thumbs up.

"What's that pervert up to now?" complained another voice coming from the door to the side that led into the hotel section of the inn. Team Gai turned around to see a familiar blonde whiskered person standing before them.

"Huh? Hey, you guys are here!" shouted the blonde.

"Is that?" gasped Tenten, more surprised by the person standing infront of them than anyone else. "No…that can't be Naruto, can it?"

"And who else would I be?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah but, and no offence, you're not a shrimp anymore!" exclaimed Tenten. She was in fact correct on that as Naruto now stood 170cm (~5'6") (about the same height as Neji now, who used to be at least 15cm taller than him before he left). Naruto's hair had also grown out a little to the point where Naruto's bangs now hung down to just above his eyes.

"I take it you guys are looking for some _respectable_ and _renowned _author?" asked Naruto, getting a stupefied nod out of Tenten. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you but the only author is that pervert over there." Naruto pointed to Jiraiya who was now walking towards them.

"It is nice to see you, but do you mind telling us what this whole thing is about?" asked Neji. Naruto pointed to his bare forehead and Neji's eyes grew wide. "You can't be serious?!"

"I am. We've got a way to get it off" said Naruto.

"How?" asked Neji.

"It's an Uzumaki seal known as the Regression Seal. It'll revert your seal back to the point where it wasn't even there" said Naruto. "There's only one drawback and that's the fact that this is a one-shot method. The seal requires a crap ton of chakra and there is even a chance I might not have enough to take your seal back the 12 years it needs to go to be removed."

"Y-you're kidding right? You not have enough chakra?" asked Tenten.

Naruto nodded. "And that's using Kurama's chakra" said Naruto, earning a confused look from Team Gai. "Sorry, Kurama's the Kyuubi."

"Ooohh."

"You're telling me that even with the Kyuubi's chakra, it still may not be enough?" asked Neji. Naruto nodded. "So what happens if it's not?"

"Well, I think you'll be fine, it's just if we were to give it a second go where you'd be in trouble. If we were required to give it a second go with the seal, then something about you getting split between multiple dimensions" said Naruto. "But don't worry. Since we are only going to do this once, all you have to worry about is having your mind reverted back to the state of a 4-year old." Naruto just grinned and rubbed the back of his head, earning a look from Neji and Tenten. "But I am serious. I've looked through all the seals in that Uzumaki sealing book and I've even looked at all of the seal-removing methods and this is the only thing I found that would give us a chance of getting that blasted seal off."

"I understand" said Neji.

"So, are we just going to stand around and wait for the grass to grow, or are we going to get a seal off?" asked Jiraiya, coming over to join them. Everyone looked over at Neji.

"Very well. Naruto, I trust that you're going to be the one doing it?" asked Neji.

"Yeah, I kind of am the only one who can" replied Naruto.

"Good. I trust you and I believe you'll do it" said Neji.

"Let's not waste any more time. The longer we wait, the more chakra we're going to need and I already feel like the amount of chakra's going to push Naruto to the limit" said Jiraiya. "I've rented a cabin on the outskirts of town where we can do this as not to disturb the vacationers with the chakra."

* * *

In the cabin just outside the village, Naruto had just finished unfurling the scroll with the regression seal on it and connecting it to the seal on Neji's head. As this was going on, Tenten was doing her very best to comprehend the complexity of the seal that was laid out on the scroll.

"Naruto made that?" gasped Tenten.

"He's gotten a lot better since he left the village" said Jiraiya.

"Lee, is something on your mind?" asked Gai, seeing that something was up with his star pupil.

"It's just, I was really looking forward to pitting my Youth against this jonin-level opponent" cried Lee.

"Not to worry Lee, there will be plenty of other youthful opponents for you to fight!" declared Gai.

"Well, to be completely honest, I would probably put Naruto around jonin-level in terms of skill right now" said Jiraiya.

"Really?! Then I shall challenge Naruto to a test of Flaming Youth!" declared Lee.

"Not now! Naruto needs to concentrate to make sure he's got everything right" said Jiraiya, stopping the eccentric Lee from running up to challenge Naruto.

"Jiraiya-sama, would you really place Naruto at jonin-level?" asked Gai.

"Trust me, he's full of surprises. And that's just his own power as well" said Jiraiya. "I even think he'd give you a good run for your money."

"His own power? Are you saying…" asked Gai.

"Yes. He can access the full power of the Kyuubi" said Jiraiya. "Here we go. I think he's ready."

"Here we go Neji. Everything looks to be good. You ready?" asked Naruto.

"I am. I am ready for my cage to be open" said Neji.

"Right!" declared Naruto as he began to go through the hand seals.

"Gai-sensei, I don't think I've ever seen those types of hand seals. What are they?" asked Tenten.

"They're a special set of 9 hand seals unique to the Uzumaki-style sealing" said Jiraiya.

"Secret Uzumaki Technique: Regression Seal! Encase!" shouted Naruto as the glowing clock-like seal erupted forth from the scroll, encompassing a majority of the room. The chakra from the seal began to creep its way up to the seal on Neji's head until it began encasing the Caged Bird Seal in a shroud of white chakra, and Naruto was making 150% sure that only the Caged Bird Seal got encased.

"Alright, I've got it all and only it. This is going to hurt a lot Neji, but I promise you'll come out just fine" said Naruto, thinking back to when Jiraiya placed a simple test seal on his own arm yesterday and had Naruto use the regression seal. He had successfully removed it, but Jiraiya commented that the pain was enormous, probably due to having the time and space components of reality separated in his own arm.

"I don't care what the pain is. This seal's brought me enough pain as it is and I'll take whatever more I have to see it gone" said Neji. "Do it!"

"Okay, you ready Kurama?" asked Naruto.

"_**Yep, I'll have to maintain a version 1 cloak on you as you can't do your own jutsu in a version 2 cloak or full-biju mode, but I've got enough stored so that if you lose any, I can just refresh it"**_ replied Kurama.

"Let's go. Uzumaki-style: Regression-seal, regress!"

A massive surge of chakra began flooding through the seal and the cabin began to quake as the seal began to do its work and revert Neji's seal to nothing. As the seal started, Neji cried out as extreme pain shot out through his head.

"Neji!" shouted Tenten as she tried to run to Neji, only to be held back by Jiraiya.

"Trust that Naruto has everything. This pain is normal, trust me, but once it's over Neji won't have to worry about any more pain caused by that seal again" said Jiraiya.

"We've reached one year" said Jiraiya.

"How can you tell, Jiraiya-sama?" asked Tenten.

"You see the moving rings on the clock?" said Jiraiya, pointing to the clock-like seal. "The inner most one around the center is the one for day, the one on the very outside is year. Every time around that outer ring is a year."

"And Neji's seal is 12 years?" asked Tenten.

"Yes, and it will be right about now that Naruto's going to have to use Kyuubi chakra from here on out." Just as Jiraiya said that, an 8-tailed version 1 chakra cloak erupted from Naruto.

For Naruto, the chakra drain on this seal was enormous. He had already exhausted his own massive reserves and he could feel Kurama channeling chakra into him at an alarming rate, just trying to maintain the cloak. Even though the biju were essentially masses of infinite chakra, that didn't mean their chakra was infinite. It was just so large by human standards that it was considered infinite and Naruto was praying to Kami that Kurama's 'infinite' chakra reserves were enough to power the seal through another 10 years.

Two years down…

Neji could only help but grit his teeth in the cloth that had been provided for him to bite down on. The pain was even worse than the seal itself being active, but he had to hold out hope. He couldn't feel any of his memories being affected, which would happen if Naruto had failed to encase just the Caged Bird Seal, meaning that Naruto had succeeded in the encasement. All he could do now was hope that Naruto and the Kyuubi had enough chakra to power the seal long enough.

Four years down…

"_Just keep it up, we can do this"_ called out Naruto to Kurama.

"_**Damn, I've seriously underestimated this seal. Even I can feel the chakra drain"**_ commented Kurama.

"_Whatever you do, don't you dare stop giving me chakra!"_ yelled Naruto.

"_**Heh, I wouldn't dream on it. No way is some blasted seal going to beat me!"**_ retorted Kurama.

Eight years down…

"Eight years, that's a lot of chakra going into that seal" commented Tenten.

"Yes it is. Naruto's putting every ounce of his youth into defeating that unyouthful disgrace of a seal on Neji's head! GOOO NARUTO! FIGHT!" shouted Gai.

"_This isn't a fighting match" _commented Tenten to herself.

"As long as Naruto has all 8 tails by the time he goes into the 12th year" said Jiraiya. "That's going to be the difficult one."

Ten years down…

"Oh no! One of the tails is going!" cried out Tenten over Lee and Gai's obsessive cheering.

"_Shit, come on Kurama, is that all you've got?!"_ thought Jiraiya. _"Is the mighty Kyuubi no Kitsune going to be outdone by a mere seal?"_

"_Shit, Kurama!" _shouted Naruto.

"_**Oh hell you're not! You're not winning today you god forsaken seal!"**_ shouted Kurama as he forced more chakra into his vessel, reforming the eighth tail.

Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief, but he was still worried. They weren't quite on the 12th year yet and even he could tell that the Kyuubi was starting to run low.

Eleven years down, one to go…

AS Kurama began surging the last remaining chakra he had through Naruto, the pain in Neji's head caused the Hyuga genius to temporarily lose consciousness.

"Neji!" shouted Naruto. "Damnit! Just a little more!"

By this time, the eighth tail had disappeared and Kurama found himself struggling to maintain his chakra. He had severely underestimated the chakra cost of the seal and now even he was on the verge of exhaustion.

"Come on!" egged on Jiraiya. Naruto was down to five tails and already losing the fifth as the counter rounded the 11.5 year marker. Four tails…three tails…two tails and the counter rounded the 11.75 year mark.

Naruto's cloak dropped to a single tail and everyone was holding their breath as that tail began to disappear and Naruto's cloak began to recede.

"I can't watch!" said Tenten as she closed her eyes and turned away.

Just as the full chakra cloak disappeared, leaving Naruto with just an aura of demonic chakra, enough to give him the red-slitted eyes and distinct claws, the seal on Neji's head began to glow a bright green, just as it had done when the Hyuga elders activated the seal the very first time to brand it into Neji's forehead.

The last bit of chakra pulsed into the seal and the seal deactivated as Naruto knelt on the ground next to the seal, heavily panting and thoroughly spent.

"Is it…" said Tenten, opening her eyes. "No!"

It was still there. The Caged Bird Seal was still there and Naruto could only stare at it.

"Then that means…" gasped Lee. "No, Naruto-kun's youth had to have been enough, right Gai-Sensei?!"

"Lee…" said Gai, resting a hand on Gai's shoulder.

Jiraiya walked over to the sweating and panting Naruto, resting a hand on the blonde's shoulder. Just from that, Naruto was barely able to keep himself from falling over.

"Damnit…Ero-Sennin…it wasn't….enough" panted Naruto as he slammed his weary fist into the ground, the momentum being enough to cause him to fall forward on top of Neji, the hand that was not slammed into the ground, brushing just slightly against the very tip of Neji's still present seal.

"Ooh? And what do we have here?" asked an intrigued Jiraiya as he reached into his back pouch to pull a rag out. The Toad Sennin wiped it across the seal on Neji's forehead and when the rag was removed, just as Naruto's hand had done when he ever so slightly brushed it against Neji's, the seal was smeared.

"Well would you look at that?" chuckled Jiraiya as Naruto forced his head up to see what Jiraiya was talking about. It was close, very close. Close as in the point where the seal had been inked onto Neji's head and was awaiting the activation jutsu to permanently brand it in, but it was gone. The Caged Bird Seal had been removed.

"Oh my god, Neji!" shouted Tenten as she ran over to where Naruto was slumped against Jiraiya.

"Ungh…Ten…ten?" muttered Neji as he slowly regained consciousness now that the pain had stopped. By that time, Tenten was already over top of Neji. "Did…did it work?"

Tenten removed her forehead protector and used it as sort of a mirror to show Neji the ink smear now on his forehead.

"It's gone, but just barely. The ink was still present which means we had it by minutes" said Jiraiya.

"Thank you…Naruto…" said Neji, turning his head to the exhausted blonde that Jiraiya was supporting.

"Don't worry about it…I said I'd get…that damned seal off of you…didn't I?" grinned Naruto.

"_**Hah! Take that you fucking seal! Kyuubi-1, Seals-0!"**_ shouted Kurama as he collapsed back in Naruto's mindscape, which had been graciously changed by Naruto to resemble a forest a few days ago. _**"Now if you don't mind, I'm going to take a victory nap. Don't wake me for a few weeks!"**_ A few weeks was right. Even Kurama himself was running low on chakra and it would take some time for him to recharge before Naruto could use any sort of Kyuubi-form.

"YOSH! NARUTO'S YOUTH BURNS BRIGHTER THAN EVERY!" shouted Gai.

"THAT WAS TRULY AMAZING, NARUTO-KUN! I AM INSPIRED BY YOUR YOUTHFUL DISPLAY! GAI-SENSEI, WAS THAT NOT AMAZING!" shouted Lee.

IT CERTAINLY WAS, LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

And for the first (and hopefully last time), the wonderful resort town of Ogasarawa got hit with the horrific genjutus that is the Ocean Sunset of Eternal Flaming Youth. Thankfully for Naruto, he was not subjected to this torment, having finally passed out from chakra exhaustion.

"Are you okay, Neji-kun?" asked Tenten.

"My head feels like it's been split in half a thousand times, but I think so" said Neji. He tried to activate his Byakugan just for safe measures and was able to do so before the pain of flowing more chakra through his already pounding head forced him to turn it off. "It looks like you're going to get that beach vacation after all. I don't think I'm going to be fit for travel for a little."

Tenten cheered at that revelation, making sure to thank Naruto when the blonde woke up.

* * *

Letting out a big yawn, the blonde jinchuriki awoke from his chakra-exhaustion induced slumber.

"Oh, you're up?" asked Jiraiya, who was sitting at the table in their hotel room working on a draft for his next Icha Icha book.

"Ero-Sennin? What time is it?" asked Naruto.

"9:00 at night, why?" asked Jiraiya, pointing out the window in their room.

"Oh good, that only means I've been asleep for a few hours" said Naruto, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, that is if you could two days as a few hours" replied Jiraiya.

"WHAT?! Two days?" shouted Naruto. "Please tell me Big Bushy Brows-sensei didn't leave yet!"

"They're still here. Neji was a bit dizzy from having the seal removed, but he's recovered from the massive migraine now. I believe they were going to stay a few more days until they were certain Neji had fully recovered" said Gai. "

"So that means Neji's seal's gone?" asked Naruto.

"It is. You don't remember?" asked Jiraiya.

"Kind of, but I blacked just before you really did confirm it" said Naruto.

"Heh, I told you that seal was going to use a crap ton of chakra" said Jiraiya.

"Yeah, and for some reason I can't block out Furball's snoring" said Naruto with an irritated tone to his voice, earning a chuckle from Jiraiya, followed by a grumble from his own stomach.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" asked Jiraiya, earning a frantic nod from his head.

"Well, lucky for you I was just about to go and meet Gai and his team for dinner. Come on" said Jiraiya as Naruto hopped out of bed, his energy having been returned to him. "Naruto, you did good back there."

"Naruto-kun!" shouted Lee as Naruto's entrance into the bar/restaurant was noticed. Jiraiya and Naruto took a seat at the booth where all the members of Team Gai were sitting.

"Hey guys, sorry that I've kind of been asleep for the last two days" said Naruto.

"No worries, such a rest was well deserved after that youthful display you put on the other day!" exclaimed Gai.

"How you feeling, Neji?" asked Naruto turning his attention to Neji, who was no longer trying to conceal his now clean forehead.

"Still a little disoriented, but much better, and my mind feels a lot less…how to put it, a lot less strained" said Neji.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there was some sort of restrictor in that seal to weaken your own abilities" said Jiraiya. "Now that it's removed, I'll bet you're gonna find that you can do more than you could with your chakra and Byakugan."

"I have noticed that. I thought my Byakugan was clear before, but now it's just…Naruto, I can't thank you enough for what you have done" said Neji.

"Don't worry, I said I was going to get rid of your seal and I did. Besides, I also did it for Hinata-chan as well. She sees you as a brother and it hurt her just as much to see you suffer. Hey, speaking of which, how is Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto, hopeful that Neji would spill a few things on how she's been.

"Hinata-sama's doing very well, Naruto. In fact, I am certain you'd be both proud and surprised with the person and woman she's becoming" said Neji.

"That's great. But how so? How's she changed?" asked Naruto, his newly found inner pervert hoping Neji would give him a physical description of the girl he left back at home.

"That…I'll let Hinata-sama show you when you get home" said Neji, sending a questioning look towards Naruto.

"Hmph, no fair. First Ero-Sennin won't let me use toads to communicate and now you won't even tell me how she is or how pretty she looks?" asked Naruto.

"It's like I said Naruto, It'd ruin the surprise!" commented Jiraiya.

"I did tell you. I said she's doing very well" replied Neji.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean a thing! You've gotta give me more details. What's she been up to? How's she changed? What's she look like?" asked Naruto.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but that I cannot say. It is a surprise" said Neji. "I will say though that she is happy and she's waiting patiently for you to come back."

"You know, how much longer are you two going to be away, Jiraiya-sama? It's been nearly two years now" asked Tenten. Even Naruto wanted to know the answer, now dying to get back to Konoha and see Hinata.

"Hmm…A few more months, I'd say. It' actually won't be too long, Naruto's progressed much faster than I originally thought" said Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya-sama, do you really think Naruto's got the youthfulness of a jonin?" asked Lee.

"Huh? Do you really think I'm jonin-level Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto.

"Believe it or not, I'm certain of it" said Jiraiya. "Trust me, Akatsuki will realize leaving you alone for three years was the worst thing for them to do."

"YOSH!" Everyone turned to Lee to see a fire burning in his eyes. "Naruto-kun, I must see how much your hard work has paid off for myself! I simply must challenge you!"

Naruto sweat-dropped. "Sure Lee, but give me another day or so to rest. That seal really did take a lot out of me."

"I understand, Naruto-kun. I shall wait until I can fight you at your best" exclaimed Lee.

"Gai-sensei, does this actually mean we can stay a few more days? I mean if Neji still needs some time to recover and now Lee wants to test himself against Naruto, certainly you're not going to leave anytime soon" asked a hopeful Tenten, hoping to get a few more days to work on her tan.

"You know, it's nice to have a few days of vacation every now and then, especially after the busy schedule you three have had" said Gai. "And besides, there's nothing more youthful than a 30 mile jog along a beach early in the morning!"

Tenten sighed, but if a 30-mile morning beach jog meant an afternoon of relaxation, then she wasn't going to argue.

* * *

Late morning the following day found everyone out on the beach. Gai and his team had just finished their morning jog. Following that intense 'warm-up', as Gai called it, the ocean looked even more refreshing and Tenten was mere seconds away from diving in, almost forgetting she was wearing her training clothes, which included some weights that Gai had all of his team wearing by this point, even if they were nowhere near as heavy as Lee's.

"_I finally get to try out that new swimsuit I got"_ cheered a joyous Tenten. _"Hmm, I wonder what Neji-kun will think?"_ And with that, Tenten had made a quick detour back to the hotel to change.

Naruto and Jiraiya were both on their way to the beach, as Jiraiya was still in need of more notes for his research, and this resort town was proving to be a treasure trove of inspiration. It wouldn't be long now until the next edition of Icha Icha was ready for publishing.

"Now Naruto, let me tell you a little something about Hyuga's" said Jiraiya. "At first glance, they may appear to be one of the more elegant and refined people in all of Konoha, incorruptible and virtuous in every sense. But you know what?"

"What Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto. Jiraiya pointed over towards the beach blanked Neji was now resting on.

"Just watch" said Jiraiya.

"Oh Neji-kun" whistled Tenten as she arrived back on the beach with her new swimsuit on. As Neji turned to greet his girlfriend, he was left speechless by the sight as his own mind froze on him. The weapons mistress was now wearing a two-piece swimsuit that was a light pink in color with an aqua blue trim to them. She was also wearing a sarong that went down to just above her knees, but really did help to emphasize the rather nice curvature to her body she was developing.

"_Oh wow, Tenten's actually kind of hot. I mean what is she? A B, maybe a C? But it fits her"_ thought Naruto as his hormones began to speak before his brain. _"No no! Stop thinking perverted thoughts! Hmm…I wonder what Hinata-chan would look like in that swimsuit…"_ Naruto's mind went blank at that thought.

"_**And just face it, you're a pervert at heart"**_ replied Kurama.

"_Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" _

"_**I can't sleep over those green-spandex clones' constant shouting! And besides, your friend's reaction is priceless!"**_

Naruto looked over to see Neji, who was doing nothing about the blood dripping from his nose as he just stared at Tenten with those eyes of his, those piercing all-seeing Byakugan eyes.

"Neji-kun, don't stare at me like that. It's embarrassing" blushed Tenten.

"My apologies Tenten-chan, I didn't mean to…it's just…" said Neji, before Tenten shut him up with a finger on his mouth.

At this point, Jiraiya turned back to Naruto. "And there you have it. It's the true gift of the Byakugan and it's the reason the Hyugas are also known as…the biggest closet perverts in all Konoha."

"What?!" objected Naruto.

"Hey, it's true" shrugged Jiraiya. "Just think about it. Chakra points aren't the only thing the Byakugan can see. They can see through walls, trees, bushes…clothes."

"Oh…my…god" gasped Naruto as the realization hit him.

"Did it ever occur to you that the Hyuga compound is situated about a kilometer away from the hot springs in Konoha? A far enough range to draw any suspicion away from them, but well within range of their Byakugan's vision" said Jiraiya.

Flashback

It was just after Team Jiraiya had finished their daily missions and a 14-year old Minato was off to find his redheaded girlfriend to grab a bowl of ramen after a long day of training. The second member of Team Jiraiya had also left as well, leaving a still young and innocent Hiashi alone with the biggest pervert in all of Konoha.

"Hey Hiashi, come over here for a moment" called Jiraiya.

"Yes, Sensei" replied Hiashi as he made his way towards where Jiraiya, who had his eyeglass in hand, was situated.

"I'm afraid my spyglass can't reach that far. Can you tell me what's in that direction, about 2km?" asked Jiraiya.

"Sure Sensei" said Hiashi activating his Byakugan and extended his range of vision.

"So what do you see?" asked Jiraiya.

"Nothing, sensei. It's just the middle of the street but there's a fence a few meters in front of where I'm looking" said Hiashi.

"Well, then try going a few meters forward" said Jiraiya. Hiashi nodded and his vision expanded past the fence, until he was looking…directly into the women's section of the public bathhouse.

"So…what do you see?" asked Jiraiya with a knowing and perverted grin on his face, only to watch as Hiashi passed out in a pool of blood that erupted from his nose.

End Flashback

"And that, was the first time I introduced Hiashi to that wonderful gift of his" said Jiraiya.

"_Umm…wait, does that mean Hinata-chan has also used her Byakugan to see what's under people's clothes? Like my clothes?! Akk, what if she saw me naked?!" _panicked Naruto.

"_**Heh, don't worry. The way she blushes, she must have liked what she saw"**_ laughed Kurama, causing Naruto's face to instantly go red.

* * *

The following day,

In a field just outside the resort village, Team Gai, Jiraiya, and Naruto had gathered. By this point in time, Naruto had fully recovered and was now ready to take Lee up on his challenge as the two stood opposite each other in the field.

"Lee, if you don't mind I would only like to use taijutsu here" said Naruto. "I've been working hard with Ero-Sennin to raise my own taijutsu skill level and I can't think of anyone else who would show me exactly where my taijutsu is."

"That is an honorable declaration, my friend" said Lee. "Very well, show me just how far you've improved in your taijutsu and if my own taijutsu cannot match yours in its youthfulness, then I shall swim out to the island and back 100 times!"

"_Isn't that island 5km from shore? That's 1000km of swimming!" _thought Tenten.

"Yosh! Let's get this youth-filled bout underway!" shouted Gai. "Fight!"

* * *

_**Jutsu (The Regression Seal)**_

Okay, so not really too many jutsus in this chapter, beside the regression seal of course, so I figured I'd use this section to elaborate a bit further on the Regression Seal itself.

The Uzumaki-style: Regression Seal is one of the five secret Uzumaki techniques that belong solely to the main house of the Uzumkai clan. It is what is known as a time-seal (not a space-time jutsu) in that it affects only the time component of reality. In short, the Regression Seal regresses the state of whatever it was enclosed within the seal itself. This can be used on anything (person, seal, object, ect), but can only be used once on that entity. The reason behind this is because the seal must actually split the time and spacial components of reality and keep them separated while the seal does its thing. Afterwards, it must then repair the rift between the two components of reality. As the time and space surrounding a certain entity have already been separated once, they cannot be separated again or else a dimensional rift will form that will basically tear whatever is inside the seal and in direct contact with the seal apart.

Also, this seal only affects the physical aspects of reality and not the spiritual aspects. What this means is that if this seal was used to revive someone from being dead, they would bring the body back to life, but the body would be without a soul (it would effectively be just an empty shell). The body would continue to survive until the lack of a soul causes it to whither up and die again. The seal however can be used to save a person who is on the verge of death if whatever condition has caused this 'near-death state' can be regressed far back enough to the point where it was never present. However, as stated in the first paragraph of this explanation, if the seal has been used to save someone's life in this manner, it cannot be used on said person ever again.

Now, seeing as the seal was used on Neji's seal, and not Neji himself, shout it happen that Neji get's injured (let's say he gets a wooden stake pierced through him, courtesy of the Jyubi) then the seal can be used to save Neji should it be applied BEFORE Neji dies and the should departs from his body.

While this seal may still sound powerful, there is one MAJOR drawback and that is the chakra cost. The requirements that this seal must meet in order to function costs a HUGE amount of chakra (REMEMBER: this is not a time-space ninjutsu that just manipulates time and space, this actually splits the two and then stitches them back together). While most jutsus require either a set amount of chakra, or the amount of chakra is a linear relationship (such as the Shadow Clone Jutsu with there being a set amount od chakra for the initial activation and then a certain amount of chakra per clone and this is before the chakra gets split between the clones but that chakra goes back to the original once the clone dispels so it is not counted), the chakra cost for this seal is exponential. In terms of mathematical formulas, it looks like C=M^t (C: amount of chakra required, M: size of the regression field, t: time regressed). This is the reason why Kurama, whose chakra is supposedly limited, was even drained after using his chakra to power the seal for 12 years.

Now, realize that Neji's seal was relatively small. If this seal were to be used on a full person, the furthest back Naruto and Kurama might be able to go is a few minutes to a few hours, because of the difference in size between the seal and a person.

Still regardless of the drawbacks of this seal, it is still one of the most powerful seals out there (probably top 3 at least).

* * *

_**Author Notes**_

You have no idea how tempted I was to put a cliff hanger at the part where the regression seal had just stopped and the seal was still visible on Neji's head.

Okay, so this chapter's a little shorter than they have been, but still an important one (I mean Neji's seal-less now!). Also, hope my explanation of the Regression Seal wasn't too boring or confusing.

So this chapter was kind of the first small look into Naruto's Namikaze heritage. As I mentioned before, I don't see the Namikazes as a large enough family to be a clan, but I do see them as an elite shinobi family. Also, to those of you wondering, the duty to further elaborate on the Namikaze side of Naruto (and their techniques *hint-hint) won't fall to Jiraiya, but rather to Kakashi.

There are three more of the five secret-Uzumaki techniques. The regression seal, and the techniques revolving around demonic sealing have been revealed and the other three will be revealed when their times come.

I know this wasn't the pairing you were hoping for, but figured I'd throw a little bit of Neji/Ten into this chapter.

Lastly, by this point in the story Naruto has just turned 15 and as Jiraiya mentioned, they will be returning to Konoha in a few months. I have three more chapters in store before that happens and then I'll use the first couple of chapters in the next book to catch-up on a lot of the things going around Konoha and finally give you guys a break with quite a bit of Naru/Hina (and other pairing) moments. I'm sorry to say, but SasuSaku won't resume until a few chapters into the third book (did you really expect Kakashi to come back on time?)


	68. A Spiralling Development

**A/N: As for jutsu names, while I will be sticking with the English names, I do however like some of the Japanese names for some of the Rasengan and chidori derivatives. For those that are cannon derived, then I'll be sticking to the Japanese names (ex. Odama Rasengan). There are also a few other jutsu names where I honestly prefer the Japanese name (ex. Konoha Senpu, Gatsuga, Sennen Goroshi). Hopefully this isn't too confusing.**

**Don't worry, it won't be too much longer before Naruto and Hinata are reunited. 2 more chapters left, and Hinata will come back at the end of chapter 70. I thank all of you have been patient with me and I'll try to do my best to make up for the lack of pairings in the first few chapters of Book 3 before diving into the first major arc.**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

Posted: 5/5/13

* * *

**Chapter 68: A Spiraling Development**

"Lee, if you don't mind I would only like to use taijutsu here" said Naruto. "I've been working hard with Ero-Sennin to raise my own taijutsu skill level and I can't think of anyone else who would show me exactly where my taijutsu is."

"That is an honorable declaration, my friend" said Lee. "Very well, show me just how far you've improved in your taijutsu and if my own taijutsu cannot match yours in its youthfulness, then I shall swim out to the island and back 100 times!"

"_Isn't that island 5km from shore? That's 1000km of swimming!"_ thought Tenten.

"Yosh! Let's get this youth-filled bout underway!" shouted Gai. "Fight!"

Lee had been the one to start the taijutsu match between himself and Naruto, already dashing towards the blonde jinchuriki at a speed that resembled the spandex-clad chunin with his weights off before Naruto left for his training trip. Obviously Lee's speed had to have increased, but if this is what Lee was like with his weights, then what would he be like without his weights?

"Konoha Senpu!" shouted Lee as he performed a sweeping kick directed at Naruto. Naruto did as Lee had hoped and ducked underneath the high sweeping kick, leaving the blonde open for a lower kick. However, the moment the second kick hit, Naruto was actually able to block it with his arm, something Lee had not seen too many opponents able to do.

Pushing Lee away, Naruto moved to the offensive, striking out with a series of punches and kicks that even Lee was finding himself having trouble dealing with.

"Hmm…that taijutsu style. I know I've seen it somewhere before" commented Gai on the sidelines. "Jiraiya-sama, that's not the style I think it is, is it?"

"It is, over the past two years with help of some scrolls we found in the ancient ruins of Uzushiogakure, I've been having Naruto learn the Uzuken taijutsu style" commented Jiraiya.

"I see" replied Gai. "Then this will certainly be interesting."

"Gai-sensei, what exactly is the Uzuken?" asked Neji.

"The Uzuken is the formidable taijutsu style of the Uzumaki clan. It's a very powerful offensive style that is both controlled and random at the same time. As you can see, Lee's having a very difficult time defending against Naruto's attacks, which is what makes the style what it is. It's kind of like trying to fight against a whirlpool. You can only hold onto your composure for so long before you slip up, if even just slightly, and then the whirlpool has you in its vicious clutches. That's exactly what this style is. Naruto's current attacks are a sort of random attacks that he himself controls, trying to throw Lee off balance. Once that happens, the match is effectively over as once an Uzuken master has you off balance, they strike out viciously with a wrath rivaled only by the greatest of storms to devastate you. Only the most skilled of taijutsu users can escape once an Uzuken master has you."

Lee was currently doing everything in his power to stay on top of Naruto's attacks, which as Gai had mentioned to his team, seemed to be doing everything they could to get the spandex-clad chunin off balance.

Lee decided to try and break Naruto's attacks by striking out at the blonde, but this just proved to be counterproductive as Naruto parried the attack and now took advantage of the opening Lee had created. The jinchuriki landed to the top of Lee's chest, just below the neckline and that only forced an even larger opening that Naruto began to take advantage of.

Now that Naruto had made his opening, Lee found the momentum in the attacks shifting from quick and debilitating to strong and vicious. As Gai had explained, Lee had been fighting the chaotic currents of the whirlpool and the moment he gave in, even if just a little, the whirlpool moved in and hit him…hard. Lee was now desperately struggling to keep Naruto's attacks at bay and every now and then, the blonde would get a hit in. Lee had to get out of there and regain the momentum of the battle in his favor.

"_Naruto-kun, your skills are commendable and I am going to have to up it a notch if I am to live up to the youthfulness you are displaying. Gate of Opening, open!" _Lee opened the first of the celestial gates, giving him the burst of energy he needed to break off from Naruto's attack.

"I see Lee was able to get out of that" commented Jiraiya.

"The Uzuken will destroy most shinobi; however, Lee isn't most shinobi" commented Gai. "GO LEE! TAKE THEM OFF!"

"Gai-sensei?" asked Lee.

"YOU HEARD ME, TAKE THEM OFF AND SHOW NARUTO THE FULL EXTENT OF YOUR YOUTH!" shouted Gai.

"Hai! Gai-sensei!" replied Lee.

"Well, if you're going to relieve yourself of some weight, then I might as well too" commented Naruto as he revealed and deactivated the gravity seals on him.

"Hmm, I see Naruto's learned the value of training with weights" commented Gai.

"They're not as bulky as traditional weights, but gravity seals have the same effect" replied Jiraiya.

"Ready Lee?" asked Naruto.

"Yosh! Here I come!" shouted Lee. The two combatants were of in a blur of black, orange, and green.

"Whoa! Fast!" gasped Tenten, who was now having trouble keeping up with the two blurs. The battle momentarily slowed down as Naruto barely blocked a kick to his chest causing him to slide back. As Naruto came to a stop, Lee was already making his next move, dashing in a circle around Naruto at a blinding speed.

Knowing what was coming, Naruto centered himself. Spiraling motions were one of the keys to the Uzuken as they allowed for the most unpredictability. But to an Uzuken user, someone who knew how to utilize spiraling motions, the situation Naruto now found himself in wasn't as bad as many would have thought. He just had to get the feel for Lee's own movements and then…

Lee made his move, lashing out with a quick low kick that was meant to sweep Naruto's legs out from underneath him which would be followed by a swift upward kick to send Naruto airborne. But Naruto could feel this coming and had reacted accordingly, going with Lee's own momentum and using that to put enough distance between the two to stop Lee's attempts to use the Primary Lotus.

"Naruto dodged that?" asked a surprised Neji.

"A lot of the Uzuken's movements rely on spirals and vortexes. If you've noticed, a lot of Naruto's previous movements had him moving in a sort of circular pattern around Lee. The Uzuken utilizes the movements of these spirals and as such, it can make use of external spirals, such as the way Lee came into the Primary Lotus" explained Gai. "Uzuken users understand how to go with the flow of even the most chaotic flow patterns and that's exactly what Naruto did there. He went with the flow of Lee's initiating attack and was able to move away. It's something that very few taijutsu users can actually do and it's one of the reasons that the Uzuken is so formidable."

"You truly have excelled in skill Naruto-kun. You even managed to evade my Primary Lotus" commented Lee.

The two chunin were off at each other again at insane speeds. Naruto was trying to throw Lee off balance, but now that Lee didn't have his training weights on, the spandex-clad taijutsu user was able to move fast enough to remain on his toes and to keep Naruto from gaining the upper hand.

"It's not the full potential of the Uzuken, but considering that he's only been learning it for…what? Two years? Naruto's actually rather skilled with using it" commented Gai. "It takes many years and even decades before one can claim them as a taijutsu master in a particular style and Naruto still has a long way to go before he can be considered a taijutsu master, but he's most certainly got a great deal of skill already."

"I'd agree with you there. It is quite clear his taijutsu's improved, but remember that's not all Naruto has. In fact, if there's one area of close combat that he's truly taken off in, it's with that sword of his" replied Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya-sama, no offence, but you're not the best teacher for kenjutsu. If Naruto's as skilled as you're mentioning, then he must have had another teacher to supplement him in that area" said Gai.

"Naruto spent the past 6-7 months training in the Land of Iron, under Mifune-sama" said Jiraiya as Tenten's eyes widened at that revelation.

"You mean THE Mifune? The one who's earned the title Mifune of the Infinite Blades?" asked Tenten.

"The very same. Even Mifune was impressed with Naruto's kenjutsu" commented Jiriaya. "We were originally worried because Mifune commented that Naruto's style was a little unnatural in Mifune's eyes, but once he began working in some of the actual Uzumaki kenjutsu scrolls, he began to settle into it. The issue was the slight differences between Mifune's style and the original Uzumkai style. In my own opinion, I could count the number of people in the village who would be better than Naruto at the sword on one hand, if even that."

"And that was only after not even a year of training" added Gai. _"Damn, if Naruto's progressed this far in the span of two years. Coming from not having a refined taijutsu to being able to give Lee a good match, but then add in the fact that Naruto's apparently skilled at the sword, he's already got a high level of talent in ninjutsu, which was seen from the chunin exams…and then there was that display with fuinjutsu the other day. Throw the ability to control the Kyuubi into the mix and that kid's going to be a monster one day" _thought Gai.

As Naruto and Lee's match came to an end, Lee had shown to still have a higher level of taijutsu than Naruto, but the margin between the two was much smaller than even Gai had expected. But as it had been stated before, Naruto still had other, more potent, forms of fighting that he was not utilizing here. And who would have thought that after just two years of training, he could match Lee this well? Especially considering Lee had at least four to develop his own taijutsu.

"That's enough, you two!" yelled Gai, before the two combatants could reengage in their match.

"What? You're calling it?" asked Naruto.

"Both of you are very skilled and I have never seen such youthfulness explode out of either of you. But I am afraid that if this match were to continue, you would use powers that are not suitable to use on fellow comrades" commented Gai.

"That was a good match, Bush Brows. You've really improved since I last saw you" commented Naruto.

"No, it is you who has grown, Naruto-kun" replied Lee.

"Yosh! That was an excellent match you two. You both should be proud!" exclaimed Gai as he patted Naruto and Lee on the back.

"I do agree, however such a match has left me parched" commented Lee.

"There's a bottle of water in my pack" replied Jiraiya.

"Thank you, Jiriaya-sama" bowed Lee as he made his way over towards Jiraiya's pack and began digging through it, pulling out a bottle.

"Just make sure you grab the right bottle" commented Jiraiya.

"This water tastes kind…of…" Lee trailed off as the 'water' in that bottle began to take effect on his system.

"Oh no!" said Gai, shuttering at the thought of what was about to happen. "Pease tell me that wasn't sake!"

"So the kid drank a little bit of alcohol. What's the big deal?" asked Jiraiya. If he were to look around, he would see the other two members of Team Gai also freaking out. "Big deal? He can't have ANY alcohol!"

"Hey!...Why yer just standin there! If yer not going to come…then I will!" said Lee, who was now clearly drunk after that swig of sake. He ran towards the group before falling flat on the ground on his way over.

"I see your concern, the kids a total lightweight" replied Jiraiya.

"No…you don't understand. Lee's a master of the…drunken fist" panicked Gai as Jiraiya paled at that revelation, having heard the rumors of just how destructive those blessed by Kami with the skill of the drunken fist were.

For the rest of the day, screams echoed through the field and surrounding landscape as Team Gai, Naruto, and Jiraiya did their very best to restrain a drunk and chaotic Lee, only to find themselves dragging their aching bodies back to the hotel later after Lee had finally passed out when the alcohol worked its way out of his system.

* * *

Two days later, after recovering from Lee's drunken fist incident and taking one more day to simply relax and enjoy the sun, Team Gai found themselves at the gates of Ogasawara, it being time for them to return home now that they were rested and Neji had fully recovered himself from having the seal removed. Despite the initial dizziness from having the regression seal used, Neji could already feel more strength coursing through his Byakugan. After examining the seal again, Jiraiya had in fact realized that there were a few measures to reduce the abilities of the Byakugan by about 25% for anyone who bore the seal.

Unfortunately for Neji, he couldn't flaunt his now sealless forehead around, especially with the Hyuga elders still in place. Despite Neji's own potential, he wasn't quite at the level to take on Ihro in combat and as such, he would have to wait a little longer before he and Hiashi could make their first move on the elders. Jiraiya had gone ahead and drawn a fake seal on Neji's head, using a simple permanent marker that wouldn't come off unless a little alcohol was rubbed on it (and Lee would be required to be far…far away from the sake when that time came).

"Naruto, again I cannot thank you enough" said Neji, bowing to Naruto at the city gates.

"Don't mention it Neji. Although if you could do me a favor, then that'd be great" said Naruto.

"Certainly" replied Neji.

"Can you just tell Hinata-chan that I've missed her dearly and it won't be much longer until I'm home?" asked Naruto.

"I'm certain I can do that. She will be happy to know that you are doing well and miss her" said Neji. "So when will we know when you've returned?"

"Trust me, you'll know" said Naruto with a devious look on his face.

"Let's get going!" shouted Gai. "It's 4 days back to Konoha, so let's get a move on it!"

"I thought it was a 10 day journey?" asked Naruto.

Tenten and Neji sighed. "It is…"

"Gai-sensei, I feel we can get there in three!" called out Lee, horrifying Neji and Tenten. Even though they liked their team, they absolutely hated traveling with Gai and Lee because of what they were doing now.

"Nonsense Lee! We'll be there by sunset tonight! And if we're not, then I shall run 100 laps around Konoha on my hands, with Tenten atop my feet!" declared Gai. "Yosh! Let's get going!"

"Help us" pleaded Tenten as Team Gai and Jiraiya and Naruto parted ways.

"So Naruto, where are we off to now?" asked Jiraiya.

"Huh? You're asking me?" asked Naruto.

"I'll be completely honest. I've taught you all I had hoped to with the exception of one thing" said Jiraiya. "Everything else, you know to the point where I can't really help you with. I'm not an Uzumaki so I can't help you _that_ much with whatever you have left to discover in that sealing book and your taijutsu and kenjutsu are coming along good and all I think you need now is time and experience with those."

"So what's this you want to teach me?" asked Naruto.

"I'll be honest, I hadn't planned on having you learn this for another few years, but I do think you are ready to learn the sage arts from the toads" said Jiraiya.

"What? Really?!" exclaimed an excited Naruto. He remembered Jiraiya telling him about senjutsu after the time Jiraiya kicked Orochimaru-teme's ass with it back when the Sound Four/Five attacked his team. Naruto knew that with the ability to use senjutsu AND also the Kyuubi, he was going to be kicking some serious Akatsuki ass.

"Yes, I think you're ready for it. But I need to work things out with the toads first and they aren't exactly the quickest to act on things like taking on another Toad Sage" said Jiraiya. "All in all, I would say we have about two or three months before I can convince them and they agree. So, I restate the question what do you want to do until then?"

"Hmm…You know, I actually wouldn't mind staying here for awhile" said Naruto.

"Oh ho? So you're going to let your good ol' godfather stick around to finish his book?" asked a happy Jiraiya. The beach was a treasure trove of inspiration for his book and at the rate he was going, it would be done in about a month.

"I wasn't quite thinking of it that way, but if you want to finish your stupid book, I don't mind" said Naruto.

"What do you mean stupid book? You've read the first three and even you thought they were great!" shouted Jiraiya.

"Yeah, but most of the drafts you've given me were just kind of dumb" replied Naruto.

Jiraiya sighed. "So what's the real reason you want to stay here?" asked Jiraiya.

"Well, I kind of want to work on something that's been on my mind for a little. I can't exactly do it while moving around and with that field on the outskirt of the town being there; it's a perfect place for me to train. Besides, it's a nice place here and kind of relaxing. I need to remember to bring Hinata-chan here some time" commented Naruto.

"Why, so you can see her in a swimsuit?" Jiraiya saw a blush appear on Naruto's face. That hadn't been all the reasons, but it was one. "Oh I can see it now, that perfect figure, those D-cup breasts, and that irresistibly adorable face, all packed into simple yet revealing two piece swimsuits. You two are out on the beach and she asks you to rub some sunscreen on her, so you undo the back of her top and she lets out a little moan of pleasure just from the touch of your fingers against her silky skin…"

Jiraiya looked over to Naruto to find the blonde passed out due to lack of blood in his head. Partially due to a massive nose bleed and partially due to the pooling of blood in…a certain. Jiraiya had taken that part from his Icha Icha Paradise book, and he was pretty sure the beach scene had just come to Naruto's mind, only with Naruto and Hinata as the characters.

A few minutes passed and Naruto regained consciousness as Jiraiya had taken him into a restaurant to get some breakfast.

"Okay Gaki, so what is it that you really want to work on?" asked Jiraiya.

"It's my Rasengan" replied Naruto.

"Oh? What about it? If there's any jutsu you can do right, it's that one" joked the Toad Sage.

"Well you see, when I talked to my dad that one time, he mentioned to me that it wasn't a complete jutsu" said Naruto.

Flashback

"…So then I met Ero-Senin after Kakashi-sensei dumped me onto some closet perv to train me for the chunin exams" explained Naruto as he was telling his parents about how his life had been. "Closet Perv caught Ero-Sennin peeping into the hot springs and he tried to stop him, but Ero-Sennin summoned this toad and laid the Clost Perv flat on his ass." Despite the fact that Naruto had been referring to Jiraiya as 'Ero-Sennin' and Ebisu as 'Closet Perv', his parents couldn't help but laugh, especially Kushina. She found it hilarious that Naruto had dubbed Jiraiya as 'Ero-Sennin'.

"Well, Ero-Sennin took over my training and gave me the summoning contract for toads and then he began teaching me your jutsu, dad, the Rasengan" told Naruto.

"So Jiraiya taught you the Rasengan did he?" asked Minato. "You know, that reminds me that I never got a chance to complete it."

"Huh? What do you mean you didn't complete it? It works just perfectly!" declared Naruto.

"I designed the Rasengan to take chakra shape manipulation to the ultimate form, but I never was able to add an element to it" said Minato.

"Add an element? You mean like wind, fire, or water?" asked Naruto.

"Yes. It took me three years to get that jutsu down, but I haven't been able to add an element to it yet. It would always blow up on me" replied Minato.

"Yeah, and Tsunade wasn't happy when you'd some into the hospital with your arms all chopped up every day" joked Kushina.

"I know! I'm going to complete your jutsu for you, tou-chan! –ttebayo!" declared Naruto, getting a sigh from Kushina at the addition of the verbal tick.

"Naruto, you know you don't have to. I don't want you hurting yourself like I did" said Minato.

"I can do. Besides, if I'm going to be an even greater Hokage than you, then I'm not going to let silly things like not being able to add an element to the Rasengan hold me back" said Naruto. "Besides, Furball can just heal me so it won't be that big of a deal."

End Flashback

Jeez, that's going to be a tough one" said Jiraiya. "Even I've tried to add an element to that jutsu and all I've done was fail."

"Well I'm going to give it a go. In fact, I'm going to complete dad's jutsu, just you wait!" declared Naruto.

"Alright alright, if you really want to try it, then I'm not going to stop you" said Jiraiya. "But what I think you should do first is make sure you've got the shape manipulation down perfectly."

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Naruto.

"Well, the Rasengan's normally about the size of a grapefruit, right?" Naruto nodded. "What I'm saying is make sure you can control the shape of the Rasengan at different sizes."

"So you're saying that I need to be able to make the Rasengan either smaller or bigger and be able to control it as I change the size?" asked Naruto.

"Well, I wasn't necessarily meaning to change the size of the Rasengan in your hand, I was just thinking that you should be able to make sure you can control a bigger one that has more power in it, but that's actually not a bad idea" said Jiraiya. "Yeah, I'd say make sure you can take the normal Rasengan and shrink it to the size of maybe a marble and the then increase it to like the size of a beach volleyball or something. As for the element part, I don't have any ideas either."

"Which element did you try to add?" asked Naruto.

"Fire, but I nearly got myself killed when it exploded" replied Jiraiya. "I know your father tried wind."

"Yeah, and wind was going to be what I started with anyways, seeing as that's my strongest element" replied Naruto.

"Then I think you're already aware of what's going to happen when it destabilizes from the elemental chakra" replied Jiraiya.

"I am, but my dad didn't have my healing factor so I won't have to worry as much" replied Naruto.

"Well, I can see you've already got your mind set on it, and it's not like I'm complaining that we're going to be here for some more time. Just don't get yourself killed. Minato nearly drove Tsunade mad when trying to complete the jutsu and the last thing I want is to take your chopped up body back to Konoha" replied Jiraiya. "But, if anyone can do it, perhaps it's you."

"Heh, don't worry about a thing. I'll have it completed in no time!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Look, the Rasengan's already an A-rank jutsu. If by some sheer amount of luck you pull this off. I'd believe that new jutsu would be at least S-rank, if not higher" said Jiraiya. "Just to put that in perspective, the only other jutsu you have that is S-rank or higher is that Regression Seal of yours and that's not exactly a combat jutsu. S-rank jutsus are of a completely different nature than an A-rank and they're S-rank for a reason. Take Kakashi's Raikiri, not his Chidori. His Raikiri is S-rank because it can cut through an actual bolt of lightning. And then you have Minato's Hiraishin, the jutsu that he used to wipe out an entire army single handedly in a matter of seconds. That's the scale on which S-rank techniques operate on."

* * *

A few days passed with Naruto working on what he and Jiraiya had come up with and that was to be able to fully control the size and shape of the Rasengan. Thanks to all of his clones, the blonde jinchuriki had been able to create a Rasengan at varying sizes, from as small as a large marble to as big as a volleyball. Now there was just one thing left to do and that was to be able to form the Rasengan and change the size of it at will.

"Right, let's do this!" exclaimed Naruto. He dispelled all the clones he had working on the different sized Rasengans and allowed the knowledge and experience to soak into his head.

His first attempt began with a Rasengan of a smaller size, maybe the size of a ping-pong ball. Forming the spiraling sphere was easy, as forming a Rasengan had pretty much become second nature to Naruto. It was a small sphere sitting in the palm of his hand, the diameter about just less than half his normal Rasengan. As Naruto began to expand the sphere, something unexpected happened. Once the ball of chakra reached a certain size, it just dissipated in his palm, leaving nothing behind.

"_Wow, that was kind of weird"_ thought Naruto. _"Usually, when they fail they blow up on me, not wither away to nothing."_

Doing it a second time, the same thing happened. _"Hmm…interesting."_

"_**I think I know why"**_ responded Kurama. _**"Think back to when you were testing the power of each sized Rasengan. Weren't the larger ones more powerful than the smaller ones?"**_

"_Yeah, they were. The larger ones also required a bit more chakra" _thought Naruto. "Okay, I've got it now. As I expand it, I've gotta add more chakra. I can't just stay on the set amount that I started off with. That's why it's just disappearing, there's not enough chakra."

Naruto formed the smaller sphere again and slowly began expanding it, adding in more chakra before it soon reached the size of the large Rasengan, which he had dubbed the Odama Rasengan, or Big-Ball Rasengan seeing as it was exactly that, a bigger and more powerful Rasengan.

"Okay, I've got that. Now for shrinking it" said Naruto as he began to shrink the sphere of chakra. As soon as it reached the size of a normal Rasengan, the ball of chakra couldn't take it anymore and exploded in the blonde's face, sending him flying back and into a tree.

"Damnit!...There was too much power in that one" swore Naruto. It had been a few years since he had a Rasengan backfire on him like that and now he was stuck listening to a certain fox laugh at him. However, now Naruto had an idea of what to do. If the smaller one dissipated because it didn't have enough chakra, then the larger one must have exploded because it had too much chakra.

"Oy, you okay Naruto?" called out Jiraiya as he had come to check on his student's progress.

"Yeah" said Naruto, picking himself out of the rubble. "Just lost if for a moment trying to shrink it, but I think I've figured out what I need to do."

"Oh?" asked Jiraiya with a hopeful curiosity.

"The chakra is different depending on the size of the sphere. The bigger it is the more chakra. But if there's more chakra than the size of the sphere can handle, it explodes. If there's not enough, it just disappears" said Naruto. "So I've gotta add more chakra if I want to make it bigger and I've gotta let some out if I want to make it smaller."

"Okay, let me see then?" asked Jiraiya.

Naruto nodded and made the small Rasengan in his hand. As he began to expand the sphere, he added more chakra to keep it from dissolving until it was the size of the Odama Rasengan. "Okay, not bad. I see you've got the expansion part down, but can you shrink it?"

Naruto began to shrink it, letting out some chakra as the size shrunk. Once it hit the size of the normal Rasengan, the same point where it exploded on him the previous time, Naruto momentarily paused and braced for the potential explosion that never came. As he realized he was in the clear, he continued to shrink it until it was the size where he originally began.

"_Heh, not bad. He was able to figure out how to make a bigger Rasengan in a few days. And not only that, but he also figured out how to smoothly change the size and power of the Rasengan as well"_ thought Jiriaya. _"All I did was tell him that he should be able to make it bigger and smaller at ease and he was able to finish that in a few days without my help really. Yep, he's definitely got a bit of his father in that head of his and not just his mother."_

"Alright, I'll admit you've done pretty well. But you do realize the nearly impossible part is yet to come?" asked Jiraiya.

"I know, but I don't care how impossible it may seem, I'm going to complete my dad's jutsu no matter what!" declared Naruto.

"Well, it is getting late, so why don't we go back and grab some dinner? I've also got a draft I want you to look over tonight" replied Jiraiya. Naruto sighed as it was probably going to be another one of Jiraiya's crappy drafts.

Surprisingly, that night Jiraiya had actually given Naruto a pretty good draft, giving Jiraiya another scene for his book and putting the pervy writer one step closer to finishing Icha Icha Tactics. It was actually kind of funny that a kid who had once called the Icha Icha books smut and insulting was now willingly editing and even adding his own thoughts to the story. Hell, Naruto had even completely rewritten one of the scenes for Jiraiya and surprisingly, Jiraiya liked it. The kid had a knack for writing and romance and perhaps the Icha Icha series would live on past its current author.

The following day, Naruto now stood in the middle of the training field with Jiraiya supervising him off to the side. Today was the day Naruto would begin on adding the wind element to Rasengan and complete what his dad could not. Jiraiya was there for safe measures as he knew from Minato's experiences what could come out of it.

Flashback

Jiraiya had walked onto the training ground one day, looking for his prized student to find the blonde Namikaze in the middle with a Rasengan in hand. Figuring he was working on something with his jutsu, Jiraiya stayed back.

For a second, Jiraiya saw a white-ish aura around the Rasengan, but it was followed by a massive explosion that sent Minato flying backwards.

"Minato!" shouted Jiraiya as he ran towards his student. What he saw shook him. Minato had a number of slashes across his body, with most of them being concentrated around the arm that had held his Rasengan. _"What the hell was that technique? What was he trying to do?"_

Jiraiya immediately raced his bleeding student to the hospital, hoping that Tsunade would be able to do something for him.

Thankfully she was able to heal Minato back to full, but she was nowhere near happy that Minato had nearly gotten himself killed, venting her frustration on Jiraiya for allowing his student to do something like that.

Minato didn't attempt to complete his Rasengan until he mastered the Hiraishin, allowing him to flash away if it felt like the Rasengan was going to explode. But even then, Minato had not been able to contain the added power of wind into the Rasengan.

End Flashback

Jiraiya was hoping the same thing wouldn't repeat itself, but sadly it did.

As Naruto formed the Rasengan himself, he began to add his wind element to the sphere. Just as it did with Minato's Rasengan, Naruto's began to glow a white-ish color before exploding and slicing the blonde.

"Shit!" swore Jiriaya as he went to check on Naruto. When he got there, he saw the same thing that he did on Minato, numerous slices all over Naruto's body and clothes. As Jiraiya looked over Naruto's wounds he saw that they were glowing with red chakra and already healing. _"Well, at least I don't have to face Tsunade with this one so long as Kurama can heal him."_

"Damnit! That hurt like hell!" swore Naruto.

"Now do you see what I mean about that about that being the nearly impossible part?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yeah. The moment I put my wind chakra into it and tried to contain it, it exploded" grunted Naruto as his wounds finished healing.

"You're not going to stop are you?" asked Jiraiya, seeing the determined look in Naruto's eyes.

"Hell no! I said I was going to complete my dad's jutsu and I'm going to complete it! –ttebayo!" exclaimed Naruto.

Jiraiya sighed. "Just promise me you won't talk about this to Tsunade, okay?" Naruto grinned at this and rubbed the back of his hand. "I also want you to take some time and think on it in-between attempts, okay?"

* * *

About a month had passed and Naruto had about as much success as the first time he attempted to add the wind chakra to his Rasengan. Kurama was really beginning to get irritated with Naruto and was tempted to place the blonde on suicide watch after all the times he had cut himself over the past months, even if he really wasn't trying to kill himself.

As it stood, Naruto was pretty much out of ideas on how to keep the wind element contained within the Rasengan. He had picked Jiraiya's brain a few times for what Minato might have already tried and even if he could think of a way to try and improve what his dad had thought of doing, it just blew up in his face.

No matter what he tried, he just couldn't contain the wind.

Speaking of wind, there currently was a rather nice breeze as Naruto was taking a walk along the beach, trying to come up with some idea as to how to complete this jutsu. It was also a big time for the resort village of Ogsarawa as the Festival of Kites. All along the beach, there were kites of multiple sizes, shapes, and colors aloft in the breeze. Taking a seat along the boardwalk, he watched as a pair of kite enthusiasts began to launch what had to be the largest kite on the beach. It was a large yellow sun, but the moment the kite was up, the wind caught it and began pulling the kite pilots with it. It wasn't long before the two pilots completely lost their kite in the wind as it was blown out to sea from the shore.

"Now that's what happens when you try to contain the wind" commented a passing pedestrian. Naruto heard this and immediately picked his head up at the passing pedestrian.

"Excuse me, what did you mean by that?" asked the blonde.

"It's simple really. You can't contain the wind. That's why all the kites that are successfully flying have some sort of channels to guide the wind" said the pedestrian. "Those two fools thought they could steal the show with their massive kite, yet the completely forgot about the fundamentals of kite flying and that is that your kite has to flow with the wind, not try and capture it. Even a small hole to channel the wind out of the kite would have helped them immensely."

"Wow, you actually seem as if you know quite a bit about designing kites mister umm…" Naruto blanked, not knowing the man's name.

"Hiroi Sora, the Kite Master in charge of this festival" said Sora. "And I would think I'd know a lot about kites, I've built almost half of them here."

"Wow really? That's pretty cool and so are a lot of the kites here" said Naruto.

"Thanks kid. Now I've gotta get back to work, but please enjoy the festival" said Sora.

Naruto happily went on his way, making sure to pick up large cone of cotton candy before heading back to the hotel. On his way back, Naruto was admiring the kites that flowed with the breeze.

"_You know, now that I look at them, I can see what that Sora guy was talking about"_ thought Naruto. _"It's like they can get the wind to flow with them, but they never try and hold onto it."_

Immediately, Naruto came to a dead halt and his own cotton candy cone fell to the ground in front of him. "That's it…" was all that escaped his mouth before the blonde went sprinting off to find Ero-Sennin.

* * *

"Hehe. Oh yes. You'll do very nicely indeed" said Jiraiya as he was observing some of the early evening female beach goers, hoping to get some last minute inspiration to put the finishing touches on his book. Everything was perfect for the super pervert and the best part is there was no annoying brat to get in the way of his research. That is until…

"ERO-SENNIN!" shouted Naruto, running towards Jiraiya and kicking up a trail of sand behind him. "Ero-Sennin, Ero-Sennin!"

"Will stop that Gaki?!" shouted Jiraiya. "We're in public!"

"Sorry, but come on!" shouted Naruto as he pulled on a reluctant Jiraiya's arm.

"Really? What is it you need?" asked an irritated Jiraiya.

"The justu. I think I know how to complete it!" exclaimed Naruto. Jiraiya's eyes grew wide. Had Naruto really thought of a way to complete the Rasengan?

"Okay, I'll come with you to make sure you don't cut yourself up too bad" sighed Jiraiya. Looks like he wasn't going to be finishing his book tonight, but Naruto really did seemed worked up so maybe the kid had found something after all.

The sun was beginning to set already by the time Naruto had dragged Jiraiya to their temporary training ground and even with night starting to fall, Naruto was bouncing with energy. "Okay Naruto, what do you have?"

"Well, I kind of got the idea from the kites. The main reason why adding wind chakra to the Rasengan has kept causing it to blow up is because it was trying to _contain_ the wind instead of letting it flow naturally through the Rasengan" explained Naruto. "You can't contain the wind or else it's just going to come back and bite you…hard, but you can flow it."

Jiraiya was currently thinking on what Naruto had told him. _"You know, every time Minato's tried it, he's tried to contain the wind chakra within the jutsu. I don't think he's ever thought about just trying to flow wind through it. The Gaki might be onto something."_

"Okay, so you going to give it a go?" asked Jiraiya, now curious if Naruto's revelation was actually going to work.

"Hell yeah!" declared Naruto.

"_**Greeaat…Here we go again"**_ thought Kurama. _**"Round number 125 for blowing yourself up Kit."**_

"_Oh just shut it!"_

Naruto then went through the process of making the initial Rasengan, which formed with relative ease in his hand.

Now came the hard part. Naruto had to channel his wind chakra into the sphere, but he couldn't contain it. He had to just let the wind flow naturally through the spiraling sphere. Slowly, Naruto began to change his own chakra from normal chakra to wind chakra. The spiraling motion of the chakra had already begun to create air currents around the sphere and as Naruto introduced more and more wind chakra to the jutsu, he could feel a surprisingly strong breeze coming from the Rasengan itself.

As he changed the last of the chakra in the sphere into wind chakra, the Rasengan took on that white-ish glow that it had every other time. Before the pressure could build up to the point of explosion though, Naruto allowed for the wind to flow freely through the spiraling sphere as four miniature blade-like projections erupted from each side and a high-pitched whistle could be heard coming from the spinning ball.

Jiraiya could only help but stare at the accomplishment Naruto had just achieved.

"Yata! Ero-Sennin, I did it!" declared Naruto, losing control of the Rasengan and being blown back. "Damnit!"

"_Heh, the Gaki actually did it"_ thought Jiraiya, still in amazement. "Okay Naruto, let's test it and see if it's the real deal."

"Huh? How are we going to do that?" asked Naruto.

Jiraiya formed his own Rasengan in his hand. "We're going to clash our two Rasengan. If you're is the real deal, then mine won't have any effect at all"

Naruto recreated the wind Rasengan in his hand, taking his time to stabilize it and making sure not to lose concentration.

"Ready?" asked Jiraiya, earning a nod from Naruto. Doing what would probably earn them a few years in the hospital (courtesy of Tsunade if she knew they were doing this), the master and student ran at each other with Rasengan and Futon: Rasengan in hand. The two spheres collided and a small explosion ensured with the two jutsu colliding.

As Jiraiya looked down at his now pained hand, he saw that his entire arm looked as if it had been put through a blender. Just opposite of him, Naruto appeared to have taken no damage from Jiraiya's attack and it was unmistakably who's justu was the stronger of the two. Jiraiya had made sure to make his Rasengan as strong as possible and if it hadn't been for his own attack taking the brunt of Naruto's, he'd be explaining to Tsunade why he was missing an arm or worse.

"Ero-Sennin!" shouted Naruto as he realized just how badly Jiraiya's hand had been injured. "Are you okay?"

"Damn, that attack was something" grunted Jiraiya. "Sadly, I don't think I'll be able to finish my book for a bit. But I am extremely proud of you. You managed to do something not even myself nor your father could do."

As Jiraiya told him that, Naruto worked on bandaging Jiraiya's arm, having been taught rudimentary first-aid by Jiraiya. Giving Jiraiya a boost to his feet, the blonde and the pervert made their way back into town.

"You know, you truly have grown over these past few years. And I can see that even in your clothes" replied Jiraiya. "I think it's about time for another wardrobe change. I'm sure ever since you left the Land of Iron, you've found your old shinobi outfit to be rather small."

Naruto grinned at this. He had stopped wearing his shinobi outfit months ago and had been using regular/training clothes. One reason was because his old outfit had worn out rather fast after all the physical training he and Jiraiya had done at the movie set and in the Land of Snow. Another was that he had simply outgrown them. "There's a shop that sells durable outdoor clothes here. I think it's about time for another wardrobe change. It's the very least I could do for how far you've come."

The following day, Jiraiya had taken Naruto to see if he could pick out a new outfit.

"No!" shouted Jiraiya.

"OH come on. This jacket's awesome! –ttebayo!"

"Yeah, but it's…almost as orange as that jumpsuit of yours" replied Jiraiya. Naruto had picked out an outfit that consisted of a pair of solid orange pants and a jacket that was orange.

"So, what's wrong with orange? Even my old outfit had orange in it" replied Naruto.

"And that outfit was a HUGE step forward as only your arms had orange" argued Jiraiya.

"Well, now I'm taking another 'step forward' with this outfit. The arms aren't orange anymore" replied Naruto.

"Yeah, but everything else is!" stated Jiraiya. Naruto may have gotten smarter, but he could still be stubborn at times.

"Oh come on, but I really like this jacket!" pleaded Naruto.

Jiraiya took a look at the begging blonde. In all honesty, the jacket wasn't TOO bad. I mean sure it was orange, but the orange pars could actually be covered up fairly easy, such as with a flax jacket. At the same time, it would take care of the more easily visible orange sleeves, seeing as the sleeves on this jacket were black. The main issue was the pants Naruto had selected. The pants were solid orange and couldn't be covered as easily.

"Okay, I'll make you a deal. I'll get you that jacket, but go and get a different pair of pants" replied Jiraiya, making a compromise with the blonde.

"Really?! You'll get it?!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Only if you get a pair of pants that don't screams 'Kill me now!'" replied Jiraiya. "And I actually saw some metal plated gloves. Grab a pair of those if you want something to seal your kunai and stuff in there."

As Naruto and Jiraiya were making their selection, secretly the tailor at the counter was cheering. He had been waiting for the day when he could get rid of that orange jacket. He would have to put up with it for another day or two to add the red spiral on the back and the white spiral on the right shoulder, but he was finally going to be rid of that orange stain in his shop.

As Naruto had left the shop, Jiraiya had stayed behind. "So you want to add this to the order?" asked the tailor.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be too much extra, should it?" asked Jiriaya.

"No. It'll take me a few days extra as I need to start from scratch, but this won't be too much more" replied the tailor.

"Good. And don't include it with the rest of the order. I kind of want for it to be a surprise for the kid" said Jiraiya.

"I see. I shall have it done in three days. You may pick it up then sir" replied the tailor.

"Hey Ero-Sennin, so how much longer until you can teach me this senjutsu stuff?" asked Naruto as he and Jiraiya were walking back towards the hotel. Jiraiya was still resting his now bandaged arm and couldn't do too much writing. Thankfully for him, Naruto had proven a decent writer for the last portion of the book and all he had to do was feed Naruto the ideas and outline of the chapter. They were on the very last chapter, and if they could get it finished by the end of the week, then Jiraiya would most certainly be a happy perverted writer as he sent the draft to his publisher for publishing.

"Well, I talked with the toads before you blew my arm up and they said that the preparations for training you would be complete in a little more than a month. I take it you've finished what you were planning on doing and if everything goes alright, I'll have my book ready for publishing by the end of the week" said Jiraiya.

"So what are we going to do until then?" asked Naruto.

"_**Naruto, let me talk to the pervert for a moment"**_ said Kurama.

"_Huh? Okay Kurama"_ replied Naruto as Kurama took control of Naruto's body for a moment.

"**Jiraiya"** spoke Kurama through Naruto's voice.

"That you Kurama?" asked Jiraiya. This was only the second time he had seen Kurama take control of Naruto's body and he was still not quite used to it.

Kurama nodded. **"Look, seeing as you've still got a month to go before those toads take over the Kit's training for a bit, I want to take him and train him a bit myself while we have some time. He still needs a lot of practice in the full potentials of using my powers. The only problem is that this isn't something we can do close to any sort of civilization."**

"So you want to take Naruto out into the wilderness for a little?" asked Jiriaya.

Kurama nodded. **"I'll admit, that first time using my full form wasn't terrible, but he needs to improve with both his coordination in my form and there are a few skills I have to train him how to use properly."**

"I see. Will this make it so he doesn't nearly flatten me with a wayward tail again?" asked Jiraiya, earning a slight chuckle from Kurama.

"**Trust me, when I'm through with him, those tails are going to be the least of your worries"** said Kurama, sending a slight chill down Jiraiya's spine.

"Fine. As great as this place is, I'm starting to run low on inspiration from it. You can only get so much before having to move on. I should be done with my book by the week's end. We'll leave then" said Jiraiya.

* * *

_**Author Notes**_

**Well there's chapter 68.**

**So, this chapter primarily focused on Naruto's development of the ****Futon: Rasengan****. As I have already made it so that his chakra control is miles above where is was in cannon, he will not require the clone to stabilize the jutsu and also by this point in time, his wind element is highly advanced (he didn't just cut the leaf a few days ago).**

**Also, Naruto has gone through a slight outfit change again. It basically consists of his jacket from shippuden and a pair of black pants. He's also got plated gloves like the ones Kakashi has which he has a rather complex sealing matrix to store his shuriken, kunai, and even sword. For the first part of Book 3, I am going to keep everyone's outfits (except for Sasuke) the same as they were in shippuden with a major outfit change of all of the characters coming later in Book 3 once they outgrow what they are currently wearing. **

**Just to give you a brief skills assessment of where a few people are/will be in terms of skills (Remember my skill ranking is slightly different than the one in data book: D genin, C to B is chunin, B+ to A+ is jonin, S and above is Kage):**

**Naruto**

**Overall, Naruto is jonin raked (A rank). **

_**Taijutsu (B)**_**: This is a huge improvement from where he used to be. Naruto's not a taijutsu specialist like Lee, Neji, or Hinata. Also realize that he's only been training in this form of taijutsu for 2 years whereas someone like Lee or Neji have been training for at least twice as long as him.**

_**Weapons (B+/A-):**_** Naruto does have a great deal of skill/potential with his sword, which was characteristic of the Uzumakis. Mifune commented that Naruto's style was 'unnatural' and that was because of the slight differences between the Uzumaki style and Mifune's style. Naruto also has the ability to use other weapons effectively and can use his dad's knives in close quarter situations where he can't use the sword as effectively as a knife. This will be displayed early on in the Third Book.**

_**Ninjutsu (A):**_** Overall, Naruto's ninjutsu is one of his strongest areas. Naruto has 3 elements (wind, fire, water). Wind is the element that Naruto has the most jutsu in while he only has a few water/fire jutsus. Naruto does have a respectable number of higher ranked jutsu and has even just developed the S-ranked ****Futon: Rasengan****. **

_**Fuinjutsu (S-):**_** This is where Naruto's specialty truly lies. In Konoha, the only one who I would state as being better at sealing than Naruto would be Jiriaya, and even that's questionable. Jiriaya simply has more experience than Naruto, but Naruto has an immense amount of skill in the area.**

_**Genjutsu:**_** In short, Naruto still cannot use genjutsu (this is due to Kurama). However, being a true jinchuriki, Naruto has a high level of defense against most genjutsu. Only the strongest of genjutsu users can successfully use genjutsu against him. **

**At this point in time, Jiraiya has taught Naruto just about everything that Naruto could hope to learn in 2 years (with the exception of senjutsu and better control in Kyuubi mode). What Naruto needs now is experience. **

**Lee**

**Lee's main expertise is in taijutsu, which I would rank him as being mid-jonin level (A- rank). However, because of Lee's lack of abilities in ninjutsu and genjutsu, he would only be classified as being B- rank in terms of overall skill. Likewise, Lee will be shown to be rather proficient with a staff. And like it was in cannon, Lee is blessed with the drunken fist.**

**Neji**

**Like Lee, Neji's main expertise is in taijuts, ranking up there with Lee (A- rank). Unlike Lee though, Neji can use ninjutsu (I will say he's probably B-rank in ninjutsu, despite ninjutsu being frowned upon in the Hyuga clan). Overall, Neji is about B+/A- in terms of skill. Like in cannon, when Naruto returns, Neji will be a jonin. Also, the Caged Bird Seal did restrict some of his abilities so he will notice a definite boost in his abilities.**

**Tenten**

**I know I really haven't shown much of Tenten's skills, but that will change in Book 3. Yes, she has been studying some of Mito Uzumkai's techniques and is also skilled with a sword as well as multiple other weapons. Overall, her ability is probably around B- rank (mid/high chunin)**

**Sasuke**

**While Sasuke has had no role in Book 2, he will be at about the same skill level as Naruto (A rank). Sasuke's specialty is in ninjutsu (A+/S-) and he will have 100s of jutsus in his arsenal by the time he returns. Sasuke's also better than Naruto in taijutsu, but not quite Neji/Lee/Hinata level. He does have a good deal of skill with his own sword, although Naruto will be better in terms of kenjutsu, while Sasuke is still more skilled with weapons like shuriken. Sasuke also has a high level of skill in Sharingan-based genjutsu.**

**Sakura**

**Again, she has no role in Book 2. She will be considered B+/A- in skill. Her specialty lies in medical jutsu, but she does have a high degree of skill in genjutsu and has continued to develop her genjutsu with the help of Kurenai during the time-skip.**

**Kakashi**

**By the time Kakashi returns to this story, he will in-fact have hit the S rank mark.**

**The rest of them, you'll just have to wait and see.**

****Realize this: The transition from C rank to B-rank requires much more skill than the transition from D-rank to C-rank. The transition from B-rank to A-rank requires much more skill and effort than the transition from C-rank to B-rank. Don't even get me started on S-rank. The progression between ranks is not linear and what Naruto did, going from B to A- rank in two years, normally takes much longer to achieve.**


	69. The Nine-Tail's Tale

**It's official. This story has passed the 1000 favorite mark. Thank you to all my supporters!**

**Here's chapter 69. I'll start with a few comment responses.**

** a few people wondering about other elemental Rasengan:** Yes, I do plan on incorporating other elemental Rasengans, although they won't come for some time. Also, I am considering making the Rasenshuriken a sage-mode only thing. Also, there IS a Futon: Rasengan in cannon, although I don't know why Naruto never used it. As far as I know, it does not have the same drawbacks as the Rasenshuriken.

** superkitsune675:** Regarding my updating schedule for this story, I strive for weekly updates. However, the schedule is ultimately dictated by a few things: 1)time I have available to writing, 2)do I like how the chapter is coming out?, and 3)how well I have an idea on how the chapter is going to go when I start writing. I try to do weekly, but there are some cases where I may be forced to go up to 2 weeks between updates. If I don't update for more than 2 weeks, then I'll try to let people know (probably on my profile page) that I will be on vacation or something.

** kolaritam: **The A-rank is Naruto's own skill, not taking in account of Kyuubo-mode or Sage-mode.

** KuramaFTW:** Sadly no, Naruto will not be receiving a field promotion upon returning home. Field promotions to jonin are only applicable in time of war. The only path to jonin during a time of peace is through the jonin trials/exams. By the time Naruto returns to Konoha, the last jonin trials will have occurred a few months ago (basically around the time this chapter takes place). There are also a few other requirements besides just skill (mission, recommendation, ect…).

** Shi-no-Ookami: **Don't worry, there will be more drunken fist moments, much to the suffering of Konoha's restaurants/bars.

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, still don't own Naruto

Posted: 5/12/13

* * *

**Chapter 69: The Nine-Tail's Tale**

The day had come where Naruto and Jiraiya departed their coastal paradise. While Jiraiya would admit he's miss all those busty beach babes in itty bitty bikinis, they had been in this location for just over two months now and even Jiraiya was ready to move onto the next potential peeping paradise. Sadly for him, he'd have to wait some time as the two of them were set out into the wilderness, heading north to some place in the middle of nowhere where Naruto would be trained by Kurama in utilizing the full potential of the full Kyuubi-mode.

Jiriaya knew this was important, especially if he had any hopes of not being accidentally flattened by a wayward fox tail that Naruto had no idea how to control. Besides, he was a happy author…a happy, pervy author now that his best volume of the Icha Icha series was now in the hands of the publisher and it would only take a few months before that book hit shelves.

"So where are we going?" asked Jiraiya to a red-eyed Naruto, or blonde Kurama (whichever way you want to look at it).

"**Just be patient Jiraiya. We'll be there the day after tomorrow"** commented Kurama. Seeing as Kurama was the one who knew where they were going, Naruto had temporarily relinquished control to his furry tenant. **"There's a village about an hour away where we can stop for the night. After that, we'll be in the wild until the toads are ready for us."**

Jiraiya nodded, but for some reason he didn't feel comfortable about following the Kyuubi into the wilderness. A few hours passed and the duo/trio reached what appeared to be more of an outpost than a village. "Kitsugeto. We're in the Land of Foxes, aren't we?" asked Jiraiya, giving Kurama a questioning glare. Despite the initial appearance of the village, the village actually was rather large, being covered mainly by forests. However, the primary aspect to this village was an extravagant shrine situated at the middle of the village, leading up a large hill. One of the most noticeable features about said shrine was the fox statues and torii lining the pathway to the shrine.

"**That's the Temple of Inari, the ancient Kami of these lands and its inhabitants"** replied Kurama.

"So this is where we're staying?" asked Jiraiya.

"**Not in this village or temple. As I said, our destination is over a day away, but this land is still wild. This is the last piece of civilization until we reach our destination" **answered Kurama.

"So where exactly are we going?" asked Jiraiya.

"**Home…"** was all Kurama said before giving control back to Naruto.

"You know, if I'm correct, there's a ramen stand in this village" exclaimed Naruto , completely off topic and retaking control of his body as he went for his Ramen Passport. There was in fact a ramen stand in his passport, in this book. Kitsugeto was the home to the Inari Ramen. This would make ramen number 28. He was getting closer. He had never expected to fill his book during this trip, but 24 different entries were more that he had hoped. Now Naruto was certain it wouldn't be too much longer before he and Iruka-sensei were enjoying that Ichiraku special.

* * *

After racing their way through the wilderness the pair of Konoha ninja now found themselves overlooking their destination…a large, beautiful forested valley surrounded by a total of nine mountains. There was a large river flowing through the center of the valley with a waterfall pouring from the cliff they were standing on. The place was wild, and pure. It hadn't been touched in…

"**It's been over 100 years since I've set foot in this place"** commented Kurama.

"So where exactly are we?" asked Jiraiya.

"**My home"** replied Kurama. This left Jiraiya speechless for a bit.

"Your home?"

"**Or at least it was my home until I decided to leave"** replied Kurama. **"I lived here with my mate in this valley until she was taken from me. Afterwards, I found I couldn't stay here and so I decided to move on."**

"So why come back now?"

"**Because, I just felt like coming back here. It just felt right. I figured it was time and this place has always been good to me. Besides, it'll give us some privacy while I train the Kit to use my powers to their fullest"** replied Kurama. **"Sadly, my actual home has succumbed to time but seeing as we've got plenty of camping supplies sealed away, there shouldn't be any problems."**

Within a few hours, Naruto, Jiraiya, and Kurama had scouted out an ideal location to set up as camp near the river and set up the camp where they would be spending the next few weeks. As it grew dark, Naruto found himself up in a tall tree, gazing at the bright starry sky.

"_Wow, it's actually quite nice here. The stars are brighter than any I've ever seen back home"_ commented Naruto. _"You actually called this place home?"_

"_**A long time ago" **_replied Kurama. _**"The real reason I came here was because I felt like this was the best place to tell you."**_

"_Tell me about what?" _

"_**You asked to know more about me. You were right back there. You're the first human I've met in centuries I can actually say I trust and as such I feel you should know more about me, especially seeing as we're going to take our bond one step further while out here"**_ answered Kurama. _**"Now, just don't interrupt me until I'm done."**_

* * *

Kurama's tale,

Over a thousand years ago, these very lands were cast into a bottomless pit of hatred and a never ending war ensued. To those who wished for the wars to stop, hope seemed to fade with every passing moment as those who possessed divine and mystical powers used them to fan the flames of conflict.

These warmongers were seen as tyrants and gods to the common folk. They kept mainly to themselves as they knew if the secrets behind their powers were divulged, then their grip on the world would slowly slip. They were successful in their endeavors to control the world through destruction and greed, threatening more war to those who opposed their will.

However, there was one man who wished for the wars to stop. He realized that the powers that only these select few warlords possessed lay dormant within each and every being on this planet and that if used correctly, those powers could be used to usher civilization into an era of peace. And so this man, a simple monk, set out to divulge and explain the secrets behind this mysterious power, which was later given the name chakra.

Upon learning the secrets of chakra, this man set out on a journey to spread his wisdom to the four corners of the world with only one goal in on his mind…peace. As he began to spread his knowledge and free the peoples from their oppression, a title was granted to him. You know him throughout your legends as the Rikudo Sennin. I am going to tell you that those aren't mere legends…they are truths.

Throughout his life, the Rikudo Sennin divulged into the very secrets behind the forces that governed our universe, blessed with these powers himself. However, the warmongering fools who tried greedily to maintain their grasp to power were not happy with the Sage's exploits. One by one, they tried to silence the Sage, but it proved fruitless. Armed with the Eyes of Kami, the Rinnegan, the Sage wasn't going to let this world dissolve back into the endless wars that once spread like wildfire. In the end, the warlords found themselves with one last resort to end the Sage's quest for peace. Sacrificing their own powers, they called upon the very depths of the universe itself to summon forth a primordial entity from the beginning of times to strike down the Sage once and for all. This entity was the greatest of all biju and the very source that our life force originates from…the Jubi.

This being possessed a chakra, both potent and overwhelming enough that the complete destruction of our world looked imminent. In all senses, the Jubi was effectively a god of ancient times. Many stood together to face this foe and preserve the peace they had worked so hard for and come to embrace, but all failed. All but one.

When all hope seemed lost, the Rikudo Sennin himself stood up to the Jubi. Using its immense powers, the Jubi bombarded the Sage with multiple cataclysmic attacks. However, in the end the Sage remained standing and unwavering.

The Sage then unleashed his own powers onto the titan and the battle between Gods ensued.

As their powers continued to clash, it became evident to the Sage that there was only one way in which he would be able to defeat this titan and that was to seal it within himself, effectively making him the first jinchuriki.

The world had been saved and the Sage was hailed as a god by the people of the land for saving them from the Jubi's wrath; however his victory over the menace was only temporary. You see, even though he was hailed as a god, the Sage was in fact still human, meaning that even his own life would come to an end. And when that day came, the Jubi would be released from the seal to wreak havoc upon the world once again.

As such, the Sage came up with a more permanent solution. Using his own powers, the Sage divided up the Jubi's chakra into nine separate entities, creating the nine biju that are known throughout the world today. Yes, to me, the Rikudo Sennin was my father and he is the one person I respect above all others.

I have already told you a bit about my brothers and sisters, the 8 other biju. You know them as Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokuo, Saiken, Chomei, Gyuki, and then there is myself. To me, even though some of us don't necessarily see tail to tail, they are my brothers and sisters; derived from the same chakra and created by the same man.

Before we were scattered around the world, our father left us with a few final words: Follow a rightful path and search for what real strength is.

For the first few centuries of my life, I wandered the world, trying to continue what my father had started, aiding the humans and trying to guide them down the proper path, thinking I was following what the Old Man had considered a rightful path. However, I was not my father and I was unable to get through to the people as he would.

Slightly frustrated, I decided to venture to the land we are now, hoping to find some respite against my own kind. I had learned that this land was home to many wise kitsunes and perhaps I could find my own path from them. Still, it wasn't as easy as I had thought. Many of the kitsunes had the idea of keeping to themselves and letting the world play out for itself, despite many of them periodically leaving the land to interact with the humans.

I wanted to follow in my father's footsteps, not sit around devising new ways to trick humans and contemplate various philosophical ideals. I wanted to follow in my father's footsteps and help guide this world into a prosperous era of peace. It was then that I decided to leave the Land of the Kitsunes to set out and travel the world again, but I wasn't going to be alone.

It was then that I met her. She was a beautiful young vixen who had five tails and a sleek silver fur. She was also a rather spirited vixen, not being able to sit still in these lands anymore and a strong desire to explore the world had overtaken her. When I left, she decided to tag along.

At first, I didn't think of it that much. The company was nice and all, but she was a little too energetic even for my likings. However, as we traveled, we began to open up a bit more to each other and our feelings towards each other began soar. During our first world trip together, we fell in love with each other as we searched for what our purpose in this world was together.

Despite being rather rambunctious and lively, beneath the surface she truly was a caring fox. That is unless you pissed her off for whatever reason.

We traveled for a few centuries before returning home to contemplate what we wished to do. We had learned about the current state of the world and that hatred and greed was beginning to find its way back into the heart of humans. We knew that something would have to be done if this world was going to be saved from slipping over the edge into darkness again and so after spending some time back here, we prepared to set out once again to ensure that the Sage's work didn't go to waste. That's when everything took a turn for the worse.

By this time, some humans had looked to darker ways to greedily increase their own powers. They had realized that if they truly wanted to transcend their own race, they would have to find a way to gain the powers of us demons, whether they be kitsunes like myself or some other class of demons. You've already read about this in those fuinjutsu theory scrolls of yours back in Uzushiogakure. By the time we had returned to the Land of Foxes, my brother Son Goku, the Yonbi, had already been imprisoned inside a human vessel.

Over the centuries, I was forced to listen to the stories of my brethren be sealed and imprisoned. But I thanked my luck that I had managed to remain unsealed. I was also forced to listen to stories of the attempted sealing of various other classes of demons into human vessels. It was then that I realized the only class of demons that could be sealed within humans was the biju, the class of demons that I belonged to. The reason was chakra. We biju were pure constructs of chakra, and if done right, our chakra could successfully meld with human chakra. Other demons however, had other elements mixed into their chakra that prevented their sealing into humans, but not into other objects like shrines and talismans.

By the time our second journey began, most of the demons left in this world had either been sealed, or they had moved on to a different dimension to escape the greed of humanity. Still, me and Hikare remained. We held our hope that there were still some humans that would listen to reasoning and that we could guide them away from the hatred that was slowly engulfing the world. For awhile, we were successful, but then IT happened.

I still don't know how exactly, but somehow a shinobi clan had discovered that Hikare was in fact a demon and their leader was going to attempt to seal her powers within himself. By the time I had arrived to try and rescue her, it was too late. While the bastard had failed to seal Hikare's powers within him, I could no longer sense her amongst this world. He actually came up to me and mentioned that I should be grateful to him for 'ridding a man of peace of a demon bitch'. It was then that I snapped. It was then that I had forsaken the Old Man's words and gave into the hatred that was slowly claiming this world.

In my anger, I mercilessly slaughtered that entire damned clan for their atrocity. And from then on, I was on the run. Being a biju, it was already known that I could in fact be sealed within a human vessel and it seemed every greedy piece of filth on this planet wanted to get their hands on me. For nearly two hundred years, I was able to evade capture, but throughout that time, my own hatred towards the human race grew. However, it was never quite enough to warrant me attacking anyone unless it was out of self defense.

And then…HE came, Uchiha Madara. With those accursed eyes of his, I fell into his grasp and the next thing I remembered was being freed from his control by Senju Hashirama. But still, even then I wasn't able to breathe the free air as I was soon sealed into my first vessel, Uzumaki Mito.

While I was sealed, it gave me plenty of time to reflect on just what had happened and despite her own preaching of love and understanding; I only grew to hate more. Despite what I once believed, I could only loathe the very race that had taken everything away from me when I had simply tried to help them.

After that, you already know what happened to me.

End Kurama's Tale

* * *

"_So what made you see different? I mean, when we first met, you really weren't hateful or anything. I mean sure you were kind of grouchy, but you really didn't seem bad"_ asked Naruto.

"_**At first, it was that contract. If it meant I'd be free of my prison in the end and eventually get my shot at the bastard who screwed me over, then I figured I'd put up with it. But eventually, I decided to open up to you"**_ replied Kurama. _**"Regardless of everything you've been subjected to, you still push forward, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. You're different than most humans. You don't seek power for yourself, you look to protect. I know that you seek to end the hatred in this world. I know no matter what you've had to endure, no matter how hopeless the situation, you won't give up and you'll find a way. In a way, you're a lot like him."**_

"_Heh, you've got that right. No matter what, I won't back down, especially if that means protecting my friends from danger"_ replied Naruto. _"After all, that's my ninja way."_

"_**Besides, it's good to be back in action. It really did get boring just sitting there inside those seals. At least this way, I can have some form of interaction with the outside world"**_ replied Kurama.

"_Hey speaking of which, how did you manage it all those years? How did you and Hikare manage to blend in where you traveled? I mean you said you talked to people. Wouldn't a giant fox seemed kind of weird or something?"_ asked Naruto.

"_**Hehe, you really think I survived all those years looking like I do now? Let me ask you this, why even as a mere academy student were you able to pull off an advanced transformation jutsu that supposedly jonin level? I'll admit you're not a complete failure, but even that's pushing it"**_ replied Kurama.

"_You know, I've never really thought about it. Until that show-and-tell day at the academy, I thought my transformation was normal and that I had been doing everything right. I really had no idea it was a jonin-level transformation"_ replied Naruto.

"_**The reason you're transformation is so advanced is because of the influence of me. I may be a biju, but I'm also a kitsune. As such, I have some traits that are associated with kitsunes. One such trait is the ability for me to take on a human form"**_ replied Kurama. _**"I also enjoy a good prank every now and then. But still, that's why we were able to travel amongst you humans for so long. Because we had taken on a human form."**_

"_Really?! You can transform into a human form? What do you look like?" _asked Naruto.

"_**A blonde haired, thick-headed, orange wearing idiot"**_ joked Kurama.

"_Hey!" _objected Naruto, picking up on Kurama's playful insult.

"_**Anyways, I can't transform while I'm sealed inside of you, but if you've ever wondered why you can use a high-leveled transformation so easily, that's why. Over the years, shinobi have developed the transformation from a simple genjutsu, but it's still not quite as advanced as the ones kitsunes can do."**_

"_Hey, speaking of kitsunes, I don't suppose there are any around here?" _asked Naruto.

"_**I doubt it. Most of the peaceful demons left this world ages ago with the more hostile ones being sealed away in some sort of talisman or shrine to prevent them from wreaking havoc on this world"**_ replied Kurama. _**"And then there were those sealed for no real reason…"**_

"_Don't worry. I know she's still out there somewhere. And I know I'll find her for you somehow"_ replied Naruto. _"After all, you've done more than just help me out of desperate situations. It's the least I can do to return the favor, and beside I can tell you really do love her."_

"_**Are you really out there? For the first time in centuries, I can feel that perhaps you are not gone yet. If you're still out there somewhere, then I know this Kit will be able to find you…" **_thought Kurama to himself.

"_Kurama? You there?" _asked Naruto, not hearing anything from his demonic tenant for a few minutes.

"_**Yeah, perhaps you should go to sleep. You're in for a looong few weeks of training with me. I'm going to make certain that you're worthy of being my vessel"**_ replied Kurama. Naruto gulped a little at the impending 'Kyuubi's Boot-camp from Hell'.

* * *

The next day began the 'Kyuubi's Boot-camp from Hell' and to Naruto's surprise, it started off as a simple talk.

"_**Okay Kit, ever since that seal was released, you may have noticed something slightly different by the way you can access my power. In short, with the seal released you can access my full power and you can also control the amount of power you can access easier. Before the seal was released, the number of tails determined the amount of power you could access. It used to be that once you reached four tails, you entered the version 2 cloak. Now, that is not the case. You were able to use an 8 tailed version 1 cloak when you removed the seal for that boy. The case from now on is that you're power is going to be influenced by what type of cloak you enter. You've got version 1, version 2, and then full-biju mode. The version 1 allows you to use my own power to augment your own. You still have access to your own attacks, but you don't have the ability to access my abilities. Version 2 is where you set aside your own techniques but you begin to tap into mine. However, the version 2 cloak is still but a fraction of my own power. That is reserved for the full-biju mode."**_

"_Yeah, I've kind of noticed a difference in the way in which I access your powers. When I was helping Neji, I was surprised I was able to hold an 8-tailed cloak in the version 1. I get that one, although I'm still not quite that familiar with the version 2. I've used it a bit, but not too much. I did notice though that I couldn't use my own techniques"_ replied Naruto. _"And then full-biju mode against Han was something completely different."_

"_**The cloaks, both versions 1 and 2 are only a fraction of my power. We'll start with the version 1 cloak and go from there"**_ instructed Kurama as Naruto took on the 8-tailed version 1 cloak. _**"Good, now try out a few of your own techniques."**_

Nodding, Naruto went with one of his signature techniques, the Rasengan. Charging up the sphere, Naruto noticed that the sphere took on sort of a purplish tint to it. Slamming the Rasengan into a nearby rock, he was taken aback by the large crater it left in place of the rock and surrounding trees.

"_Whoa. Normally that would have just taken out the rock, but it was definitely more powerful than normal"_ commented Naruto.

"_**That's because that sphere was infused with my some of my chakra. Jiraiya told you that your dad developed that jutsu after the Tailed Beast Ball, so I believe what you have there is almost like a partial Tailed Beast Ball. That sphere contained about 15-20% of my chakra, which is what served to boost its own power and give it that violet hew"**_ explained Kurama. _**"I'm sure you've also noticed that it increases your own speed and physical strength as well."**_

For the remainder of the day, Kurama shifted focus from explanation to experience as he drilled how to make the full use of the version 1 cloak into Naruto's head. Naruto had noticed that all of his jutsu had gained an increase in their overall potency as was expected by both he and Kurama. Naruto also found a significant increase in his speed, agility, and even strength to some extent. Still, despite that, Kurama had proven to be a rather hard drill sergeant, instructing Naruto on how to best use the version 1 cloak's enhancements to better his own fighting style.

Day 2 under Kurama's tutelage came along with training in the version 2 cloak.

"_**Now, the biggest advantage with the version 2 cloak is the unpredictability associated with it. Along with accessing more of my powers, you also gain the ability to extend the chakra outwards from you, giving you a sort of chakra arm. Until now, you've only accessed version 2 for the Tailed Beast Ball, but there's much more you can do than just that"**_ explained Kurama. _**"Well, let's go ahead and enter the version 2 cloak. You've always done better by doing than me just standing here and explaining."**_

Naruto took on the version 2 cloak as the dark-red chakra completely overtook him and 9 tails appeared behind him. As Naruto progressed further into the version 2 cloak, a fox-like skeleton began to form around Naruto.

"_Hey Kurama, what's up with these bones? I've never noticed them before"_ asked Naruto.

"_**It's because you've never used more than four tails of my power in the version 2 cloak. This is the full version 2. You can actually control whether or not they are there. They help a lot if you're fighting inn close range, but they're kind of a hindrance if you're fighting from ranged. It's up to you if you want them or not"**_ replied Kurama. _**"Now, as I said you can't use any of your techniques in this form, but you can access some of mine. You already know about the Tailed Beast Ball. So let's try something different."**_

Kurama gave Naruto a few instructions and the fox-formed jinchuriki found that he could actually whip up a rather large twister by swiping with his claws. Unfortunately, said twister was aimed in the direction of a certain white-haired pervert who was observing the training.

"Hey! Will you two watch where you're aiming? I thought you said I wouldn't have to worry about being hit while you were training!" called out Jiraiya after just barely dodging the twister.

"**I said you wouldn't have to worry about being flattened by a tail. I never said anything about a twister"** laughed Kurama, causing Jiraiya to sweat drop at the realization that he was likely now the Kyuubi's personal punching bag.

"Well, can you please aim it away?" asked Jiraiya.

"**But that's no fun!"** pouted Kurama. **"Fine, seeing as what we're planning on doing next would actually kill you, haha."**

Handing control back to Naruto, Kurama began to explain the next ability Naruto had access to in the version 2 cloak. Fortunately for Jiraiya, this attack was aimed away and Kurama was right when he said that attack could kill as Naruto shot a highly concentrated beam of heated chakra out, carving through the rock faces of the surrounding cliffs and mountains like a hot knife through butter.

"_Yikes, you weren't kidding that that could kill"_ commented Naruto.

"_**Hehe, what'd you expect? I'm not the strongest of the biju for nothing"**_ bragged Kurama. _**"You also have access to the **__**Kitsune Tempest**__** in this form, but you already know how to use it. Now, what I really want you to work on are those chakra arms, but for that we need a training partner."**_

Jiraiya sighed as Kurama called over to him and indicated to him that Naruto needed a training partner to get a better hang on using the chakra arms. While Jiraiya wasn't about to submit himself to the torment of being Kurama's punching bag, he did agree to offer up a few shadow clones as a sacrifice.

Over the next few days, Naruto began to get the hang of the chakra arms and the version 2 form thanks to the sacrifices of a few unfortunate shadow clones. After about a week there, Kurama decided that Naruto would most likely be able to catch onto the version 1 and 2 forms as he went, but it was really the full-Kyuubi mode he wanted to work on and with only a little more than two weeks before the toads were ready for them and Naruto would complete the final phase of his training, he had to get Naruto's skills in utilizing the full-Kyuubi mode to an acceptable level.

"_**Okay Kit. This is only the second time you've used my full form and as of now, you can still only hold it for no more than 10 minutes at a time. Which means that we're going to have to make the most of our time when you enter full-biju mode. That 10 minute limit will increase as your body adjusts more to the increased amount of my chakra in your system"**_ explained Kurama. _**"When you transform, the first thing we're going to do is get you in control of the new form. That means you won't accidentally flatten anyone with a wayward tail."**_

"_Right. Let's do it then"_ commented Naruto as he tapped into the full power of the Kyuubi no Kitsune and could only help as his own form took on the form of Kurama. It wasn't as painful as the first time, but the massive amount of demonic chakra in his system still felt kind of weird. As the transformation completed, Naruto had been completely replaced by Kurama's form as he now stood as a gigantic nine-tailed fox instead of an orange-clad, blonde haired human.

Immediately, the tails began flapping chaotically over the place, nearly hitting Jiraiya who had thought he was out of range of those tails.

"_**Now get them under control!"**_ ordered Kurama.

"_How the hell do I do that?!" _responded Naruto.

"_**They are a part of you. You feel what they feel and they do what you tell them to do. Just focus on them and get them under your control"**_ instructed Kurama. _**"It's like walking. Once you learn to use them, it'll be like second nature to you."**_

Taking Kurama's advice, Naruto focused solely on the tails and slowly but surely, they went from wild and frantic to a more controlled and flowing.

Jiraiya let out a big sigh of relief as he no longer had to play 'dodge the giant tail that's trying to crush me'. Looking up, he still saw the tails flowing behind Naruto/Kyuubi, but they were no longer out of control and it looked as if they were now under his control.

"_**Good. You just need to control them enough to keep out of the way. So long as they're not interfering with you or anyone else, you can let them do what they want right now. For the most part, just guide them and when you need them, take full control over them. Now do that and them as a sort of shield."**_

"_Right!"_ Naruto took full control of the tails and arched them over himself as if he were using them to block a massive projectile attack.

"_**Not too bad, now try using them as additional limbs. Rip a few trees out of the ground and use them as projectiles. It'll help with your dexterity using them."**_

As instructed, Naruto found that it wasn't too hard to get the tails under control once he first realized how to move them and he wrapped one of the tails around a nearby tree, ripping it from the earth and chucking over him, sending it flying to the far end of the valley.

"_**Well that was kind of weak"**_ commented Kurama.

"_What do ya mean?! Did you see the distance I got on that?" _argued Naruto.

"_**Here, let me have control for a moment."**_ Giving in, Kurama took control of his true physical form for the first time in a century. **"Oh yeah, it sure feels good being able to stretch my tails for the first time in years." **Making controlling his own body look easy, Kurama grabbed his own tree and flung it at the nearby cliff, embedding the large tree in the cliff.

"_Whoa!"_

"**Please, that's nothing. Again, I'm not the strongest in terms of brute strength. You should see Son do this. The tree would be buried up to the roots…assuming it hadn't shattered."**

"So what are you two up to?" asked Jiraiya, curious as to why Kurama had taken control.

"**Just helping the Kit out with a little target practice"** explained Kurama as he used the Chakra Beam to carve a target in the side of a nearby cliff. Just as Kurama transferred control back over to Naruto, the Kyuubi-form receded back into Naruto. _**"Hmm…looks like 11 minutes right now is my limit. Just take some time to rest, perhaps work on something else. Once you're good to go again, start chucking trees at the target but don't use too many. I don't mind you clearing out this old clearing here, but the parts that actually used to be forests I kind of liked."**_

"_Right. You know, if you want to get out every now and then, I don't really mind if we're some place that won't freak everyone out. Just don't do anything crazy"_ commented Naruto.

"_**So in other words, don't do anything you'd do"**_ joked Kurama, causing Naruto to sweat-drop. _**"Anyways, I'd like that. Perhaps once we can hold this form for longer. And don't worry, I won't do anything stupid."**_

* * *

"**You're sure about this Jiraiya?"**

"Trust me on this Bunta. I've had my doubts, but even I'm beginning to truly believe the Kyuubi's on our side. That seal's been removed for a few months now and he hasn't tried to break free or purposefully kill me yet" replied Jiraiya, who was situated up top the Toad Boss's head.

"**That still doesn't mean I feel comfortable about **_**sparring**_** the Kyuubi itself"** commented Gamabunta.

For nearly the past two weeks, Kurama and Naruto had been working hard to bring Naruto up to a point that was acceptable to his standards and now the giant fox thought that Naruto would benefit more from actual battle experience.

"Oh lighten up Bunta-chan" commented Fukasaku, who had been summoned to help give Jiraiya a boost. "Even I'm interested to see where Naruto-chan and the Kyuubi have gotten."

"**Fine, but you're buying the sake for a looong time after this"** replied Bunta.

In full-Kyuubi mode, Naruto eyed Jiraiya atop the giant toad. Remembering his little initiation, this was going to be a good opportunity for some payback.

Dashing off, Naruto made the first move as he closed the gap between him and the giant toad with ease and Gamabunta just barely had time to jump and avoid the claw swipe. With a quick pivoting motion, Naruto whipped the tails around, intending to smack Gamabunta.

By the time Naruto's tails came around, Bunta had just regained his footing, allowing him to catch the tails. However, the power behind the tails was too much for Bunta to fully dampen and the Toad Boss was sent flying backwards.

"**Oi! Watch those tails you brat!"** shouted Bunta. "**Suiton: Gunshot.****"**

Bunta unleashed a number of water spheres at the Kyuubi-formed Naruto, causing his foxy opponent to either dodge or use a few low-powered Tailed Beast Balls to intercept them.

Growling, Bunta drew his tanto and lunged at Naruto. Gracefully, Naruto sidestepped the lunge and before Bunta could follow up on his attack, Naruto had used one of his nine tails to wrap around Bunta's hands and disarm him of his weapon. Bunta was forced to jump back to avoid the other 8 that were now attempting to wrap him up.

"**Ya know, this was a lot easier with Minato"** commented Gamabunta.

"And if I remember, the last time all you had to do was drop down on top of the giant furball and hold him" commented Jiraiya. "Well, shall we?"

"Katon: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!" shouted Jiraiya as he and Bunta unleashed their collaborative oil and flame attack upon Naruto.

Countering, Naruto unleashed his own fire attack, Fox Fire, and the two fires collided in the middle, contributing to the massive inferno that lit up the ground between them.

"_**Well, it's a good thing the Kit cleared that area out with target practice"**_ thought Kurama, thankful that those attacks hadn't completely destroyed his old home.

"Senpo: Ultra Big-Ball Rasengan!" shouted Jiraiya as he was coming down on Naruto with a giant Rasengan in hand. The foxy jinchuriki moved a few tails in the way to block Jiraiya's supercharged Rasengan. Much to Jiraiya's surprise, the tails proved to be more resilient than he had initially thought as they successfully blocked his most powerful sage-mode attack. As Naruto was distracted with Jiraiya, this gave Bunta a chance to build up for a more powerful water attack.

"**Suiton: Rampaging Torrent!**" Bunta unleashed a massive stream of powerful water upon. It was too wide of an attack for Naruto to dodge and he was left with having to use one of his own attacks to defend with. Unleashing the Kitsune Tempest, the wind and water attacks collided and by the time the powerful water attack reached Naruto, it had been dissipated into nothing more than a misty spray.

"_**Damn. That was my most powerful water attack and he just blew it away like nothing. This guy's certainly more powerful than the Shukaku, that's for sure"**_ thought Bunta.

"Well, I think that's going to be it for now" commented Fukasaku. _"The Kyuubi certainly is powerful. Using his power, Naruto-chan was able to repel Bunta's and Jiraiya's most powerful attacks."_

As Fukasaku called the spar to an end, the Kyuubi form retreated until just Naruto was left there.

"So do you think he's ready?" Jiraiya asked Kurama.

"**I'll admit he's come a long way since we started. Had he have been fighting offensively instead of just defensively there, you three wouldn't have stood a chance"** responded Kurama. **"Of course, he's still not as good as I am, but he's a lot better than he used to be and I no longer have to yell at him with what he's gotta do. For now, I'll say I'm done with him."**

"Good. His control over your power's going to come in handy once Akatsuki starts to move again" said Jiraiya. "Well Pa, are you ready for us?"

"Yes, if you three are finished here, then I can summon you both to Mt. Myoboku" responded Fukasaku. "While we're there, I'll train Naruto in the first phases of sage training. Perhaps you could learn to enter sage mode on yourself. It'll stop Ma's constant bickering whenever you summon us while she's preparing dinner."

"Hehe, I'll think about it" replied Jiraiya. "And we're ready to go."

"So how exactly are we going to get there?" asked Naruto.

"Well, Mt. Myoboku is over a month away by foot" said Fukasaku.

"WHAT?! A month?" complained Naruto, getting a laugh out of the two sages.

"Don't worry. Since you've already signed the toad contract, we'll just be reverse summoned there. It will only take a few seconds, not a month" reassured Jiraiya. "Well, let's get going before he starts shooting his mouth off."

Nodding Fukasaku nodded, making a hand seal and Naruto, Jiraiya, Bunta, and Fukasaku all disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

Iwagakure,

Onoki had just received the reports from the scouting team he had sent off to investigate the sudden halt to communications from the Namikaze Hunting Team. To say they weren't what he had hoped for would be an understatement. From the nature of the reports, all members of the hunting squad had been eliminated and all the elder Tsuchikage had from them was Han's shattered helm.

Upon receiving news of the fate of the hunting team, the Iwagakure Council was already on the edge. While they hated and feared Han, they respected his power as one of Iwa's most powerful shinobi and if the supposed Namikaze had defeated not only Han, but three of their more prominent shinobi, then he was already a much greater threat than they had originally believed.

"But how could he beat Han? He was one of the few true jinchuriki and there's no way he could have beaten the power of a biju!" stated one of the council members.

"If that's the case, then the Namikaze is already a much larger threat than we originally believed. But to beat a jinchuriki, for someone no older than 15. I can't image how he could manage to pull something like that off…" said another council member before he was interrupted.

"Unless of course he was also a jinchuriki" spoke a bearded, red-haired man with an odd shaped hat.

The entire council froze in horror at the possibility offered by Iwa's second jinchuriki, Roshi of the Lava-release.

"But Konoha doesn't have a jinchuriki!" stated one of the council members.

"No Kitsuchi, that doesn't appear to be the case" replied Onoki. "How old is the Namikaze brat?"

"Umm…initial reports estimate him to be between 15 and 16 years of age" commented one of the ANBU present at the meeting.

"And we all know that just over 15 years ago, Konoha was attacked by the Kyuubi no Kitsune" explained Onoki.

"But the Yondaime Hokage killed the beast by dragging it to the grave with him!" argued one of the council members.

"You can't kill a biju" stated Roshi. "If he had killed the Kyuubi, it would have reformed by now. But it hasn't which means…"

"T-then h-he's the j-j-jinchuriki of t-the…"

"Of the Kyuubi no Kitsune" said Roshi. "If our knowledge of Kumo's Kinkaku and Ginkaku is correct, then those whisker marks on his face indicate that he's been exposed to the Kyuubi's chakra."

The entire council chamber paled at this revelation. If the Namikaze brat really was a jinchuriki, then the threat of him had just increased immensely.

"I also believe that if he was able to defeat Han and our agents, then that suggests he does have a high degree of control over the Kyuubi's power" said Roshi.

Onoki slammed his fists into the table, standing up out of frustration…bad decision.

'Crack!'

"Gagh! My back!" cried Onoki.

"Father!" said Kitsuchi, coming to his elderly father's aid.

"I'm fine…ouch!" shouted Onoki as Kitsuchi snapped his dad's back back into place. "Hogatsu, is there anything else in your report on the brat I should know?"

The ANBU who had been assigned to gathering intel on Namikaze Naruto stood up. "Just one sir. His family name does not seem to be Namikaze. It appears as if he was given another name."

"Well, if he's not a Namikaze, then what is he?" asked Onoki.

"His name is Uzumaki Naruto" said Hogatsu as a dead silence crept over the room.

"No…it can't be…He's a Namikaze, he can't be an Uzumaki! That accursed clan is supposed to be dead!" shouted one of the council members. "Please, Tsuchikage-sama. Please tell me that's not true!"

"I'm sorry Tachi-san, but our reports from the chunin exams hosted in Kumogakure two years ago show him using Uzumaki-style fuinjutsu.

By this time, Onoki had clutched his hand to the point where is own nails were drawing blood as he stared at the picture of one Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto in front of him.

"No, he's definitely a Namikaze. He has the same hair and those same cold eyes. Those same souless eyes that ruthlessly murdered over half our army in the last war. I'm certain he's a Namikaze, but…no…it can't be…shit!"

"Tsuchikage-sama?" asked one concerned council members.

"He's not an Uzumaki, he's not a Namikaze…he's both…"

If one had walked into that room at that moment, they would have no problem feeling the cold, icy grip of the Shinigami's life taking grasp.

* * *

_**Jutsu**_

**Kyuubi-mode Jutsu accessible in Version 2**

**Kyuubi Twister:** A move that Naruto is able to access in the version 2 and full-Kyuubi mode. With a single swipe of his claw or tail, Naruto is able to whip up a powerful and destructive twister

**Chakra Beam:** A powerful ability that Naruto can access in version 2 and full-Kyuubi mode. This is a fire-based attack where Naruto shoots out a highly concentrated beam of superheated chakra. This beam has enough power to carve through solid rock with ease.

**Chakra Arms:** A version 2 only ability where Naruto can actually extend arms of chakra from any part of his body to attack, defend, and retaliate against an opponent's attack.

**Kitsune Tempest:** A mighty roar that unleashes an extremely strong shearing gale of wind at the opponent or area infront of Naruto/Kurama. While it's power is restricted in version 2, in full-Kyuubi mode, this attack can easily rip multiple buildings from their foundations

**Version 2 Tailed Beast Ball:** In version 2, the TBB is also lower in power than a full-Kyuubi mode TBB. Once the chakra is gathered, it is ingested, causing the version 2 Naruto to blow up and expel the chakra ball at his opponents. Despite being lower in power, this attack still has the capability to easily blow through a Triple Rashomon

***Kyuubi-mode jutsu accessible in full-Kyuubi mode***

*All jutsus accessible in version 2 are accessible in full-Kyuubi mode except for the chakra arms. However, those are replaced by improved control of the tails.

**Tailed Beast Ball:**A Biju's most powerful attack where they gather chakra in the form of a ball with a 8:2 ratio of black and white chakra. Once the ball is formed, three things can happen: a) the ball is fired as is, b) the ball isn't compressed and is expelled as a giant shockwave/beam, or c) the ball is compressed and fired. Option C is usually the most powerful of these options as the compression adds an extra element of power to the attack.

**Fox Fire:** An extremely powerful golden-white flame that Naruto/Kurama breathes outward.

*Other Kyuubi-mode jutsus may appear later on as I think of them, but this will be it to start it off for now.

**Suiton: Rampaging Torrent:** A wide, powerful water-style attack. This attack unleashes a wave of powerful, pressurized water upon its target. With the size of the attack, this jutsu is hard to evade. **Users:** Gamabunta; **Rank:** A.

* * *

_**Author Notes**_

**Well, here's chapter 69. A few notes so here we go.**

**There's only one more chapter before I bring Book 2 to a close. While it was short, I did find these 10 chapters to be important in Naruto's development to the point where I'd rather have them in actual chapters than just flashbacks. **

**By this point in time, Naruto's got fairly good control over the full-Kyuubi mode. Realize that the spar between Naruto (Kyuubi mode) and Jiraiya, Bunta, and Fukasaku was purely Naruto staying on the defensive. If Naruto had cut loose and gone on the offensive, he would have been able to beat the three of them.**

**So, the search for Hikare will be another plot-line that goes along with everything else and as that continues, more will be revealed about the time Kurama and Hikare spent together. **

**Demons: Yes, in this story demons will have a role to play. However, for the most part, all the demons in this world have been sealed away and contained (ex. Biju, Moryo, and Hikare) or they have left this dimension. There are many different classes of demons. The biju are one class, so are kitsunes (I know that even normal foxes can be considered kitsunes, but for this story, only fox spirits or demon foxes are kitsunes), and there are others. I will say that I'll be brining the first Shippuden movie (Shion) into this story and I am leaning towards the fifth (Blood Prison).**

**Well, I think that's it for now. Stay tuned for the last chapter of Book 2 before I start book 3. **


	70. Sage Training

**Here's the final chapter of Part 2. I'll start off responding to a few comments.**

** FunFact mitBoB and arb6646: It is only a coincidence that the name of Hinata's mother and Kurama's mate are similar. Sadly, there is no relation between these two.**

** Shadowgirl608: I do plan on making everyone else stronger than they were in cannon. **

** KuramaFTW: Yes, I do plan on going into the Namikaze side of Naruto's heritage around the time when Naruto turns 16. **

** Semigall: Version 2 is the cloak he got in cannon when he went to four tails or above. It's kind of like the 6-tailed version he fought Pein with.**

** Anyone wondering about the golden cloak: I have plans for it in the future of the story. Don't worry.**

** Larry: Many elements of this story, such as the Shinobi Alliance, will most certainly progress differently than it did in cannon.**

**Well, that'll be it for now. If I didn't answer your questions it's most likely because either I don't want to give anything away, will clear it up in the near future, or have already responded to you by PM…and also there were a lot of comments.**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto

Posted: 5/20/13

* * *

**Chapter 70: One Last Step: The Making of a Sage**

In the blink of an eye, the world surrounding Uzumaki Naruto disappeared. One moment, he was standing in the middle of a forested clearing in the Land of Foxes. The next, he was in what appeared to be a lush and humid jungle with giant plants and mushrooms. Lounging on some of the leaves, were a few lazy toads, bathing in the warm sun that shone down upon them.

"Woah…" gasped Naruto as he took in the new surroundings. "Where are we?"

"Welcome Naruto, to Mt. Myoboku, the Land of the Toads" announced Jiraiya.

"This place is Mt. Myoboku? This place is incredible!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Now come on Naruto-chan, Jiraiya-chan. Ma's prepared a special lunch for you two" said Fukasaku as he ushered Naruto and Jiraiya towards his home.

As Shima placed the food in front of Naruto, the blonde's stomach suddenly felt queasy as he looked down at the grasshopper soup, crickets on a stick, and the worm noodles.

After a most delectable lunch (if you're a toad that is), Naruto and Pa found themselves outside near a fountain with a waterfall of oil pouring into it and Naruto hunched over as his own stomach assaulted him. Surrounding them, were numerous giant toad statues.

"Now Naruto-chan, I'm going to explain the difference between ninja and sage techniques" spoke Pa. This managed to take Naruto's attention away from his own stomach. "While ninja techniques use the energy within you, sage techniques use the energy surrounding you."

"Huh? Surrounding you?" asked Naruto.

"As you already know, ninja techniques use chakra born of 'spiritual energy' and 'physical energy'. However, sage techniques also add 'natural energy' from outside of you and blend it with your own chakra to form a new, stronger chakra. With this, the strength of your own powers will drastically increase" explained Pa. "Those techniques that use your own chakra within you as well as the spiritual energy surrounding you, are called sage techniques."

"Okay, so what exactly is natural energy?" asked Naruto.

"It's the energy and chakra located in the earth and atmosphere surrounding you" said Pa. "In other words, you draw in the chakra from the atmosphere and the earth surrounding you and use it as your own. Watch this."

Fukasaku walked over to one of the larger statues and just stood there for a few moments, gathering natural energy before grabbing the bottom of the statue and almost effortlessly lifting it above his head.

"Y-you picked it up?!" exclaimed a surprised Naruto.

"How? This is the power of sage techniques and natural energy" commented Fukasaku.

"But, what exactly did you do?" asked Naruto.

"That's right, you can't quite feel natural energy, so it's impossible for you to use it…yet" said Fukasaku.

"The how?" asked Naruto.

"You must become one with nature" stated Fukasaku.

"And how do I become 'one with nature'?"

"You must die" said Fukasaku ominously.

"W-what?!" shouted Naruto, earning a chuckle from Fukasaku and Jiraiya, who had taken a seat atop one of the statues.

"Okay, maybe it won't be that extreme, although that is the easiest way to become one with nature" commented Fukasaku. "First thing we've gotta do is get you accustom to gathering 'natural energy'. Now, hold out your arm."

Fukasaku motioned for Naruto to come over towards the fountain and as the blonde held out his arm, the elder toad took some oil from the fountain and rubbed it on Naruto's arm. "This oil will help attract natural energy."

Even though he couldn't quite see it yet, Naruto immediately began taking in natural energy and a chuckle was immediately heard from Jiraiya.

"What's wrong Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto as he noticed an obvious croak in his own voice. "Gah! What's wrong with my voice?!" In a panic, Naruto rushed over to the fountain to get a look at his reflection, only to see that he had practically half-transformed into a frog. "What's happening…croak!"

Thwack!

Naruto felt a blunt pole smack him in the back of the head and he realized that he had turned back to normal. "What the hell was that?!"

"That is the dangerous part about senjutsu training. If you don't take in and meld the chakra with your own correctly, you turn into a petrified frog" explained Fukasaku, pointing to the statues surrounding them, earning a gulp from Naruto. "Don't worry Naruto-chan, this staff of mine can force all the natural energy out of you if you start to transform."

"Now, let's get started on this shall we?" asked Fukasaku.

* * *

Some time passed and now Naruto was in a meditative position beneath the waterfall of toad oil. A slight smile lit up Fukasaku's face as orange pigments appeared around Naruto's eyes.

"Whoa, I can feel the strength welling up inside me" commented Naruto as he leapt from the pond to the top of a nearby statue, his body nearly bursting with energy.

"While ninja techniques exhaust you the more you use them, you're not using your own chakra. Instead, you're using nature's energy so rather than becoming more exhausted, you actually recover quicker" explained Fukasaku. "Anyways, now that you've learned how to take in natural energy, the next step is to do it without the oil. We'll take care of that tomorrow. Now, I believe Ma's making lunch."

Fukasaku chuckled when Naruto suddenly became nauseous. "Don't worry; she's making something more enjoyable for you humans. I don't know where she got it, but she found a recipe for a dish called ramen."

"RAMEN?!" exclaimed Naruto. The mention of God's Food immediately perked Naruto's attention as the naturally energized blonde darted of towards lunch.

"That Naruto, even after 2 years, he still hasn't changed when it comes to ramen" commented Jiraiya, hopping down from the top of one of the statues.

"Yes, but he is something" commented Fukasaku. "If you've noticed, he doesn't have any toad-like features besides the eye. I believe that's something you still can't get right."

"Yeah, but the oil was easy. We'll see once he learns to knead sage chakra on his own, without the oil" retorted Jiraiya. _"Damn Gaki. Even I wasn't able to perfectly take in natural energy with the oil."_

Seeing the jealous look on Jiraiya's face, Fukasaku let out a slight chuckle. "You know, you're going to be here for a few months regardless of how well he does. You might as well complete your own sage training."

* * *

Thwack!

Sitting atop one of the frog statues, trying to gather natural energy without the aid of the oil by remaining entirely still, Naruto had begun to transform yet again. As Naruto's face began to widen and become more frog-like, the back of his head had a destined date with Fukasaku's staff, knocking the natural energy out of the blonde and reversing the transformation.

"Concentrate! You're moving. You MUST NOT MOVE!" emphasized Fukasaku.

"Damn, I didn't think it would be this hard without oil!" complained Naruto.

"Of course it's hard! Did you think it would be easy?" asked Fukasaku. "Look, you need to concentrate harder. You're not taking this seriously!"

"Hmm…" Fukasaku suddenly got an idea to help Naruto to concentrate. "Come with me."

A few minutes later, Naruto was now staring straight up into the sky as multiple jagged spires rose up in front of him. "W-What's this?"

"This looks about the right size" said Fukasaku as he hopped over towards a stack of stone plates. "Follow me."

Making it look easy, Fukasaku grabbed one of the heavy plates and hopped up one of the spires, setting it atop the needle-like point and balancing on it perfectly.

As soon as Naruto perched himself upon his own plate, it immediately began to shake and the blonde jinchuriki plummeted towards the ground. Before he could react to save himself, Fukasaku had lashed out with his own tongue to catch him before he could 'become one with nature'…permanently.

"Only once you've stopped moving will you be able to absorb natural energy" exclaimed Fukasaku as he set Naruto down to grab another tablet and continue the training.

* * *

Orochimaru's Lair,

"Kukuku…so Kabuto, do you have anything notable to mention?"

"Orochimaru-sama, I have produced three specimens all successfully displaying dual bloodlines" commented Kabuto. "I wish to keep them under surveillance for a few more months to ensure their stability and how well they adapt to the dual bloodlines. Assuming everything goes well, they will be ready by the time you are prepared to transfer."

"Very well. May I see which specimens you have created, Kabuto?" asked Orochimaru, being handed a few scrolls from Orochimaru.

The snake sannin examined the scrolls, licking his lips with a satisfied look on his face. "Well well Kabuto, you've certainly come up with some interesting combinations…this one in particular" grinned Orochimaru. "If I may ask, do you have any plans for her? She has after all, served her purpose seeing as she can no longer access the vaults in Uzushiogakure."

"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is another sensory type ninja that I have in mind to sacrifice along with her in the prospect of combining their bloodlines into an ultimate sensory ninja" commented Kabuto. "Besides, she's currently residing in our southern base and I look forward to seeing what exactly Amachi has concocted for us."

* * *

Back at Mt. Myoboku,

"_He's doing it"_ thought Fukasaku as Naruto had finally managed to remain still and stabilize himself, thus becoming one with nature and the elder toad sage watching on as the natural energy swirled into Naruto's own chakra, and melding with it. _"That's it. He's finally done it."_

As the natural energy melded with Naruto's chakra, an orange pigment appeared around Naruto's eyes, indicating the ascension to sagehood. _"That coloring is the sign of a sage. And the fact that he's not gained any frog-like features, does that mean he's surpassed Jiraiya-chan?" _The elder toad shot a glance towards Jiraiya, who was observing them from the ground.

"_You've got to be kidding me! No warts? No webbed hands? No…he couldn't have. It hasn't even been a month since we got here!" _thought Jiraiya, not willing to buy the fact that Naruto might have just surpassed him when it came to sage-mode.

As Naruto opened his eyes to reveal the yellow eyes with horizontal slits that was the mark of the toad sage-mode, a small bird began flying around Naruto's head.

"So Naruto-chan, how does it feel?" asked Fukasaku.

"Hmm…Like I'm one with nature I guess" replied Naruto. At that point, the bird that was flying around Naruto landed on the blonde's shoulder, thus disrupting the delicate balance he had achieved atop the spire and sending the blonde plummeting to the ground below.

Sidestepping out of the way, Jiraiya just watched as his student impacted the ground, resulting in a crater with a much intact and functioning blonde. "Ow! Hey…huh?" said a confused Naruto as he rubbed his shoulder. "That really didn't hurt too much."

"That's sage mode. Your body has been activated in many ways. Now that you've reached sage-mode, there's one last thing I want to teach you before your training trip comes to a close and that's the frog kata, the way sages spar using sage chakra" explained Fukasaku.

"Damnit Gaki! How did you do that?" shouted a frustrated Jiraiya.

"Do what?" asked a confused Naruto.

"Where are the warts?! The webbing?! The frog-like featured?!" shouted Jiraiya.

"Wait, am I supposed to be more frog-like?" asked Naruto.

"Don't worry about him, Naruto-chan. Jiraiya-chan's just jealous that he hasn't perfected sage-mode yet. You know Jiraiya-chan, there's still time while I teach Naruto the frog katas" said Fukasaku, pointing over towards the pile of rocks.

As Naruto and Fukasaku walked off towards a more suitable training area, Jiraiya was left thinking. _"Damn Gaki. I can't believe he's actually obtained a perfect sage transformation…and in this short amount of time! But you know, I can't help but be proud of him. He's come a LONG way in these past few years. Which then raises the question what the hell happened? What happened with Naruto before I found him at the hot springs? He should have been like his father…a prodigy. But he was neglected. I'm going to have a loooong talk with Tsunade-hime to see what she's uncovered. If he had been given even the slightest attention, then who knows where he would be right now."_

Sighing Jiraiya walked over towards the pile of stone plates and grabbed one of them. "Pa's right. It is about time I finish my own sage training. Besides, Naruto may be strong, but he's still going to need all the help he can get and there's no way I'm going to let him face it all alone."

* * *

"Damn Chief, this stuff is strong" commented Naruto. He didn't know how, but he had somehow found himself in the middle of a poker night with Gamabunta, Gamakichi, and a few of the other toads. To celebrate Naruto's successful completion of sage training, Bunta had decided to break out the good stuff…Mt. Myoboku Fire Sake.

Yes, that was the good stuff, probably the strongest sake in the world. Bunta, who really didn't have THAT much considering he is a building-sized toad, was already on the tipsy side. Kurama was having a good ol' time trying to break down the alcohol and despite the help, even Naruto was feeling the effects of it. However, he wasn't too far gone that he couldn't think clearly. If the blonde remembered correctly, he was going to be in some big trouble upon arriving home.

Flashback 

It was the night before Naruto was due to leave with Jiriaya before starting his two-year long training trip with the Toad Sage. But still, Naruto couldn't help but get one more prank set up. After all, there was no way he was going to let them forget about him, Konoha's #1 Prankster, while he was away.

Currently, Naruto was atop the Hokage Monument placing an array of sealing tags over the faces of the former Hokages.

"_There we go. Now every morning the village will wake up to something different"_ thought Naruto as he put the finishing touches on the sealing matrix that now encompassed the Hokage Monument. Yes, he had rigged those seals to paint the Hokage Monument in some random fashion every morning at sunrise, with the exception of the first day…those seals were meant to go off when he was a far enough distance from Konoha that he would be able to safely escape if Tsunade had gone berserk for his little prank.

Overlooking Konoha from a safe distance, Naruto observed as his pranking seals exploded, covering the Hokage monument in a cloud of paint. Even Jiraiya saw this and was staring at the monument curiously, wondering what exactly his blonde student had done. And when the paint cleared, he couldn't help but laugh and feel proud of his student.

On the cliff face just beneath the four heads was an opened copy of Jiraiya's Icha Icha book with three of the Hokages looking down at it and a variety of perverted expressions on their face. The Shodaime had a slight blush on his face and was giggling like Kakashi would, if anyone could figure out what exactly was underneath that mask of his. _"That reminds me. Teme's spending a few years with Kakashi-sensei. Surely he's gotta know what's under that mask!"_

The Nidaime had wide eyes that were staring down at the book along with a slight trickle of blood coming out of his nose. The Old Man's was similar to when Naruto had hit him with his Sexy Jutsu on the night of the Mizuki incident with a massive blush on his face and two strong gushers of blood.

Lastly was his dad, the Yondaime. Unlike the others Minato wasn't looking at the book. Rather, he was examining his predecessors and had a look that said "_Am I seriously associated with these perverts?_" However, to those who looked close enough, they could see slight hint of fear in his eyes that told the entire truth of the matter_. "Don't look down…don't look down…If you do, Kushina will castrate you. Whatever you do, DON'T LOOK DOWN!"_

As Jiraiya and Naruto admired the blonde prankster's work, a yell was heard from the direction of Konoha that sent chills down the spines of both master and apprentice. **"NARUTO!"**

"Oh crap. Run Naruto! We can't let Tsunade catch us!" shouted Jiraiya as the two turned tail and ran as fast as they could before Tsunade personally welcomed them back to Konoha, two years early and wrapped in a full body cast.

Still, much to Jiriaya's delight, Naruto's little prank had turned out to be a good form of advertisement and the perverted writer found that his sales had increased significantly during the following months.

End Flashback

"_Yeah, I need to do something or Baachan's going to kill me"_ thought Naruto. _"And if everything worked right there, I figure it would have taken them a few weeks to remove those seals without either me or Ero-Sennin in the village. Yeah, I'm going to need something to apologize to Baachan with. And this sake might actually do the trick if I can get a few bottles out of Chief."_

"Hey Chief, how about a little wager. Next hand, neither of us look at it and if I win how about you give me a bottle of this sake" offered Naruto.

"**Wahahaha! That's a good one kid. Like I'd ever wager a bottle of my special stash!"** laughed the giant toad. However, it was clear that Bunta was near drunk (at the very least). **"Okay fine, you've got a wager. But when I win, you've gotta get that girl of yours to bake me a toad-sized serving of those sweets."**

"_Hinata-chan's sweets? Oh wow, there really are going to be some high stakes on this hand"_ thought Naruto. Apparently, Bunta had gotten a taste of Hinata's baking whenever Gamakichi returned home from that one time where he had met Hinata when Hinata was signing her own summoning contract. And yes, Naruto knew just how delicious those sweets of Hinata's were. They were like gold. Edible, sweet, and delectable gold. "Fine, let's go! -ttebayo!"

"**Alright, bring it you brat! Let's see what you've got!" **exclaimed Gamabunta, flipping over his cards to reveal that he had somehow managed to pull off a straight from the very beginning. Still, Naruto's luck held for him and he flipped over five giant that he had to have shadow clones hold for him, to reveal a flush.

"Looks like I win chief!" grinned Naruto.

"**Hah, you think you're so good you brat? Double or nothing on this hand or you ain't getting squat!" **grumbled the drunken toad. By this point in time, most of the other toads were either too drunk to realize what exactly was going on or they had already passed out.

Three hands of the same deal later, Gamabunta had also passed out as Naruto stumbled his way back to where he was staying, thankful that Kurama had agreed to sober him up tonight. He was now carrying a scroll that had eight bottles worth of the famed Mt. Myoboku Fire Sake in it. Thankfully, eight bottles were nothing for Bunta and the Toad Boss would most likely not even realize that much sake was gone and this gave him plenty of 'get out of jail free' cards with Tsunade and even a bottle or two for himself.

"_**Damn Kit, I know you're not the biggest sake connoisseur out there, but you have to admit that was some pretty good stuff"**_ commented Kurama as Naruto lied down on his mat in the guesthouse for him and Jiraiya. _** "Just make sure to save some of those for yourself. I doubt you're getting any more from that overgrown toad. I'm certain it'll only take one bottle of that stuff to get you out of the trouble you're going to be in when you get home. Keep an extra bottle or two set aside just in case you get in trouble with the old bat again, bring one to a party with all your friends…heh, they won't know what hit em. And save the remaining few bottles for us…I mean yourself."**_

"_Yeah yeah" _shrugged Naruto.

"_**Anyways, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. Its regarding this sage training you're undergoing" **_said Kurama.

"_Huh? What about it?"_

"_**I've been thinking. This sage chakra you get when you're in sage mode is pretty powerful stuff and the fact that you now can draw it in from the atmosphere and earth itself means there is virtually an unlimited supply of it. The only limitations to it are how much you can hold at one time and how fast you can absorb it. If I'm correct, then I believe you can get a bit more time out of jutsus like your **__**Regression Seal**_" explained Kurama.

"_Honestly, I've been wondering that as well. How much time do you think? We were just barely able to get 12 years before"_ said Naruto.

"_**Remember, it's not always the same amount of time with every seal. Some seals can be regressed further while others can't be regressed as far. However, just using the Caged Bird Seal as a comparison, I would think that between the sage chakra and the increased amount of my chakra you can access as a result of our trainings, I would think that you can get at least another 2 years out of it."**_

"_That much? Wow. Considering the amount of chakra those later years took, that's a lot" _commented Naruto. _"But you know, there's still gotta be a way to get the Caged Bird Seal off without using the __Regression Seal__. I know I promised to get Neji's seal off and I did, but I can't help but think that there's gotta be some way to remove the seal from others. I mean, I can't go around and regressing the Caged Bird Seal off of EVERY Hyuga. Some have been on too long and the Hyuga clan has at least 100 members. That would just be crazy."_

"_**Sadly, I agree. Well, get some rest. It sounds like your training comes to an end tomorrow and once you get back to Konoha, then the real fun begins"**_ laughed Kurama. _**"I can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces when they see you go full biju-mode the first time."**_

"_Yeah, but you know I can only do that when it's only my friends that I trust or as a last resort. I don't want the entire village thinking I've been 'possessed' and they go back to trying to kill me. I've already gotten respect from some and the rest of the village doesn't seem to care that much anymore. It's only a matter of time now before they really see who I am and no offence, but I don't want them to see me as you" _replied Naruto.

* * *

As the lowered in the sky, Jiraiya sat atop one of the large spires with a slab underneath him. In all honesty, he had not intended to train some more in the sage arts, but with the revelation that Naruto could actually achieve a perfect sage-mode, Jiraiya was soon coaxed into completing his own sage training.

After three weeks of training, Jiraiya found that the only thing that remained were the large red pigments that covered the side of his face. The warts, webbing, and toad like features were goine. Jiraiya had finally managed to perfect his own sage-mode after so many years of procrastinating. Jumping down from the spire, the earth buckled underneath Jiraiya as he landed.

"I see you've finally done it, Jiraiya-chan" commented Fukasaku.

"I can definitely feel the difference between the imperfect and perfect sage modes" commented Jiraiya, feeling the purer sage chakra in his system.

"Now perhaps you won't have to drag Ma away whenever she's cooking dinner" replied Fukasaku, earning a chuckle from Jiraiya.

"I'll be honest, I hadn't planned on completing the sage training, but the Gaki forced my hand" commented Jiraiya.

"He really is something" said Fukasaku. "It took him less than a month to achieve what took you years of training to do."

"Heh, he's full of surprises. It took Minato three years to develop his Rasengan, it took me three months to master it, and it only took Naruto three weeks. And not only has he mastered that jutsu, but he's also completed it" said Jiraiya.

"Yes, and he seems to have exceptional control over the Kyuubi's chakra" added Fukasaku.

"He's already jonin-level, A-rank I would say. Add in sage-mode and that might push him to low S-rank. Now, throw the Kyuubi's power into the mix and even I don't know if I'd be able to beat him. I've done everything I can to help him out to this point. There's not much more I can do that will actually benefit. The best thing now, is for us to return home and let Naruto experience his new powers and truly find out where he stands and what works best for him" analyzed Jiraiya.

"Now this group that's after him, or rather the Kyuubi, Akatsuki…"

"They've got no idea what's about to hit them" grinned Jiraiya. "And it's not just Naruto. That boy's got a unique ability. He inspires those around him to do their best and strive to become better. Naruto's not the only one who's been hard at work. From what I've been reading from Tsunade's communications, all of his friends have been working their asses off to get better. Even his own teammates are behind him all the way. Sakura's blossoming as an excellent medic under Tsunade-hime, and while I haven't heard much regarding Kakashi and Sasuke, Kakashi is the ideal teacher for Sasuke and if I know how Naruto and Sasuke operate, there's no way Sasuke's going to sit by as Naruto passes him up."

"Sasuke, wasn't he the one you were afraid would turn out like your former teammate?" asked Fukasaku.

"Yeah, but as I said Naruto's got a special power. If it wasn't for Naruto, then I feel Sasuke would have left in some obscured search for power, tossing the village aside like Orochimaru did. However, Naruto managed to get him to open up and to accept those who are actually trying to help him. Perhaps this generation can do it. Perhaps they will be able to do what mine could not."

* * *

"Well Naruto, I'm glad to say that I've taught you everything I could and more" said Jiraiya as he stood opposite his student in a clearing at Mt. Myoboku, Ma, Pa, and all the other toads that Naruto had befriended over the years surrounding them. "As of now, your training with me is complete."

Then dropping the teacher façade and putting on the god fatherly one, Jiraiya continued. "I really am proud of how far you've come and I'm sure they would be too if they could be here."

"Jiraiya…Thank you" said Naruto, actually calling Jiraiya by his real name for one of the first times as a joyful tear came to his eyes.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto" said Jiraiya as he pulled out a box from his pack. "I know it's not that much, but I had this made as a present for you before we left Ogasarawa."

As Naruto took the present and opened it, his face lit up in glee as he pulled a long red coat out of the box. Looking closer, the coat had a black flame pattern along the base. And while it wasn't extravagant, on the back of the coat was a black outline of the Uzumaki spiral.

"Whoa! This is awesome!" exclaimed Naruto as he put the coat on.

"Heh, glad you like it" said Jiraiya. "You know, perhaps it's the coat, but you honestly are starting to look more like him."

Jiraiya was right. Over the past years, Naruto had grown, not just in skill and strength, but in physical appearance as well. Naruto was beginning to look more like his father. His hair had grown longer and spikier. While they weren't as long as his father's yet, his bang now hung over his headband so that some of the longer spikes reached the base of his headband. Even his eyes were starting to resemble his father's.

Forgoing having his sword sealed away in his gloves, Arashi was now strapped to his left side by a belt that he had picked up with his clothes. Something about having a sword at his side just felt right. Hanging around the blonde's neck was a gem-sized, miniature scroll. That scroll was something that he kept close to him as it contained everything about his remaining family. Yes, that scroll was the Uzumaki Family Tree that he had picked up in Uzushiogakure. He had realized that scroll had a special jutsu on it that allowed it to shrink to about the size of the crystal Tsunade wore around her neck.

At the Land of Iron, he had been able to add six more names to that scroll, forming a separate branch from the branch in the clan that he descended from. These six names were Uzumaki Kairi, her and Mifune's children Hiroto and Keiko, Hiroto's son Hiro, Keiko's son Kenichi, and Keiko's daughter Kyoko. While they weren't directly related to the branch that Naruto had descended from, they were still family and that was one goal he had set his mind to ever since stumbling upon the Uzumakis of the Land of Iron…to locate all the remaining Uzumakis… to find his family.

Thinking on that, there was one thing that slightly disturbed him. He had met another Uzumaki before. It was only brief, but he recalled that girl from Uzu that was with the Sound when he and Jiraiya were there. There were only two ways that she would be there. Either she was allied with Orochimaru, or she was his prisoner and forced to go with the Sound. However, that didn't change anything. She was with Orochimaru and there was no way in hell Naruto was going to let any member of his family suffer in Orochimaru's clutches. He would save his family

Seeing as Naruto's mind was on his family, "Ero-Sennin, there's one last place I want to stop before going home."

* * *

Looking down upon a valley near the northeastern coast of the Land of Fire, it was there. Just as Mifune had described it, Naruto gazed down upon the marvel that had left a lasting mark on the landscape, as evidence of what had once occurred.

Looking down from the cliff, etched into the very ground itself, was a giant Uzumaki spiral. The same spiral that the warriors of the Uzumaki clan had created when they unleashed their final jutsu upon the invading hoards during the beginning of the Second Shinobi War. It truly was as magnificent as Mifune had described it. The lines of the spiral were actually the size of canyons and while much of that land had been reclaimed by nature, the rifts in the earth still stood out to any onlooker who gazed upon the grave marker of the legendary warriors of Uzushiogakure.

Somehow, Naruto felt himself drawn towards the middle of the spiral, and after navigating his way to the center, located on the very spot where his great-great-grandfather last stood, was an engraved stone shrine. Walking over to it and wiping away the dust and overgrowth, Naruto was able to make out what the engravings said.

_Here marks the site where the world witnessed the valiant efforts of the noble warriors of Uzushiogakure. Here marks the site where brothers stood side by side, defending the values that they strived to live up to their entire lives. May this everlasting mark serve as a reminder that no matter how hard one may try, no matter how desperate their efforts, the whirlpool will never be silenced. It lives on, within myself and within the the children of the spiral. –U.R._

"_U.R.? I wonder who that could be?"_ thought Naruto. The way it was written most likely meant that the 'U' was for Uzumaki, but as Naruto looked at the tree, there was no living Uzumakis that had a name beginning with the letter 'R'. If that was the case then, he would find this R. Uzumaki and just as the inscription said, the whirlpool would return.

* * *

Konoha,

It was early afternoon, and Team 8 had just finished up with a rather stressful mission that proved to be frustrating at the very best. They had been assigned to track down a rouge ninja who had been harassing a nearby town and capture him. While the ninja really wasn't too much of a match for them and the tracking proved to be rather easy, the law enforcement of the client town was what nearly made their heads explode. For hours, the two officials debated over whether or not that was the right guy due to a birthmark that one argued was a few millimeters too high. It was a completely pointless argument and even Hinata of all people had grown slightly irritated.

Arriving back at her home, Hyuga Hinata wanted nothing more to do than lay down and take a nap. Her eyes drifted from the ceiling over to her bedside table, where she had a framed picture of her and Naruto on the night where they had first become a couple and had their first kiss; the same night where Jiraiya had caught them off guard with the camera.

"_It's been over two years now. Naruto-kun should be coming home just about any time now"_ thought Hinata. _"I wonder what he's like. I wonder how much he's changed. I wonder if he still likes me. I hope he likes how I look."_ The years honestly could not have been much kinder to the young Hyuga as she developed from a girl into a young woman. She had grown over the years, in more than just one way. In general aspects, Hinata had gained quite a few inches, about 162cm (~5'3"), a good height for a young woman her age. Her body had also begun to take on a more womanly figure. While she no longer wore that baggy beige jacket from a few years ago, she found it hard to part with wearing a jacket and had replaced her bulky old jacket with a lavender and white hooded jacket. Unlike her old jacket, this one did manage to show off some of her newly developed curves, if even just a little.

As the years went on, the young Hyuga began to take on a look that more closely resembled her mother. A soft and delicate beauty Hinata had become, letting her midnight-blue hair grow down to to her mid-back, just below the shoulder blades.

To anyone first gazing upon her, Hinata was probably the last person you'd suspect as being a shinobi, but that was a mistake made by many, many opponents. The shy and timid girl who had no self confidence was long gone, that shell peeled away years ago by a certain blonde. While she still remained a rather quiet, serene, and gentle soul, her skills over the years had allowed her to blossom into a skilled kunoichi with a level of grace that hadn't been seen since her mother's time.

Turning her attention forward, she eyed the hat of the Uzukage that Naruto had left in her possession, to care for it and hold onto it as a promise that he'd return to her when he was done with his training. _"Naruto-kun must be training hard. I hope he comes back soon."_

Finally, Hinata rolled her head to the side so that she was looking out of the window and peering down into the central courtyard. She watched as her father approached a cloaked figure waiting at the entrance. From the looks of things, it was another suitor, coming to ask for an opportunity to court her, and her father going to reject his attempt. _"Why did those elders have to start spreading those rumors? I'm not interested in a suitor. I only want Naruto-kun."_

Seeing as Hinata was nearing official marrying age (16 under normal circumstances), and the clan elders could no longer have her sealed despite the fact that she was no longer the heir to her family and the clan, they figured they'd use her for something else. As it was now, they were trying to marry her away to some noble man, which would increase the overall power, wealth, and influence of the clan.

However, they did not have the authority or power to marry away Hinata. One law of the village created back during the Shodai's time was to allow for freedom of marriage. This effectively meant that people were allowed to marry who they wanted and while arranged marriages were still used in the village, both parties had agreed to them and neither side was forced into a betrothal. Still, that did not stop the elders from saying that Hinata was 'seeking suitors to wed', creating a good deal of frustration for the Hyuga beauty and her father.

As it stood, Hiashi had dealt with over two dozen suitors in the two months since the elders began with their latest scheme. All of them had been turned away, some peacefully, and some getting thrown out on their sorry, jyukened ass.

Looking down upon the courtyard, Hinata activated her Byakugan, looking to see who was beneath the cloak. However, the first thing that caught her eye was the color of the chakra…blue, but with a slight tint of red. _"That's…Please let it be"_she begged, hoping her own eyes weren't lying as she raced out of her room and towards the courtyard.

"State why you have come" spoke Hiashi as he approached the cloaked individual. He was already not in a happy mood as this was the second 'suitor' of the day and said 'suitor' had interrupted a very productive training session with Neji. From what Hiashi could tell, the stranger stood at a height of 173cm (~5'7") and the tone of his voice placed him around the age of mid-teens. Yep, most likely the son of some noble man come to seek Hinata's hand.

"I have come to see Hinata-chan" replied the stranger.

"I am sorry, but my daughter is not seeking a suitor. Her heart already belongs to someone and there is only one man who I will allow my daughter to see" spoke Hiashi as he activated his own Byakugan. "I ask that you please leave or I will be forced to make you."

"I don't know about these 'suitors', but I assure you that Hinata-chan's heart is mine as mine is hers" replied the cloaked man as he reached up to remove the hood that was shielding his face from view.

Hiashi prepared to learn the identity of his next victim, but could only help but gasp as a ghost of his past stood before him. "Mi-Mi-Minato?"

"_Why did Uncle just call him Minato? The only Minato I know of is the Yondaime Hokage and that most certainly is…noo" _gasped Neji_. "It can't be. Is he…?" _It was at that point that Neji realized just how right he had been in the first match of his first chunin exams, when he stated to a certain blonde that those who become Hokage were born into that destiny.

"Naruto?" called out a sweet voice.

Naruto's attention turned from the now gaping Hiashi to the pale beauty standing before him and now there were two people in the Hyuga courtyard struggling to retain their composure, along with one fox making catcalls and whistles inside his vessel's mind.

"H-Hinata-chan?" stuttered Naruto. Sure Hinata had been cute and beautiful before, but now…_ "That's Hinata-chan? That angel can't be Hinata-chan. Since when did she get so hot?"_

As Naruto was examining the hot beauty before him, his eyes were instinctively drawn towards a certain area of the female anatomy. _"Oh yeah, those are at least D's. No! Stop it! No perverted thoughts!" _Naruto mentally beat himself until he heard the sweet voice of his angel once again.

"Naruto-kun?" called out Hinata, breaking Naruto for his stupor.

"Hinata-chan…" said Naruto as he slowly began walking towards her and she did the same, taking a few steps forward before they met in the middle. Embracing each other, their lips met as the couple shared their first kiss with each other for the first time in years.

Uzumaki Naruto was finally home.

* * *

End Book 2

* * *

_**Author Notes**_

**The chapter was a bit on the shorter side, but with this the second part comes to a close.**

**There you have it: Sage training, Naruto's sage coat (I love that thing), a drunken toad poker night, and more Hyuga elder schemes. **

**Naruto's sage training ended now with the ability to access sage-mode and the frog kata. I will hold off on the senjutsu-enhanced jutsus (such as the Rasenshuriken) for now. **

**Also, the spar in the last chapter was that…a spar. If Naruto and Jiraiya were to go all out against one another, then someone would most certainly end up dead, especially now that Jiraiya has perfected his own sage mode,.**

**While he will continue to progress and grow, it won't be as anywhere near as fast as it was during Part 2. Book 3 will focus more on the fruits of his training.**

**I'll begin working on Part 3, which will start off with a few chapters focusing on the changes that have happened while Naruto was gone regarding Konoha. After which, I'll start into the first major mission arc. The current pairings still hold: NaruHina, NejiTen, ShinoFu, ShikaTema, and SasuSaku (Although this one will be on hold for a few more chapters…remember who Sasuke's with). There will be three other pairings that have developed (one of which will be AsumaKurenai) and one more that is trying to move forward, but has reached a few complications. **

**So, I have the Konoha 16: Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Neji, Tenten, Lee, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Haku, and Fu. Yakumo will make an introduction during these first few chapters and Sai will come in with the first mission arc. There will be other characters involved, but this makes up the primary set of characters that will receive the most focus in Part 3. **

**At the start of Part 3, everyone listed above is at least of chunin rank with Haku and Neji being jonin. Also, everyone will be at least slightly stronger than they were in cannon at the start of shippuden.**

**Stay tuned, Book 3 will begin shortly.**

**Please Review.**


	71. Book 3: Homecomming

_**The Uzumaki Tales: Return of the whirlpool**_

_**Book 3**_

_**Chapter 71: Homecoming**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Posted: **May 29, 2013

* * *

Two and a half years. He had been gone for two and a half years. Returning home to Konoha for the first time since he left two and a half years ago, Uzumaki Naruto was greeted, first by a protective father, and then by longing lover. Within minutes of stepping foot in Konoha, Naruto's lips were locked with those of his girlfriend of three years (sadly 2-1/2 of those were spent away).

"It's good to be home" smiled Naruto as he and Hinata broke away from one another, the pale beauty resting her head comfortably on Naruto's shoulder.

"Jeez, not even five minutes and you're already getting some action" called out Jiraiya as he entered the Hyuga compound. Looking over at a frozen Hiashi, "what's wrong with him?"

"I don't know. Perhaps it's a Hyuga thing" joked Naruto, giving Hiashi a few minutes to reboot.

"Naruto?" asked Hiashi as he broke out of his stupor, getting a nod out of the blonde. _"He looks just like Minato did when he was that age. It certainly seems like he's changed, I wonder how strong he's gotten."_

"How's everything going, Hiashi-san?" asked Naruto.

"Fine. The elders have been giving me a headache, but everything's fine" commented Hiashi.

"Now what were you saying about suitors for Hinata-chan?" asked a serious Naruto. Hiashi could immediately tell from the way Naruto was carrying himself that the blonde had gotten stronger

"The elders. Somehow, the thought of trying to marry my daughter off to a noble man to fill their pockets and egos came to them" replied Hiashi.

"Odd. I don't remember Neji mentioning anything about suitors" said Naruto, glancing over at Neji.

"That's because when we last met, this problem hadn't occurred" replied Neji.

"Neji-niisan, you saw Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata.

"You mean you didn't tell her?" said Naruto to Neji.

"I thought it would be best to keep it between myself and Neji for the time being, but seeing as you're back, I suppose we could let Hinata in on it" said Hiashi. "However, we will have to do it in the privacy of my study."

"Umm…I hate to interrupt but Naruto, we've kind of gotta see Tsunade to let her know we're back" interrupted Jiraiya. "And you can probably ditch that tacky grey cloak now."

Nodding, Naruto removed the cloak and the resulting image left a few Hyugas staring at the blonde wide-eyed, and one of them thinking certain thoughts.

"_Oh my. Naruto-kun looks hot and sexy in that coat…where did that come from?" _thought Hinata, practically drooling and blushing a bright red at the sight of Naruto wearing his sage coat.

"_Okay, is this Naruto or Minato? Now I'm confused" _thought Hiashi. The sage coat certainly made Naruto look more like his father, except that it was lacking the high collar and the colors were different.

Everyone was broken out of their stupor as a call came from the entrance to the clan compound. "I am Akinori of the famed Rakusa clan and I have come to seek the hand of one Hyuga Hinata!"

Hiashi merely sighed. "Not another one" he said before turning to Akinori. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but my daughter Hinata is not available. Now, I'll ask you only once. Please leave." Hiashi turned to Akinori and activated his Byakugan, and standing tall and broad.

"I see. So I must prove my strength to earn the right to court the beautiful maiden" said Akinori, drawing a sword. "If that is the case, than I accept your challenge."

"_I guess this one's not going to leave so easily"_ thought Hiashi. Before he could slip into his fighting stance, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Please don't waste your time on him" said Naruto, turning to Akinori. "You heard him. Hinata-chan's not available. I'll give you one last chance to leave or I'll make you." The blonde jinchuriki placed his hand on the hilt of his own sword. If this man was from a 'famed clan' and carried a sword, then Naruto was going to have a little bit of fun seeing just how skilled this man was with a sword.

"I see. So you're also competing for the fair maiden's heart" said Akinori, causing Hinata to blush at the very mentioning of Naruto marrying her.

"I've already have her heart just as she already has mine. Now, you've caused enough commotion for today. Leave or else…" threatened Naruto.

"You can't talk to me like that! I traveled over two weeks and I'm not going to watch as some worthless peasant keeps me from my prize!" shouted an enraged Akinori as he charged towards Naruto with his sword ready to cut flesh.

All it took was the blink of an eye. Naruto had his sword drawn and was standing in a finishing pose from a strike behind Akinori.

"_Fast"_ thought Hiashi, watching with amusement. _"And that was a skilled strike too."_

"_Just from that one strike, I can already tell that Naruto's exceptionally skilled with his sword. Even more so than Tenten-chan and she's been training in Uzumaki Mito's kenjutsu style with the aid of Yugao-san"_ commented Neji.

"Hinata-chan's not some _prize_" growled Naruto as the blade from Akinori's sword separated from its hilt in a clean cut. Akinori could only watch as the blade of his sword clanged against the ground. "She is a beautiful flower that is to be cherished and loved."

"How dare you! That sword cost my 2,000,000 ryo!" shouted Akinori, only getting a laugh from Naruto.

"Really? Because I've met sticks of butter that were harder to cut through" taunted Naruto.

"That's it. Now taste my true power! "Doton: Earth Flow Wave!" shouted Akinori, slamming his hands into the ground and sending a wave of mud towards his blonde opponent.

Naruto merely stood his ground and grinned. At the last moment, he thrust his sword in into the mud wave and Akinori could only gasp as his most powerful ninjutsu was absorbed by the blade.

"Arashi!" shouted Naruto as he simply thrust the katana forward into thin air. Normally, Akinori would have scoffed at a wasted attack, but not when he saw his own jutsu emerge from the blade and shoot towards him, slamming into the suitor and sending him flying out of the Hyuga compound.

"Is this really what you've had to put up with for the past few months?" asked Naruto, turning to Hiashi and Hinata.

"Sadly, yes" sighed Hiashi. "However, now that you're back, I can finally inform the elders that I have found a worthy candidate for my daughter." This earned a slight blush from both Naruto and Hinata.

"Now, why don't you report to Hokage-sama and then stop by for tea afterwards? I look forward to hearing about your journey" said Hiashi, before sending Naruto a cold, soul-piercing glare. "I also hope you remembered my advice from before I left."

Sweating, Naruto frantically nodded. Even after all his training, Hinata's father still managed to maintain a rather unnerving effect on the blonde. "Hey Hinata-chan, want to go see Baachan?"

* * *

A pink cherry blossom was humming her way through the streets of Konoha. She had been asked by her master to pick up the daily traffic reports and deliver them to her. And Haruno Sakura was on her way to the mission hall to give them to Tsunade, seeing as the Hokage was stuck assigning missions to all teams that day, and not just those that were higher ranked.

"_It's been nearly two and a half years. They should be getting back by now. I can't wait to see Sasuke-kun again. I hope he still likes me and we can pick up where we left off"_ thought Sakura, blushing at the thought of her and Sasuke doing more couple stuff. _"You know, I wouldn't even mind seeing Naruto a bit. Things have just gotten too quiet without the blonde knucklehead."_

Walking onto the main street leading towards the tower, Sakura was stopped in her tracks when she noticed the familiar midnight-blue hair of Hinata and the girl clinging to the arm of some stranger. At first, Sakura's mind went completely blank at the prospect that Hinata could be clinging to some random person, however upon closer inspection and seeing the spiky blonde hair that only one person in the village had that she knew, she soon realized who exactly it was.

"Naruto?!"

Walking with Hinata at his side, Naruto heard a familiar voice call out to him. Turning around, he spotted his pink-haired teammate walking towards him. "Sakura-chan?"

"Hello Hinata" greeted Sakura, earning a smile and a wave from a happy Hinata. "So when did you get back, Naruto?"

"I don't know, maybe 20 minutes ago" replied Naruto.

This earned a slight giggle out of Sakura. "Figures. You just got back and already Hinata's found you" said Sakura, motioning to the pale Hyuga on Naruto's arm before sporting a slight blush of her own. "So what do you think? Do I look more womanly to you?"

"You look great Sakura-chan" commented Naruto. Sakura had also grown, yet still retaining that slim figure she had before Naruto left. Her outfit had undergone a slight change. She had exchanged her old qipao dress for a red sleeveless shirt, a pink apron skirt, and a pair of black spandex shorts. She had retained the shorter haircut from before, her pink hair stopping at about neck length.

"_Wow, Naruto's really changed over the years hasn't he"_ thought Sakura. _"And surprisingly he looks really good with that coat and I can actually see more of his dad in him."_

"Hey Sakura-chan. Has Kakashi-sensei and Teme come back yet?" asked Naruto.

"Sadly no" sighed Sakura. While it was nice seeing Naruto again, she was still hoping that Sasuke wouldn't be too far behind his blonde teammate and rival.

* * *

"OWOWOWOW! Get this cat off me!"

Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, and Jiraiya heard screams of terror coming from the other side of the mission hall door, meaning only one thing…some poor unfortunate genin team had been assigned the 'Capture Tora' mission.

Opening the door, Naruto was actually surprised to see who was on the other side.

"Konohamaru?" asked Naruto, looking at the heavily scratched Sarutobi genin.

"Naruto-niichan!" shouted Konohamaru. This drew all eyes to the door of the mission hall.

"Naruto-niichan!" shouted both Moegi and Udon in unison.

"Hey what's up guys?" asked Naruto.

"Naruto" called a familiar voice. As Naruto's vision shifted to the person standing next to them, he saw a familiar and friendly face.

"Iruka-sensei!" exclaimed Naruto before finally realizing something. "Wait a second. If you're here and not in school or behind that desk, does that mean…"

"It does. I am Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon's jonin sensei" smiled Iruka.

"Yes! You made it! I knew you'd make jonin!" exclaimed Naruto. "I guess this means I'm buying the ramen tonight then."

"Ahem!" coughed a certain blonde haired woman at the mission table, sending a glare towards the other blonde in the room. "I'll deal with you in just a minute Gaki."

Naruto let out a slight gulp. "Oh yeah, I can't believe I almost forgot about that" commented Sakura. "I hope you enjoyed these past few years, because I don't see you getting out of this one so easily."

"Don't worry Sakura-chan, I've got everything covered" said Naruto as he held up a scroll.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! I don't want any more stupid chores! I want an incredible mission fit for a real ninja like me!" shouted Konohamaru, making an 'X' with his arms as Tsunade read off the list of possible cho…err, D-ranks.

"Why does this seem familiar?" mumbled Naruto.

"Really? This was the same thing you did that got us our first C turned A-rank mission to the Wave" reminded Sakura as Naruto 'ahhed'.

"Yeah! Hey Naruto-niichan, can't you tell the Hokage that we're ready for a better mission? What's the worst that could happen?" asked Moegi.

"Let's see…you get attacked by an A-rank missing-nin, nearly get killed in more than one way, and your teammates wind up in the hospital on the verge of death for weeks" summed up Naruto, causing both Moegi and Udon to pale.

"You know, when it came to C-ranks, we never did get the best of luck" added Sakura.

It took about 30 minutes to talk Konohamaru out of a C rank mission…again and as Team Iruka was about to leave, that wasn't the end of Konohamaru's antics. "Hey Boss, check this out. Transform!"

A big poof of smoke enveloped Konohamaru and as the smoke cleared, a busty brunette, wearing nothing but the remaining smoke, stood in Konohamaru's place. "Sexy Jutsu" said Konohamaru in a seductive voice, grabbing not only the self-proclaimed Super Pervert's perverted attention, but also two fuming women in the room.

"Konohamaru…what the hell is that?" growled Tsunade as Konohamaru transformed back.

"Boss taught it to me!" exclaimed Konohamaru, pointing towards a now sweating Naruto as Tsunade's and Sakura's glares shifted to the blonde.

After Tsunade and Sakura taught the blonde a valuable (and painful) lesson in what is and isn't appropriate to teach genin, Naruto, Jiraiya, Hinata, Sakura, Tsunade, and Shizune had relocated to Tsunade's office.

"Alright Gaki. I'll jump straight to the point. It took us a MONTH to get those goddamned seals off! Do you know how frustrating it was to clean up the monument every single day?!" shouted Tsunade.

"Oh it couldn't have been THAT bad, Baachan" replied Naruto.

"One day, you made them all look like me…**With wrinkles!**" shouted Tsunade. "You've got 3 seconds to tell me why I shouldn't bust your ass back to doing D-ranks!"

"Oh come on Baachan, lighten up. Hey, I know what would make you feel better" exclaimed Naruto, unsealing a bottle of the Mt. Myoboku Fire Sake from that scroll in his hand and setting it on Tsunade's desk.

"Gaki, is that what I think it is and if it is, how the hell did you get some?" gasped Jiraiya.

"Is this?" stared Tsunade wide-eyed at the bottle.

"Mt. Myoboku Fire Sake, strongest sake known to man…and toads" commented Naruto as Tsunade took a small sip from the bottle.

"You apologize well. Fine, you're off the hook" commented Tsunade as Shizune's, Sakura's, and Jiraiya's jaws dropped. "Shizune! Stop everything you're doing! We're drinking tonight!"

"Why?" pleaded a desperate Shizune, practically on the verge of crying. "Why did you have to do it? Anyways, it's nice to see you again, Naruto-kun."

Naruto just grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks, Shizune-neechan."

"I hate to say it, but it's glad to have you back Gaki. It's gotten almost too quiet here" said Tsunade.

"Heh, thanks Baachan" commented Naruto.

"And stop calling me Baachan!" shouted Tsunade. It was at this point in time that Naruto grabbed the scroll he had around his neck. "What's that?"

"Just add a small prick of your blood to the circle in the corner" added Naruto. Looking at it, Tsunade realized that it was the Uzumaki Family Tree that the blonde had brought back with him from Uzu. She was wondering where Naruto was going with this until she noticed the name besides Shuichi, Mito. Sighing, Tsunade rubbed some blood on the circle and watched as a tree extended outwards from Mito, filling in the name of her mother and ending at her.

"Baachan!" cheered Naruto as he saw where Tsuande's name landed.

"You're not his real grandmother, but you're in the same generation and the relationship between the two of you is actually pretty damn close" commented Jiraiya.

Tsunade sighed in defeat, but inside she couldn't help but feel her heart warm. She had always seen Naruto as a son or grandson and this just showed that Naruto was in fact family in some sense, the closest thing to a living family member she had. Her sight was then momentarily drawn to the separate tree. "Are these?" _"I remember her now, Uzumaki Kairi. She was that girl I saved back at the beginning of the Second War. It's good to see she's still alive."_

Naruto nodded. "I discovered a family off Uzumakis in the Land of Iron" commented Naruto. "Oh, and speaking of which, I'll be taking my month of free ramen now."

Tsunade's smile turned into a frown as she realized just exactly what Naruto was referring to. "I'm not buying it Gaki. How do I know you're not just trying to hustle some free ramen out of me? How do I know if you really did master that sword of yours?"

"Trust me Tsunade, Naruto's got that sword down" commented Jiraiya. "I called in a favor with Mifune of the Land of Iron and he trained the Gaki for some time." Tsunade could feel this bet slipping from her quicker and quicker, but she was determined not to let it go that easy.

"So then I suppose he wouldn't mind a little test to prove it" suggested Tsunade.

"Heh, bring it Baachan! –ttebayo!"

"Hmm…I've got just the opponent for you, but sadly he won't be back for another week or so" commented Tsunade. "If you can get him to acknowledge you as a sword master, I'll admit you won the bet. Now there's something important I need to discuss with you and Jiraiya. Hinata and Sakura can stay, seeing as the secretive pieces of information they already know."

Taking on a serious face, Tsunade pulled out a black book with a faint inscription of Iwagakure on it. Immediately, Jiraiya knew what this conversation would be about. Opening the book to a certain page, she handed it to Naruto. "Read."

The first thing Naruto saw before he began reading was a picture of himself, accompanied by the following text.

_Name: Uzumaki Naruto_

_Age: 15-17_

_Gender: Male_

_Village: Konoha_

_Rank: Chunin_

_Skill level: A (Maybe S though, and should be treated as such). Assumed to be jonin level in ninjutsu, high chunin in taijutsu, genjutsu skills are unknown. Kenjutsu skills are also assumed to be jonin level. Believed to be a fuin master._

_Bounty: 15 million ryo. Wanted by Iwagakure for the murder of 15 genin, 3 ANBU, and Han of the Steam Armour. _

_Other notes: It should be assumed that he is a member of the late Uzumaki clan and as such has knowledge of their fuinjutsu abilities. His appearance closely resembles that of the Yondaime Hokage, who he is believed to be closely related to. It is also believed that he is the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kutsune and that he has an exceptional level of control over its powers. Approach with extreme caution._

One thought was going through Jiraiya's head right now. _"Shit."_

"I am aware of the 15 genin, but do the two of you mind explaining the 3 ANBU AND Han?" glared Tsunade. Sighing, Naruto and Jiraiya gave Tsunade the story of the encounter between Han and themselves.

"So somehow Iwa came to this conclusion" said Tsunade, now reaching for that bottle of Sake. "I had been hoping that your training trip would be a rather quiet one, but after receiving the report regarding the Yuki incident, I should have known better and asked you two to stay closer to home."

"Even if that was the case, Iwa would still be on his tail. It appears as if they pieced together enough pieces to realize just who he was" added Jiraiya. "The good thing that came out of this was that we were able to eliminate 4 of Iwa's stronger ninja."

"So what's going to happen Baachan?" asked Naruto.

"Unfortunately, there's not much I can do. Any village can put anyone in their own Bingo Book and there's nothing that I'm willing to do to petition to Iwa to have you removed. However, you're going to have to realize now that you're in the books, with a rather high bounty on your head, and people will think of you as more than just some snot-nosed brat. If anyone allied with Iwa sees you, then there is a likely chance that they WILL try and kill you" commented Tsunade. "This is something that ninja have to deal with, and I was hoping it would be a bit longer before this was something you'd have to deal with, but that's no longer the case. And if it makes you feel any better, you're not the only one in the books. Sasuke found his way into Kumo's books because a certain cyclops taught him one of Kumo's secret jutsus. And both Sasuke and Sakura are in Iwa's books for the 15 genin as well, although their bounties aren't nearly as high as yours, seeing as they didn't _kill_ four of Iwa's strongest ninja.""

"I see, I'll be careful then" replied Naruto. "Wait, Sasuke's in Kumo's book?"

"He is, and you'd better be careful. The last thing I want is for those bastards to have their way and get hold of you" replied Tsunade.

"So do you know when Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei are going to get back?" asked Naruto.

"Why? You eager to get back to mission work?" asked Tsunade, getting a grin from Naruto. "I just sent a note to the base Kakashi and Sasuke are currently at to have them recalled home in a week, so you and Sakura have until then before you and your team resumes work."

Naruto and Sakura nodded. "That's everything. I'll get more details about your trip from Jiraiya but is there anything you still need?"

"_**Ask her about those notes."**_

"_Don't worry, I was"_ responded Naruto. "Hey Baachan. During my trip, when my seal was unlocked, I actually met my parents" commented Naruto, surprising Tsunade, Sakura, and Hinata. "I kind of talked with them for a bit, and Kaachan mentioned that she had some old jutsu notes for a few seals she was working on. I think she said they were in a red notebook of hers. Have you seen that around at all?" In reality, Naruto wanted that notebook to help him start searching for where Hikare might be sealed, but he didn't exactly lie as there were in fact some notes in his mother's notebook on seals.

"Your parent's house was destroyed during the attack 15 years ago. Sarutobi-sensei does have a few boxes of possessions that were recovered though, but you won't be getting those until you turn 16" said Tsunade, receiving a disappointed look from Naruto. "How bad do you need that notebook?"

"Pretty bad, Baachan. Is there anything you can do?" asked Naruto.

"I'll think about it. I promise though you will get them by the time you turn 16 but if it's just a notebook, I'll see what I can dig up" said Tsunade.

"Thanks Baachan" replied Naruto.

"Now get out of here. The pervert and I have a few things we need to talk about" said Tsunade. Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata bowed before leaving Tsunade and Jiraiya alone.

"Okay Hime, have you found anything?" asked Jiraiya.

"I did, and you're not going to like it" said Tsunade, pulling out a bottle of sake (not the Fire Sake, that is saved for later)…this was going to be a long talk.

* * *

"Well would ya look at who it is."

Walking back through the streets, Naruto turned around to the familiar sight of a certain lazy man and a troublesome blonde woman. "Shikamaru? And is that Temari with you? You two out on another date?"

"Pft, you must be joking, right?" replied Temari. "Like I would ever go out with this lazy ass."

"That's not how it was when I saw you two cuddling with each other at the festival before I left" retorted Naruto, earning a sigh of defeat from Temari.

"Troublesome blondes" sighed Shikamaru.

"What was that Shika-kun?" glared Temaru before turning back to Naruto. "It's not that. There are the chunin exams being held in Suna soon and I'm just here to check up on who Konoha is sending."

"Chunin exams, huh?" said Naruto. "You know, that reminds me, who else has made chunin?"

"Actually, everyone from our class has made chunin and so has Fu. Neji and Haku were just named jonin recently during the jonin exams, and Temari and Kankuro are also jonin as well" answered Shikamaru.

"Wow! Hey, what about Gaara then?" asked Naruto.

* * *

Suna,

A robbed red-head with the kanji for 'love' tattooed on his head overlooked the city from a large balcony. As he was looking over the city, a half-masked shinobi appeared behind him.

"Kazekage-sama, the meeting is soon" announced the masked shinobi.

"Okay" was all the Kazekage said before turning around into the meeting hall. That Kazekage was Gaara.

* * *

Konoha,

"I see, so Gaara's the Kazekage" said a dazed Naruto. "Honestly, I'm glad for him and I can't wait to work with him once I take Baachan's hat!"

"That reminds me, I've still got your hat" commented Hinata. Naruto shot her a slightly confused look before remembering that he had left his great-great-grandfather's old hat with Hinata before leaving.

"Really?! You still have it?!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Why would you think I didn't? Of course I'd look after it and not let anything happen to it" said Hinata.

"It's not that. I was afraid that thing would fall apart. It was rather tattered and it had to be at least a century old" replied the blonde.

"I may have fixed it up a little" admitted Hinata.

"Seriously? That's awesome! You're the best!" exclaimed Naruto.

"We'll leave you guys alone. Besides, we've gotta go finish some troublesome preparations for the exam" commented Shikamaru before he and Temari started to walk away. "Oh, and welcome home Naruto. Stop by Barbe-Q some evening. I'm sure Asuma-sensei, Ino and Chouji would like to see you again."

"That's great. Maybe tomorrow night. I already promised a bowl of ramen to Iruka-sensei tonight" said Naruto.

"I still can't believe Iruka-sensei became a jonin. I actually saw his skills and he's definitely jonin level, but I never would have imagined he'd stop teaching" commented Sakura. "Well, I'm heading off for as well. I've still got some work at the hospital to do, so I'll see you later Naruto."

"And I guess that just leaves the two of us" said Naruto, pulling Hinata closer and giving her a quick peck on the cheek, getting a sweet bush and giggle out of Hinata.

* * *

"Yeah, something was definitely going on with Sensei" commented Jiraiya.

"I want to say that he truly cared about Naruto" commented Tsunade. "And based on what I found, that sounded like the case. He helped Naruto out a lot once the Gaki was kicked out of the orphanage, getting him set up in a decent apartment, checking up on him rather often, and even making sure there was a trustworthy ANBU watch on him. But that ANBU watch is kind of what bothers me. On the night of October 10, the first time Naruto tried to attend the Kyuubi festival out of curiosity when he just turned 6; the ANBU guard just completely abandoned him. I checked the records and sensei was furious. He had the ANBU imprisoned for what was supposed to be a life term. The following year was better, although Naruto did still get in trouble, but the ANBU responded fairly quickly to prevent any major injuries. The year after, Naruto just stayed out of sight which was probably a good thing. But it's after that where I got confused."

"About six months later, it's like Sensei just completely gave up on watching Naruto. He pulled the ANBU guard and the punishments for those who harmed Naruto lessened to what was really nothing more than a slap on the wrist. He even let the ANBU who were supposed to be in jail for life out early. Normally, it seems as if the village just tended to ignore Naruto, but there were always a few minor incidents with some drunken people and of course the date of the Kyuubi Festival where Sensei's reactions were less than appropriate. There were a small group on ANBU who watched Naruto on their off time, not under Sensei's command, but even they couldn't protect him all the time considering they had other duties to the village."

"Who were these ANBU?" asked Jiraiya.

"Kakashi, Tenzo, Uzuki Yugao, Hayate Gekko, and Maboroshi Kisuke" answered Tsunade. "I already talked to them except for Hayate because of well…you know, and they mentioned that they were only able to watch the Gaki off duty and that there were times where he was left unguarded. They couldn't quite understand why no one was looking after Naruto anymore and they wanted to make sure that he at least had someone keeping an eye out for his safety. But that still doesn't answer why sensei practically left Naruto on his own. I mean sure, Sensei checked up on Naruto maybe once or twice a month, but that was nothing compared to what he used to do."

"When did you say this happened?" asked Jiraiya now in deep thought.

"May 2 when Naruto was 8 was when Sensei began to pull the ANBU watch from him and started distancing himself from Naruto" said Tsunade. "I don't know why but something happened to sensei. I just feel it."

"May 2. There was something that happened just before then" said Jiraiya, trying to recall what he was thinking of.

"The Uchiha Massacre happened a few weeks before that" said Tsunade, answering Jiraiya's question. "But that shouldn't mean anything."

"No, it shouldn't" said Jiraiya. "But that doesn't mean we should toss aside the possibility that something else happened. So did anything else happen to Sensei after that?"

"I hate to put it this way, but that's when Sensei became weak" said Tsunade. "It was after that the Civilian Council slowly began gaining influence in the workings of the village, even to the point where they were able to have some say in shinobi affairs, which as we both know never should have happened. One of the most significant victories of theirs was to gain control over the Academy and then the standards were lowered to give their children a better chance at becoming shinobi, which only hurt our new genin. I mean come on, three basic jutsus? That's not going to do much to prepare our genin."

"No, it's not. So what have you managed to get done about them?" asked Jiraiya, getting a grin out of Tsunade.

"Thankfully, with the help of the most recent addition to the Civilian Council, I've been able to wrestle a great deal of power back from them" said Tsunade.

"Oh ho? So who is this agent of yours?" asked Jiraiya.

"Haruno Kizashi" answered Tsunade. "I approached him just before the last election for the two representative seats on the council and he agreed to run for one of them, winning the seat. He was a shinobi of chunin rank, although he actually wasn't too far off of jonin, in this village who lost the ability to mold chakra in his arms due to an injury he suffered in the Third Shinobi War. It took years to rehabilitate him to the point where he could regain some chakra molding abilities in his arm, but he decided to retire to a civilian life and focus on raising his daughter and family instead. He agrees that there are some powers that the Civilian Council just shouldn't have and has sided a lot with me and the Shinobi Council in getting back many of those powers."

"Well that certainly is interesting" said Jiraiya. "However, one person shouldn't have been enough to shift the power of the council."

"While that is true, it also helped that Hiashi and a few of the other clan heads have another member of the council wrapped around their fingers thanks to a few strategic investments of their clans' assets" explained Tsunade. "Kizashi's enough to maintain the power, but if we need enough to reclaim a certain power from those civilians, we just have the clan heads pull a few strings."

"I hope the Academy's back under shinobi control?" asked Jiraiya. The standards of the Academy were one of the biggest things on Jiraiya's mind seeing as the Academy had a huge impact on the future generations of Konoha's shinobi.

"Oh yeah. And quite a few changes have been made to it" said Tsunade. "Ebisu's taken over as the head of the Academy and he's actually done an excellent job at reshaping it into something that better prepares our genin."

* * *

"I will say, that certainly was an interesting trip you had there, Naruto" said Hiashi as he took a sip of his tea.

"Neji-niisan, you saw Naruto-kun and you didn't say anything?" asked a teary Hinata.

"I deeply am sorry, Hinata-sama, but…" Neji was cut off by Hiashi.

"Before we go any further on that subject, at least allow me to make sure we have our privacy" said Hiashi as he made sure the doors were locked and the privacy seals in his home were active. "Hinata, this was kept a secret for a reason. The elders ABSOLUTELY cannot find out about this, which is why I figured that it was best kept between myself and Neji for the moment. But seeing as Naruto's home, I'm afraid he's going to tell you eventually."

As Hiashi motioned to his nephew, Neji removed his own headband and the medical tape that was underneath it, revealing the seal on his head that Hinata had come to hate (if that emotion was even possible from Hinata). But what Neji did next, was a pleasant surprise.

Taking a rag dipped in alcohol, Neji wiped it across his forehead and the seal actually came off. "Niisan…is it really…" gasped a surprised Hinata.

"It is. That's why I went to see Naruto, to have my seal removed" said Neji. "I am sorry, but Uncle's right. If the elders found out about this too soon, then the entire branch family would be in danger."

"It's okay. I understand. I'm just happy now that you've got that seal removed" chirped Hinata before turning to Naruto and planting a big kiss on Naruto's lips. Hiashi wanted to object to this display of affection, but he would give the blonde this one as Naruto was the one who removed the seal from his nephew's head. "And thank you so much for helping Neji-niisan." Hinata would have said more, but with her father struggling so much to contain himself while she kissed Naruto, she didn't want to push it.

"Ahem" coughed Hiashi. "If I may ask Naruto, may I see the seal you used?"

"I'm afraid it's not actually a permanent solution to removing the seal, but it did do the trick" said Naruto, pulling out his book and unsealing the Regression Seal scroll. It only took a few seconds of Hiashi looking at it for the Hyuga head to become lost and utterly confused.

"Naruto…what is this?" asked Hiashi. "While not a master to Jiraiya's standards, I do consider myself to be fairly well versed in fuinjutsu and even this is well beyond my level of understanding. What exactly is this seal?"

"It's one of those main family techniques of the Uzumaki clan that you mentioned" said Naruto. "It's called the Regression Seal."

Hiashi grew wide-eyed upon hearing the name of the seal. "So it really does exist…"

"What do you mean, father?" asked a confused Hinata.

"There were rumors out of Uzu before the start of the second war. I was just a small child at the time, but I remember the stories told to me from Jiraiya-sensei. If I'm correct, that seal was one of the main reasons that provoked Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri into attacking and destroying Uzu" explained Hiashi. "Hinata, I know you've been looking a little bit more into fuinjutsu, but this seal is beyond the comprehension of all but a select few people in the world, Naruto being one of those few. You see, and correct me if I'm wrong, but this seal actually has the power to turn back time."

"That's kind of right, but that would be actual time travel. The Regression Seal does what its name says. It reverts the temporal state of something, a seal or even a person. If that thing is reverted far enough to the point before its creation, then it simply ceases to exist" explained Naruto. "That's what I did to Neji's seal. I turned back Neji's seal to the point before it was applied; meaning that it never was applied to him in the first place."

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Naruto?" asked Neji.

"What do you mean? I am Naruto" replied Naruto.

"Yes, but what you just said was something that a 'failure like Naruto' would never understand" joked Neji, causing Naruto to pout. "Of course it helps that your father was an expert in this sort of stuff. I was right about what I said to you during the chunin exams the first time. About those who become Hokage are born into that destiny. Wasn't I?"

"H-How?" replied a shocked Naruto as he quickly realized what Neji was referring to, his expression answering Neji's question for him.

"I learned when Uncle here mistook you for him. Honestly, I'm also surprised that no one noticed. You actually look a lot like him" said Neji.

"Then do you understand why that was kept a secret as well?" asked Hiashi, still slightly stunned from Neji's deduction. _"Although now that Iwa placed Naruto in their Bingo Book, it's only a matter of time before that secret's out. I can't wait to see the looks on the Elder's faces when they realize Naruto IS Minato's son."_

"I do. But if I may ask, who else knows?" asked Neji.

"Baachan, Shizune-neechan, Ero-sennin, Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-teme, Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan, and Teuchi" said Naruto. "Although I wouldn't be surprised if a few other people knew and I'd be willing to bet that Shikamaru's figured it out, but it'd be too troublesome for him to say anything." This earned a giggle out of Hinata for Naruto's Shikamaru imitation.

"Now, as for that seal, it's not a practical solution as I need to use the Kyuubi's chakra to regress any seal older than maybe two years and even going up to the twelve years that was required for Neji practically drained the Furball of his chakra as well" explained Naruto. "Unless it's of the upmost importance, Neji's seal is the only one I am removing that way."

"No, I understand. I just can't believe the chakra cost for that seal is so large, but considering what it does, I can understand" commented Hiashi. "Besides, now that Neji is freed from the seal, I can move forward with my plans."

"If you don't mind me asking, how long do you anticipate it will be before Neji can challenge one of the elders?" asked Naruto.

"The elders are some of the strongest individuals in this clan. However, seeing as the limiting factors of the seal have also been removed from Neji, I estimate about 10 months before I have Neji up to the level he needs to be in order to fight against Ihro" replied Hiashi.

"I think I see. So you're going to have Neji-niisan take over Ihro's place on the council?" asked Hinata.

"Yes, and once that happens, I will be able to limit the elder's influence until preferably Doranji takes over for his father" commented Neji.

"So Doranji-san's in on this too?" asked Hinata.

"He is. He has witnessed the Caged Bird Seal tear apart the families in this clan and as you know, he has a two year old daughter who will most likely be sealed when she turns 4. He does not want to see his own daughter and family suffer under the seal" explained Hiashi, getting a nod of understanding from Hinata. "If everything works out right, Neji will take Ihro's seat before that happens and he will be able to postpone that sealing long enough for Doranji to take over. Once that happens, my father won't have much room to stop the changes we will be making to the clan, one of which will be the complete abolition of the Caged Bird Seal. I know it will mean that our bloodline is more vulnerable, but it will require the clan to become stronger as a whole in order to protect it, something that will prove beneficial to both us and Konoha."

"So anyways, what's happened while I've been gone?" asked Naruto, changing the subject and prompting Hiashi to drop the privacy seals. It had somehow been timed perfectly that the moment Hiashi dropped the seals, a younger Hyuga girl came through the door.

"Is that?" asked Naruto.

"Naruto-niisan!" exclaimed Hanabi.

"Hey Hanabi, long time no see. And I see you've grown" said Naruto as his attention was drawn to what was sitting on Hanabi's forehead. "Is that?"

"Yep! I'm a ninja now!" exclaimed the 10 year-old Hyuga.

"But I thought you still had another year" asked a confused Naruto.

"Hanabi graduated early" explained Hinata.

"I still don't know the full story, and something tells me I don't want to know, but I think one of the reasons had something to do with Hinata agreeing letting Hanabi sign the summoning contract when she graduated the academy. Once Hinata offered her sister that, Hanabi immediately took the test to be moved into the graduating class" said Hiashi. "That happened last year, and she just graduated about a month ago. And it would actually be two more years in the academy. Some changes were made to the Academy since you left. One such change was the addition of an extra year. Where you all graduated at the age of 11, they now graduate at the age of 12, although Hanabi somehow got out of there two years early and she still won't tell me what else happened that allowed her to get 2 years ahead. I understand you are getting dinner with Iruka-san earlier tonight, so I am sure he will tell you everything better than I can."

"Wow, that's great Hanabi! Who's your sensei?" Naruto would soon come to regret asking that question as a kunai sailed into the room, nicking the blonde's cheek and causing a trickle of blood to drip down his cheek.

"Well well, if it ain't the Gaki" grinned a certain purple haired kunoichi as she licked the blood from Naruto's cheek, causing a shiver to crawl down Naruto's spine.

"Anko-sensei, don't scare Naruto-niisan like that!" exclaimed Hanabi.

"A-Anko's your sensei?" shivered Naruto, now feeling sorry for the Hyuga genin.

"Oh so you're Naruto-_niisan_ now? It's like you're part of the family" grinned Anko, looking over to Hinata. "So how long before I see little blonde Hyugas running around the village?"

"_K-kids? W-with N-naruto-kun?"_ Despite greatly improving over the years, the very thought of having children with Naruto was still too much for poor Hinata and what happened next really shouldn't be too surprising, even if she had improved greatly over the years…she turned red and fainted.

"I can assure you Anko, there will be no blonde Hyugas" replied Hiashi, saving the already fainted Hinata and the increasingly red Naruto.

"_At least not yet" _completed Anko. _"Perhaps it is still quite a few years too soon for THAT, but it's still fun to mess with them."_

"So what's the real purpose of you being here? I take it that you're not here just to harass my daughter" questioned Hiashi.

"What? I would _never_ harass anyone" grinned Anko with a too innocent smile and a distinct hint of sarcasm in her voice. "We've got our first C-rank mission tomorrow and we're going to be away for at least a weeks. So make sure you're ready to go at the gate by 8:00am, Crackers!"

"My name's not Crackers! It's Hanabi!" argued Hanabi (Hanabi = Firecracker/Fireworks).

"Sure, whatever. Just be at the gate by 8:00 or else you know what will happen" grinned Anko sadistically, causing Hanabi to shiver. With that, Anko made a quick exit, but not before snagging some of the sweets off the table.

Hiashi sighed as he placed his hand over his head. "Why do I have a feeling Anko was one of the reasons Hanabi graduated early? Why do I think it happened just so she could torment me?" A slight moan was heard as Hinata regained consciousness.

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty" chirped Naruto.

"_Oh no. I actually fainted. I haven't done that around Naruto-kun in a long time, but whenever Anko comes around, I just can't help it"_ thought Hinata.

"So Hanabi, who's on your team?" asked Naruto.

"Well, there's this girl named Katomi. She's okay, she's a little quiet and keeps to herself, but she's a good kunoichi. And then there's boy named Toshi. However, he's kind of weird" commented Hanabi. "He's actually a Nara, but he's not a lazy bum like I thought all Naras are supposed to be."

"Naruto-kun, you'll find this interesting. Hanabi got on the same team you were on. The top boy, top girl, and 'dobe' of the class" giggled Hinata. "And you know what else…"

"Don't you tell him Neesan!" shouted Hanabi.

"Hanabi was the class dobe" replied Neji, getting Hanabi's full glare. "It seems as if the main family is full of disappointments." With this, Neji let out a slight grin to show that he was only joking.

"Yeah, well I was missing two years worth of my grade and even then I still almost beat out Konohamaru!" exclaimed Hanabi, crossing her arms and shifting her gaze away from everyone.

Hinata whispered something into Naruto's ears and the blonde could only help but laugh. This earned the couple a glare from the younger Hyuga, causing them both to laugh.

"Maybe I should stop by and see if the Flaming Leaf Inn has room for a reservation of four" joked Naruto. "Oh, that reminds me. Ero-Sennin got me some dance lessons while we were in Yuki. So what do you say Hinata-chan?"

This caused Hinata to blush deeply at the thought of her and Naruto dancing together, but was stopped in her thoughts when Neji spoke up. "I'm sorry to say, but ever since that restaurant reopened, the dinner and dance idea that Rekinu-san had was a huge hit throughout Konoha. If you don't have a reservation now, then I doubt you'll be getting one for the next three months."

"What?! Three months?!" asked a now disappointed Naruto. "Oh man, and I was actually looking forward to that."

"Fortunately for you, you and Hinata-sama do in fact have a reservation" said Neji.

"We do? But how? I don't remember making one" said Naruto, now confused.

"Once I was able to get a feel for how much longer it would be before you got back, I made a reservation in your name and it appears as if I was correct in the date I picked. Consider it a small token of my thanks" said Neji.

"Really? Wow Neji, thank you" replied Naruto.

"Don't mention it. It's for Friday evening at 7:00pm. The dress is not as strict as it used to be but I would still recommend a coat. Most importantly though, wear something you can move in as well" said Neji.

Some time passed and Naruto found that sadly, it was time to leave as he had promised ramen to Iruka-sensei that night.

"Naruto-kun" called out Hinata before Naruto had a chance to leave. "Stop by training ground 8 tomorrow morning. We just got back from a mission and we usually meet in the mornings on our day off and I'm sure everyone would like to see you."

"That sounds great Hinata-chan, I'll see you tomorrow and maybe after we can get lunch" waved Naruto.

* * *

"Hey Old Man!" exclaimed Naruto as he walked into Ichiraku and took a seat on the stool next to where Iruka was already sitting.

"Who are you calling old!" shouted Teuchi as he turned around to see a familiar blonde sitting at his bar. "Well I'll be. Ayame, get out here!"

"What?!" shouted what sounded to be a frustrated Ayame as she came out from the back of the shop, only to see the same blonde that she had missed for the past two years sitting at the bar. "Naruto-kun? Is that really you?"

"Sure is! Good to see you again, Ayame-neechan" smiled Naruto.

"And I see you dragged this lazy ass with you" said Ayame pointing to Iruka. "Ever since he got his promotion, he's been stopping by less and less. It's like Iruka-kun doesn't want to see me anymore."

"I already said I was sorry, Ayame-chan. I've been busy and Konohamaru usually finds me here" cried Iruka. "He's been begging me for the past two weeks for a mission 'more fitting for a ninja of his stature'."

"_Iruka-kun? Ayame-chan?"_ thought Naruto before it finally clicked. "So Iruka-sensei, Ayame-neechan, how long have you two been…you know?" Naruto help up his pinky, getting a blush out of the two.

"A little over six months now" replied Ayame.

"It was because of her that I was able to make it through the jonin trials" said Iruka. "They were tough. Much tougher than the chunin exams."

"Speaking of which, what's it like being a jonin?" asked Naruto.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the academy. Once I got my new rank, I was pulled from teaching. But I can't complain seeing as I actually got a genin team this year and despite Konohamaru's complaining, I really do enjoy it. It's like I'm teaching yet I'm a jonin."

"You know, you should give Konohamaru a little more credit. What makes you think he's not ready for a C-rank mission?" asked Naruto. "I heard Anko's team just got their first C-rank."

"Yes, but she's got the stacked team. She got the two best students from the class and the 'dobe' is only the dobe because she graduated two years early. I've been doing my best to get my team ready, but Konohamaru can still just barely make three clones. I mean, I believe in him, but three clones is just barely passing the academy and if that's all he can do then I don't think he's ready for a more difficult mission" explained Iruka.

"You of all people should know better than to see the clone jutsu as a barrier. Besides, what kind of clones do you think he's using?" asked Naruto with a hinting grin on his face.

"Well the normal clone jutsu I would imagine…wait, now that I think about it…" Iruka finally realized what Naruto was getting at. "He's not using shadow clones, is he?"

"I would imagine he is. Before I left, he was just barely able to make one, but it _was_ in fact a shadow clone. That's why he can only make three is because he still has relatively low chakra reserves for that jutsu, but I'll bet you that he's been using shadow clones instead of the regular ones" explained Naruto. "And didn't I give him that book on chakra nature manipulation?"

"You did, but it only gave the exercises to train elemental manipulation. There weren't any jutsus in there and Konohamaru's almost as afraid of libraries as you were" joked Iruka.

Naruto reached into his back pouch, pulled out a scroll and unsealed a small scroll from within that scroll. "Here, this one should make him happy. It's the Great Fireball Jutsu, a simple fire jutsu but one I believe he can do without too much effort. Tell him that if he gets it down, you'll let him take on a C-rank mission and I guarantee you he'll have it by week's end" said Naruto. "I don't know why, but I feel that Konohamaru's a lot like me. He'll surprise you and I'm sure he'll even surprise me at some point down the road."

"You know, I think you're right about that" said Iruka, taking the scroll from Naruto. "It's just he really is a lot like you. Hell, he even became the class prankster after you left. Perhaps he reminded me so much of you that I didn't want him to get in over his head like you guys did, remember all those C-turned-A missions?"

"Oh come on, how bad could it really be? But I do think that if you give him a challenge, he'll come through just fine" said Naruto.

"So anyways, tell me a bit about your trip and how strong you've become" asked Iruka.

One long story, about a dozen bowls of ramen, and a happy Teuchi for having his best customer back later…

"Wow, you really have been busy. I heard a little bit about your adventures in Yuki, but I never imagined them like that" said Iruka. "I still can't believe that you helped an actress who was really a princess take back the throne of her kingdom."

"Is it really that hard to believe?" asked Naruto, before his thoughts drifted onto something else. "Hold on…No Damnit!"

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" asked Ayame.

"I forgot to get Koyuki's autograph" cried Naruto as anime-style tears flowed from his eyes. Iruka and Ayame just sighed at this.

"_**Oi, Naruto. There's something I do need to talk to your former teacher about. Or at least something you need to tell him**__"_called out Kurama.

Listening to what Kurama was telling him, Naruto just nodded. Looking around, he realized that no one else was around, which was a good thing. "Hey Iruka-sensei, there's something I want to tell you. Just please bear with me."

"What is it?" asked Iruka.

"It's about the Kyuubi" replied Naruto, as he watched Iruka's look. "I know that your parents died in the Kyuubi attack, and I'm sorry that happened, and so is he."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look, over the trip, I've actually gotten to know Kurama…er, the Kyuubi and we've actually become good friends. What I'm trying to say is that he didn't mean to attack the village and he is sorry for all the people he killed, especially your parents" said Naruto.

"What do you mean 'sorry'?! He attacks the village, kills hundreds of people, and thinks he can just say he's sorry?" lashed out Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei. It honestly wasn't his fault. If you don't believe me, then check with the Hokage. But on that night, there was someone controlling him. If he had his way, he would have just stayed away from the village. My dad fought the man controlling him and knew the day would come when that man would return. He knew that I would need Kurama's powers to defeat him, so he sealed Kurama inside me on that night" said Naruto, deciding to let the one he looked to as an older brother in on his secrets.

"Your dad?" asked Iruka, now a bit confused, but then it clicked as Iruka looked up towards the Hokage Monument. "No…it can't be. He's really your father?"

"He is. It's supposed to be a secret still. But you deserve the truth and if there's anyone who I need to understand, it's you" said Naruto. "Again, if you don't believe me, ask Tsunade-baachan. I swear that Kurama didn't mean to kill your parents or all those villages and he's helping me out as a way to make up for it."

"I won't forgive him for the fact that he attacked yet, but I'll accept that perhaps there's something more to what happened on that night" said Iruka after thinking about it for abit. "So who was it that really attacked Konoha?"

"It's going to be hard to believe, but my dad thought it was Uchiha Madara" said Naruto, earning a shocked look from Iruka. "I'm not entirely sure either, but I do know that if this man was strong enough to control Kurama, then he is a dangerous threat. Again, Baachan can tell you the whole story and she has the final letters from my dad that tell a bit more about this threat before he died in the sealing process."

"I see. And thank you, Naruto" replied Iruka.

* * *

The next morning, at training ground 8, Team Kurenai had gathered together for a quick morning training session before Akamaru caught wind of a familiar sent that was approaching the training ground. When everyone turned around to see who it was, they were all surprised (minus Hinata) to see a spiky blonde wearing a long red coat walking over towards them.

"Is that?" asked Kiba, getting a nod from Hinata. "Is that really you Naruto? Wow you've grown!"

"Me? If that dog you're riding is who I think it is, then I'm not the one whose grown" said Naruto, pointing at the white dog that Kiba was riding on.

"What do ya mean? This is Akamaru" replied Kiba.

"Yeah, and before I left, he was the one who would ride on you, not the other way around" pointed Naruto.

"You know, I've never really noticed. I mean sure he's grown, but I guess that's just because the two of us practically grew up together that it wasn't as surprising to me as it was to you" replied Kiba.

"Hello Naruto-san" spoke a hooded person whose entire body was mostly covered, standing with Team 8.

Naruto took a moment to examine the hooded person. _"Hmm…that voice and those sunglasses"_ thought Naruto. "Shino?"

"It appears that you did not forget about me. Though it did take you longer than the others to realize who I was" spoke Shino as Naruto sweat-dropped.

"Well, when you're covered up like that, it is kind of hard to see who it is under that hood" replied Naruto.

"Perhaps. Welcome home Naruto-san" said Shino.

Immediately, Naruto jumped away just in time to avoid another person slam the ground that he was previously standing on. As Naruto gripped the hilt of his sword, he relaxed his guard the moment he saw the familiar green hair.

"Damn, almost had you" grunted Fu. Naruto grinned at the green haired ex-Taki kunoichi. Fu was still as tan as Naruto had remembered her and while her outfit was similar, it had undergone a few small changes. The first was that while her white top still cut off just above the stomach, still exposing her midsection and giving her wings room to grow from. It wasn't quite as loose as it used to be and Naruto's inner pervert was already telling him that while she was nowhere near Hinata, Fu wasn't quite as flat as she used to be. The top also has sleeves on them that came down in a point to cover the back side of her hand. The skirt was a bit longer as well, going to about knee length but with a slit running halfway up the side for increased mobility. Her hair was still mint-green and at neck length with a red clip in it. She also had a red belt around her waist that held in what appeared to be two longer curved daggers. While Naruto couldn't tell at first sight, those blades were composed of chakra conducting metal that could channel either the wind or lightning natures she had, courtesy of Choumei's chakra mixing with her own.

"Well, it looks like I'm not the only one with tails in the village any more" commented Fu.

"So how have you been, Fu?" asked Naruto.

"Oh, this place is so much better than Taki. And Shino-kun's family has been more than welcoming of me" smiled Fu. "Even those who do know don't seem to mind. It also is nice that the jonin I was assigned under here actually cares about my skills."

"I'm glad for you. It's nice to know that you can actually have some real friends backing you all the way" said Naruto. "Hey Hinata-chan, want to get some lunch? The dango shop is Anko-free because the crazy snake lady is out on a mission."

Hinata smiled as Naruto was being more considerate for her sweeter taste and of course she wasn't going to say no to lunch with Naruto. However, before she could walk away with Naruto, Kiba had pulled the blonde aside for a quick word.

"Look Naruto, I know I've caused some problems for you and Hinata in the past and I just wanted to apologize. However, I have come to see her as a sister to me, so you had better take care of her or else I don't care how strong you've gotten but I'll still kick your ass" said Kiba.

"Take a place in line behind Hiashi, Neji, Kurenai-sensei, the furball fox that lives in my head, and I'm sure Baachan's somewhere in there" replied Naruto to Kiba's little threat. "But anyways, thanks Kiba. I know that deep down you do care for her."

"So we're cool?" asked Kiba.

"Yeah, we are" answered Naruto before turning back to Hinata.

* * *

Having satisfied their sweet tooth, Naruto and Hinata were now walking through town. They were on their way to a solitary training ground of their own, both of them interested in where the other one was, but one sight caught their eyes. There standing on a bridge and leaning over the railing was a familiar spandex-clad chunin, only something looked wrong.

"Hey Bushy Brows!" called out Naruto as he waved to Lee, only to get no response from the eye browed ninja. As Naruto walked closer to Lee, he could see his comrade holding a few flowers in his hand as he was plucking the petals off and letting them fall into the river. The usually youthful boy looked saddened and depressed. "Lee? Is something wrong?"

"Naruto-kun?" asked Lee, finally picking his head up to notice that he had company. "You're back?"

"Yeah, I just got back yesterday. What's wrong? You look like they were all sold out of spandex tracksuits" said Naruto.

"No…it's nothing like that. It's just…" Lee let out a sigh. "Naruto-kun, do you think I'm a worthless failure?"

"What? What got that sort of thought into your head? You're one of the best ninja I know! –ttebayo!" exclaimed Naruto.

Lee was about to say something but he just slowly began to walk away. "Huh? Hey Lee! Lee?" Naruto's voice didn't seem to reach Lee's ears.

A few moments after Lee had disappeared from sight, Sakura came running onto the scene. "Naruto, Hinata, have either of you seen Lee?" asked the pink cherry blossom.

"Hey Sakura-chan. Yeah, he was just here but something seemed wrong. His Flames of Youth aren't burning brightly today" replied Naruto, a shiver running down his spine that he had actually said that.

* * *

Somewhere else,

A cold chill ran through a certain one-eyed jonin as he picked his gaze up from a certain red covered book that was Icha Icha Violence. "Why do I have a bad feeling one of my students has been corrupted?"

Across from him stood a raven haired boy, approximately 15 years in age who had just landed from performing an advanced kunai deflection exercise that he had once witnessed his brother perform. All 10 kunai hit the center of their targets, including the difficult hidden targets. The boy turned to his teacher and just shrugged before pulling out an identical book of his own.

"You're probably right. I'm just imagining things" said the one-eyed scarecrow.

"_You know, the ending to this volume is actually much better than that of Icha Icha Paradise"_ thought the raven-haired boy.

* * *

Back in Konoha,

"Sakura-san, do you know what happened to Lee-san?" asked Hinata.

"I think I've got a pretty good idea" said Sakura. "Do you remember Kurama Yakumo?" After a few moments, Naruto nodded, having met the girl once after Hinata and her team returned along from a mission regarding the girl. He remembered that she had some rather powerful genjutsu abilities that led to the manifestation of a demon in her own psyche, but the demon was dealt with during that mission.

"A little bit" replied Naruto. Hinata nodded, actually knowing the young Kurama heiress rather well thanks to Kurenai-sensei. "What's she have to do with Lee?"

* * *

Author Notes

**Chapter 71 is out and Book 3 is underway. **

**So Naruto's back in Konoha, and we are beginning to see what's been going on in Konoha. The next few chapters will elaborate further and I'll bring back the remaining characters that I haven't yet. **

**IrukaAyame: The first of the three pairings that I mentioned. I know IrukaAnko is a rather popular one, but I have other plans for Anko's pairings and I actually do like the IrukaAyame pairing. **

**One slight change that was made was Iruka taking over as sensei for Konohamaru's team rather than Ebisu. Ebisu is actually at the Academy now and is ensuring that the standards are raised and kept there. That and Hanabi DID graduate early and her sensei is Anko. Also realize that when I began this story, I intentionally bumped everyone's age back a year.**

**I'll do comment responses and explain a few things about this part of the story in the next chapter, and**** leave it there for now. What has everyone else been up to and what's going on with Lee and Yakumo? Stay tuned.**

**Please Review.**


	72. Beauty and the Wild Green Beast

_**Chapter 72: The Beauty and Wild Green Beast**_

Posted: June 11, 2013

Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don't own Naruto

* * *

"Sakura-san, do you know what's wrong with Lee-san?" asked Hinata. Both her and Naruto had encountered Lee on their way to a training ground and Lee looked to be missing something significant…his youth.

"I've got a pretty good idea" replied Sakura. "Do you remember Kurama Yakumo?"

Hinata nodded instantly, knowing the girl rather well thanks to Kurenai-sensei. She was an incredibly powerful genjutsu user who had been placed under Kurenai's tutelage in the early years until it was determined that Yakumo's powers had led to the birth of a demon in Yakumo's psyche. This forced Kurenai and the Hokage to have her powers sealed until a few years later when a mission by Team 8 led to the separation of Yakumo's demon personality and her powers, allowing her to access her genjutsu abilities without fear of the demon personality taking over.

"A little bit" replied Naruto. He had met the girl once or twice thanks to Hinata and he had heard the stories from his girlfriend. "What does she have to do with Lee? Did she call him a loser or something?"

Sakura shook her head. "It's a rather long story, we might want to go find a seat while I tell you."

* * *

Flashback (almost 2 years ago)

For a certain green-spandex clad chunin, today was a normal day, filled with youthful training. As Lee was on his 105th lap through Konoha, he passed by a young girl sitting on a bench, looking rather down. For some reason, Lee was immediately drawn to said girl. She was rather pretty, possessing brown hair and a fair complexion. But her looks weren't what caught Lee's attention. For some reason, Lee could feel that this girl's youthful spark was on the verge of fading into nothing, and there was no way he'd let something like that happen until he found out what was going on and if there was anything he could do to help save it.

"Excuse me, is something wrong?" asked Lee politely as he walked over towards the girl.

"Just leave…" said the girl before she realized who it was. "No wait! You're him, Rock Lee. You're the person who became a ninja on taijutsu alone."

"That I am. And if I may ask, what is your name?" asked Lee.

"Kurama Yakumo" replied Yakumo.

"May I ask why a beautiful young lady like yourself is so down? It's unbefitting of someone who looks like they should be bursting with youth" asked Lee.

"It's nothing of your concern" replied a depressed Yakumo.

"That may be, but perhaps there is something I can do to help" offered the spandex-clad Lee. "Please at least tell me why you are so down."

After a few moments, Yakumo finally decided to open up and explain her situation to Lee. "You see, I was born with a weak body, yet I possess the entirety of my clan's kekkei genkai. Our bloodline greatly enhances our genjutsu abilities to the point where we can actually make the brain to reflect anything that happens to them. However, I've tried my hardest to become a ninja, following your example and focusing solely on my genjutsu abilities, but I've just been told that my body's still too weak to perform the duties required of a shinobi."

"I see. The ninja way you and I have chosen certainly is a difficult one. It is one that requires hard work and an unwavering dedication" said Lee. "But it is the one path of the ninja that I truly believe will shine the brightest in the end."

"But how am I supposed to become a shinobi if my body's too weak to handle being one?" asked Yakumo.

"Well, a little physical exercise has never hurt me" replied Lee. "The body can be strengthened, no matter how weak it may seem at first. With a strong desire to drive you forward, nothing can stop you from achieving your dreams!"

"I see. Then I'll just work harder to get stronger so that I can be a shinobi!" exclaimed a reenergized Yakumo.

"And if you wouldn't mind, I would like to help you. It's always nice to have someone supporting you every step of the way" explained Lee. "Gai-sensei was there for me, and I will be there for you if you will let me."

End Flashback

"After that day, those two began hanging out more and more and eventually Yakumo was recognized as a shinobi" explained Sakura. "That was almost a year-and-a-half ago and she just made chunin at the last exam. Since her and Lee met, she had kind of been joining our group a lot and we all honestly wondered when those two would ever hook up. And then, almost two months ago, they had their first date. They're a really cute couple and there really is a strong chemistry between them. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of issues."

"Issues?" asked Naruto.

"Her clan. The Kurama clan is actually one of Konoha's more 'noble' clans and seeing as Yakumo is not only the heiress, but also the sole possessor of their full kekkei genkai, they are rather protective of her" said Sakura. "Since Lee was originally an orphan and he also has his condition that takes away his ninjutsu and genjutsu abilities, they don't approve of a relationship between their heiress and some _talentless loser_." Anyone with a brain could tell that Sakura was disgusted and struggling to spit out that last part. While her feelings and heart belonged to Sasuke, she had a great deal of respect for Lee and wanted desperately to help Lee find that special someone.

"What?! That's just not right. Bushy Brows is one of the strongest ninja I know. I even fought him and I can say without question Lee is most definitely NOT a loser! -ttebayo!" declared Naruto. "Damnit, I can't stand clans like that who think that they're too good for someone!"

Sakura just stood there, trying her best to comprehend Naruto's logic. While she understood where her blonde teammate was coming from, she couldn't help but feel that his actions were slightly contradicting what he was saying. _"And here you are dating a Hyuga."_

"So I know that Lee wouldn't let her clan get him down. So what happened then to get Lee into this slump he's in?" asked Naruto.

Flashback (just earlier today)

"Yosh! I can't wait for today's most youthful training session with Yakumo-chan!" proclaimed Lee as he marched his way through the streets of Konoha and towards the clan compound of the Kurama clan.

As Lee came into view of the compound, he saw the two guards standing outside the gate. By this point in time, the guards had gotten somewhat used to the bushy browed chunin's visitations and merely nodded as Lee passed them. However, when he reached the house where Yakumo lived in, he saw her uncle and current head of the clan, Unkai, there to greet him. Lee knew Unkai just about hated him, but he didn't care. All he cared about was his day training with Yakumo and curry dinner they were looking forward to in the evening. However, that wasn't destined to happen as Unkai stepped forward.

"Kurama-sama, I am here to request Yakumo-san's presence to train with me today" addressed Lee.

"I must apologize, but our heiress will not be associating herself with a loser like you" spoke Unkai, trying to intimidate Lee. "Nor will you be welcome here anymore. We are one of Konoha's most noble clan and as I have told you before, we do not associate with your kind."

Lee had heard this before and despite the clan head's attempts to dissuade Lee from their heiress. But this time was different as Yakumo actually stepped out from the doors and approached Lee. "Lee, I must apologize, but I no longer wish to see you. In fact, the only reason I have been putting up with you is so that I could become strong enough to become a shinobi and honor my clan. As such, I must ask that you leave and not return."

Lee's eyes widened in shock. Did Yakumo-chan really just say that to him? Did she really just use him to help herself along? Had she really just tossed aside all those youth-filled moments they had shared together? He couldn't believe what had just happened and reached forward towards Yakumo, hoping this was all just some illusion. However, he felt his own hand being slapped away by the girl he had fallen for. "Don't you dare touch me, you worthless loser. " growled Yakumo. Lee was shocked at this. Never once had Yakumo used that tone on him. That tone carried hints of hatefulness and disappointment, something that the Yakumo he had come to know was anything but.

Looking into her eyes, Lee could tell that she wasn't playing around and she meant what she said. Trying to hold back his own tears, Lee quickly made his way out of the compound, heartbroken. Had he looked back, he would have seen a sinister grin on Unkai's face.

End Flashback

"What?! Please tell me you're not serious, Sakura-chan! Why would anyone do something like that to Bushy Brows?!" shouted Naruto.

"I know it doesn't sound pretty, but Yakumo wasn't at her clan's compound this morning. She was with Kurenai-sensei and Inoichi-san since early this morning" said Sakura. "While the whole mental demon issue had been resolved, Inoichi-san's been checking up on her to be sure there's no recurrence of it. I can say for certainty that Yakumo was not at the compound when Lee was there."

"Then what the hell happened?" asked Naruto.

"Genjutsu. I wouldn't put it past them to use a genjutsu on Lee when he first entered the compound to trick him into seeing what he did" said Sakura. "Unfortunately, when I went to try and find Yakumo, she was still in her session with Inoichi-san. That's why I want to find Lee and try and explain this to him before he does anything stupid."

"I see. Don't worry, I'll find him Sakura-chan" said Naruto before making a familiar hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Immediately, dozens of Naruto's popped into existence and scattered throughout the village in search of their spandex wearing friend.

* * *

Hyuga Clan Compound,

"Doton: Earth Dragon Bullet!" exclaimed a mid-teen branch shinobi as he was displaying his newest jutsu to some of his friends and family within the clan.

"Wow, that's amazing!" exclaimed one of the younger Hyugas there who was still the age of an academy student. A few of the other younger Hyugas said similar things to the older Hyuga teen, until they heard a cough coming from behind. All of them paled to see the elder Ihro standing at the gate of the courtyard in which they were in.

"Need I remind you that such ninjutsu is below a Hyuga?" asked Ihro as he raised his wrinkled brow.

"B-but Ihro-sama, I…" said Hyuga teen was stopped cold as he saw Ihro make a motion with his hands to form a seal. The same hand seal that was feared by all the branch and the one that kept them oppressed.

"You were what? You are a Hyuga and as such don't need to rely on cheap tricks to prove that the Hyuga are strong" said Ihro. "Or do you need a reminder?"

"But…I understand. I apologize Ihro-sama for my inappropriate behavior" bowed the teen, hoping for Kami's sake that Ihro would lower his hands without activating the seal. Thankfully today, the branch teen would catch a break as Ihro just turned his back and walked away.

"I will accept your apology this once, but do not let me catch you practicing ninjutsu outside the clan's designated jutsus for exams such as the jonin exams" spoke Ihro before leaving. As everyone there let out a sigh of relief, no one realized that there was another observer.

"_Ihro you old fool…Ninjutsu is not a weakness, nor is it a bunch of cheap tricks. While I agree that our taijutsu is rather effective, there are a few glaring weaknesses. One of the most obvious is that by using solely taijutsu, it requires us to fight at close range and if we were to face someone with strong mid to long range capabilities, we would certainly be defeated. Ninjutsu is nothing to discourage as it can be used to add a completely different element into our fighting style, either assisting the Jyuken itself or giving us the ability to fight against opponents specializing in mid to long ranged attacks"_ thought the observer. _"You were there for Hinata-sama's match. It's blatantly obvious that our traditional styles are growing predictable and outdated. The only reason Hinata-sama was able to win her match was because of her ability to adapt to something new. And the ability to be able to adapt is nothing to scoff at. I intend to teach you that lesson personally soon."_

* * *

Back around Konoha,

"He did what?!" came shouts from the Yamanaka compound. Said shouts belonged to one Yakumo Kurama. It didn't take Naruto's clones too long to find Lee (after all, bright green spandex was almost as easy to pick out of a crowd as 'kill me now' orange was) and bring him to the Yamanaka compound where Yakumo had just finished her psychiatric evaluation with Inoichi.

"It's like I said, your uncle used a genjutsu on Lee to make Lee think you were just tossing him aside and try to break him" said Sakura.

"Lee-kun, I'm so sorry. I would never" apologized Yakumo to a tearing Lee.

"It's okay Yakumo-chan. I am ashamed that I could have thought you could ever act so unyouthful! For that, I shall climb up the Hokage Monument with both legs and one arm tied behind my back and if I cannot, then I will-" Lee was stopped as Yakumo proceeded to kiss her bushy eyebrowed boyfriend, effectively stopping his youth-filled proclamation.

"Oh God, thank goodness that's over!" exclaimed a relived voice that was familiar to Naruto. As the blonde jinchuriki turned to the door, standing there was a platinum blonde, purple wearing Ino. "Is that Naruto?"

"Ino?" asked Naruto, tilting his head.

"Oh my god, it is you!" exclaimed Ino. "When did you get back?" _"Wow, Naruto actually looks kind of hot with that coat on. Is that really the same blonde idiot from back in the academy?"_

"Umm kind of yesterday. I ran into Shikamaru and he said to stop by Barbe-Q to meet up with you, Chouji, and Asuma-sensei later tonight, but I was kind of dragged here due to a little problem" said Naruto, pointing towards Lee and Yakumo.

Ino let out a sigh. "I see the Kurama clan's giving them problems again." Everyone just nodded as Sakura explained everything to Ino. "Yikes, and I thought Anko-sensei was cruel."

"You mean that Crazy Snake Bitch?" asked Naruto as a chill ran down his spine.

"Yeah. I've been training under her for the past two years in interrogation and infiltration. At least until she got her genin team" said Ino. "But the question is what do we do with Lee? It's obvious that the clan doesn't want those two together and this is just one step closer to them literally throwing Lee out."

"I still don't understand. Lee's one of the greatest guys I know. If they won't accept Lee being with Yakumo, then who will they accept?" asked Naruto as a slight tick appeared on Sakura's forehead and Ino wished her fellow blonde didn't answer that.

"If they had their way, they'd want Yakumo to be with Sasuke-kun" said Ino as she looked over towards her fuming pink haired.

"_**Oh hell no! They aren't getting MY Sasuke-kun!"**_ raged Inner Sakura.

Even though something was telling him that he'd regret this, Naruto decided to tell of an idea that just came to him. "You know, if Teme actually was here, we could use that. If Sasuke is what they want, then why not just have Sasuke '_go out'_ with Yakumo" said Naruto just as he heard the sound of cracking knuckles.

"What did you say?!" growled Sakura.

"Hold on, Sakura. Naruto might actually be onto something" realized Ino. "What if Yakumo '_goes out with'_ Sasuke-kun and you '_go out' _with Lee. And when they are away from the Kuramas, you guys just switch dates until it is time to go home. That way, Yakumo can get out of the house and spend some time with Lee and until we can think of some way to prove to them that Lee is right for her, they'll think that Yakumo is dating the 'Great Uchiha', as they put it, and lighten up on her."

"I don't like the idea of Sasuke-kun _going out_ with another girl, but if they aren't really going out and it's to help Lee, then I suppose. But the problem is that Sasuke-kun isn't supposed to be home for at least a week and since Kurama-san is on the council, he knows that Sasuke won't be home for some time" said Sakura.

"Like I said, it's just an idea" said Ino, completely forgetting the idea was originally Naruto's. "Until then, I think Yakumo and Lee are only going to find time together when everyone from our group gets together. You know, I guess we could get everyone together tonight to welcome Naruto back."

"And we also do need to make it so that Lee's not as susceptible to genjutsu" said Sakura. "We saw today that the Kurama clan's not against using genjutsu to try and separate them. Perhaps Kurenai-sensei knows something that can help Lee. But I do agree that we can do a get together tonight seeing as just about everyone is in town."

"Great. Hey Kurenai-sensei, think you can bring Yakumo to Barbe-Q tonight around 6:30?" asked Ino to the Genjutsu Mistress who was listening in on the conversation with Inoichi.

"Sure" smiled Kurenai.

"Everyone, thank you" spoke Lee.

"Don't mention it Bushy Brows" replied Naruto.

"You two are happy together and we don't want to see some dumb clan politics come between true love" said Ino, getting a blush out of Lee and Yakumo and a giggle out of Hinata. "Unfortunately, we won't be able to do much more until Sasuke-kun gets back and we can try our new plan out."

"You know, I just thought of something else" said Naruto with a foxy grin on his face. "I wonder what Yakumo's clan would say when they found out their clan was named after a certain giant fox."

"What are you talking about?" asked Ino as Sakura actually laughed when she realized that the Kurama clan shared a name with Kurama, the very same Kyuubi who attacked the village 15 years ago.

"**The Kit would be referring to me"** said a voice that most certainly wasn't Naruto's coming from Naruto's mouth. **"My name is Kurama."**

"What are you talking about? You're Naruto. Have you actually gotten dumber over the past two years?" asked Ino.

"**The Kit is Naruto, I'm Kurama, but you probably know me as the Kyuubi." **Just as Kurama said that, the sound of coughing and spitting tea could be heard as everyone looked over towards a gagging Inoichi and a wide-eyed Kurenai. **"Crap, I forgot about those two."**

A lengthy explanation later…

"So what you're saying is that you attacked the village, controlled by a genjutsu?" asked Kurenai to the Kyuubi-possessed Naruto. Kurama just nodded.

"**Ask the Hokage is you need verification, but it's true"** replied Kurama.

"And since you're speaking to us, does that mean…" Inoichi gulped.

"**Yes, the seal's been released for almost a year now"** replied Kurama.

"You know, the fact that the Kyuubi…err, Kurama hasn't tried anything unyouthful with the seal open should at least speak for something" said Lee. "After all, he did help Naruto-kun with the removal of Neji's Caged Bird Seal."

Kurama/Naruto face palmed himself as Lee realized that wasn't supposed to be said and everyone's attention turned to Naruto.

"You got rid of the Hyuga's Caged Bird Seal?" asked Kurenai in disbelief, with a glint of hope showing itself in her eyes. Taking back control of his body, Naruto just grinned and rubbed the back of his head.

"Umm kind of, but that really WAS supposed to remain a secret" said Naruto, sending a pleading look to Ino. "If the elders find out about this, then the entire branch family of the Hyuga clan could be in danger."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I might like spreading rumors, but even I know when some things are better kept a secret" said Ino.

"Naruto, if you really did that, I was wondering if you could do a friend of mine a little favor" asked a hopeful Kurenai.

"Sure, what is it?" asked Naruto.

"I was wondering if it wouldn't be too much for you to take a look at Anko's Cursed Seal" asked Kurenai. Something that most of the Konoha 15 had learned over the past few years was that Kurenai and Anko were in fact close friends, almost to the sisterly point, with one another and Kurenai was one of the very few people in the village whom Anko actually trusted.

"You mean the Crazy Snake Lady?" asked Naruto, earning a glaring nod from Kurenai. "I mean I can take a look. If you don't mind me asking, how long has she had that seal on?"

"She had it on since Orochimaru left the village, just over 13 years ago" said Kurenai.

"Great…another long ass seal" muttered Naruto. "I suppose I could take a look at it whenever she gets back from her mission if I'm not on a mission myself. It'll give me a chance to test out Kurama's theory anyways, but hopefully I can find another way to remove that seal without resorting to THAT."

"THAT?" asked everyone but Lee and Hinata.

"I'll show you guys some other time. It was the seal I used to rid Neji of his" replied Naruto.

"Thank you, and I'm sure Anko would be more than grateful as well" said Kurenai.

"That's what I'm afraid of" gulped Naruto.

"Now, about this whole Kyuubi deal…" said Kurenai, getting back on topic.

* * *

A few hours later, Naruto had finally managed to convince Kurenai and Inoichi that having his seal released wasn't exactly a bad thing and that was only after Kurenai bolted out to find Jiraiya (who had been 'researching' at the time she found him…needless to say, Jiraiya would be having nightmares regarding naked women bearing something women shouldn't have and scheduling a few appointments with Inoichi due to a genjutsu Kurenai cast on him. But back to the story…) and drag his perverted and traumatized ass back to confirm that Naruto and the Kyuubi weren't actually a threat.

Finally, he and Hinata were on their way to a training ground, eager to see what the other had learned over the past two years. The two stared out with a simple taijutsu spar and Naruto found himself unable to even land a hit on Hinata, due to the great increase in her own agility and grace that she had developed over the years. Her Jyusho fighting style was really turning into something amazing and while Hinata looked as if she was at home on a dance floor, Naruto was fumbling around like he had two left feet. That didn't mean that Naruto had forgotten anything about his own increased taijutsu abilities, it's just that there was no comparison between his and Hinata's. And add into that the fact that if he were an enemy, every time he was tagged would have resulted in a portion of his own chakra system being completely obliterated; let's just say Hinata was one of the last people you wanted to fight in hand-to-hand combat.

Next up for them was weapons usage and this was where Naruto made up for his less than spectacular performance from their little dance contest previously. While Hinata was no weapons user, she still had maintained some level of proficiency with the standard kunai and even the tanto that she had been awarded upon achieving chunin rank. But compared to Naruto's usage of his sword, she found herself in the same position Naruto did back when they were sparring with taijutsu.

"Wow Naruto-kun, you've gotten really strong. I couldn't keep up with you in that last fight at all" complimented.

"Heh, thanks Hinata-chan. You were really amazing, especially with your taijutsu" replied Naruto, earning a slight blush from Hinata. "So did you learn any amazing jutsu?"

"Well umm…I did learn a few others while you were gone. I may have also developed one or two of my own" said Hinata. "How about you?"

"Well, I really didn't learn as many jutsus as I wish I had. Ero-Sennin wanted me to make my own, but he did teach me how to use water and fire jutsu" replied Naruto.

"You can use water jutsus?" asked Hinata with a perked interest as she received a nod from Naruto. "That's great. It turns out water is my second element."

"Really? Hey, think you can show me one or two?" asked Naruto.

Hinata nodded and walked over towards the stream that flowed through the training ground. "Suiton: Water Whip" the pale-eyed beauty called out and a whip of water began to form around her hand. Lashing out with the water whip, it wrapped around Naruto and with a tug (and as little resistance as possible by Naruto), Hinata pulled Naruto towards her into a quick kiss that left them both giggling afterwards.

"So is your next jutsu something that will get me out of this now wet jacket?" joked Naruto (who's jacket was now a bit wet thanks to Hinata's jutsu), causing Hinata to blush at the thought of Naruto removing his jacket. Still, much to Hinata's satisfaction, Naruto decided to remove the jacket anyways seeing as they were showing off water jutsus. Underneath the jacket, Naruto had a mesh shirt and while Hinata was wishing that there wasn't anything under said jacket, the mesh shirt still hugged Naruto rather tightly and the bright red Hinata could make out the outline of a more muscular Naruto.

While he wasn't stacked, his muscles had developed to the point where they were well-toned and built evenly, thanks to the use of gravity seals that worked every muscle in his body as opposed to just a select few that traditional training weights would. This was due to the gravity seals distributing the increased weight uniformly across Naruto's entire body, thus working every muscle evenly instead of a select few. The poor girl was doing her best to hold herself back from just tearing Naruto's shirt off and exposing the bare prize beneath.

After a few more minutes of fooling around with one another, Hinata decided to show Naruto the most powerful water jutsu she had picked up. Having Naruto take a few (a lot) steps backwards, Hinata performed the most powerful water jutsu she had acquired. "Suiton: Great Waterfall Vortex."

Water began to circle around the young Hyuga before extending outwards in a violent vortex and crashing into the trees at the far end of the training ground. "Woah!" exclaimed Naruto. He had seen that jutsu once before, when Kakashi-sensei used it against Zabuza in the Wave and while he would have to admit that Kakashi's was stronger by far, he was still impressed that Hinata could pull off a powerful water jutsu like that, even though her primary element wasn't water. However, when he looked over at Hinata, Naruto could see she was a bit winded, that last technique of hers requiring a considerable amount of chakra and Hinata was not the one in their relationship with the ungodly chakra reserves. It appeared as if it was his turn to show off a few jutsus while Hinata recovered some of her chakra.

"I only know two more water jutsus besides those two, one's a simple jutsu and the other one's maybe a low B rank jutsu at best" commented Hinata.

"Still, that's amazing that you can do a high rank jutsu like that" replied Naruto. "I'll go while you rest. Ero-Sennin only taught me one basic water jutsu and, but I do have one higher rank water jutsu that I found it in my clan's scrolls…you know, it still feels kind of weird saying that."

Stepping out onto the creek, Naruto prepared his own jutsu. "Suiton: Spiraling Torrent!" The water erupted from beneath Naruto's feet, swirling into a mighty whirlpool that extended outward around the blonde Uzumaki for about 10m, tearing any unfortunate trees that were close enough to the bank of the stream to get caught in Naruto's jutsu from their roots.

Naruto proceeded, moving onto the two original jutsus he made when Ero-Sennin was nagging on him to create his own jutsu (well, only one was created then…the other followed a bit later). He unleashed his Futon: Fox Gale upon a poor, unsuspecting tree, the fox's claws cleaving through the trunk with ease. Following up, Naruto unleashed the fire version of said jutsu, Katon: Fire Fox (a/n: yes, I know…), upon the fallen remains of said tree as the flaming fox ignited the wood into a smoldering inferno.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" exclaimed Naruto, making a clone. "I can even have one of my clones use one version while I use the other." Nodding to his clone, both Narutos used a different version of their foxy jutsu. "Kitsune's Wrath!"

As the two jutsus combined, a large golden fox with multiple tails (this one in particular had 4) formed before engulfing a large area in a golden white flame. Needless to say, now every tree in the area was quaking in their roots.

"_Naruto-kun can actually perform jutsus of different elements with his clones? I've heard that's an extremely difficult task and the only ones I know of who could do something along those lines was the Sandaime and Yondaime Hokages"_ thought Hinata. This was true in that since the chakra was shared between the original and the clones, the elemental attunement of the clone's chakra was synched with the original. Breaking this synchronization, while not impossible, was incredibly difficult and was one of the later milestones in the journey towards true mastery of the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

"Okay Hinata-chan, think you can show me any awesome wind jutsus you've come across?" asked Naruto.

"Most of my wind jutsus I've incorporated into my Jyusho stance" commented Hinata. "Though there is one I really do want to show you."

* * *

Lee sat in a meditative position atop one of the training posts, reflecting on everything that had happened that day between him and Yakumo. First her clan had tried to fake their heiress virtually spitting on the ground in which he walked and then his friends had devised a plan to help the two youthful lovers out.

It was then that Lee felt a hand rest on his shoulders. Turning around, he found that said hand belonged to none other than his spandex-wearing teacher. "Gai-sensei?"

Letting out a held breath, Gai took a seat on one of the training posts next to Lee. "Lee, I heard about what happened regarding you, Yakumo, and Yakumo's clan" spoke Gai. "Every since you brought her along with you to train with almost two years ago, she's displayed a will just as strong as your own. Just like you, she put her mind towards becoming a splendid shinobi, despite the fact that her body was rather weak. Despite what everyone kept telling her, 'you're too weak to become a ninja…you'll just get injured…your body will never withstand the stresses of a ninja's life…', she kept pushing herself and strengthening her body to the point where she could prove all those naysayers wrong and become a shinobi. While even I doubt she'll be more than passable in taijutsu, she's found her specialty in genjutsu, and just like you train taijutsu to the extreme, she's worked diligently to train her genjutsu abilities to the point where they will know no rival."

"Lee, you two are actually a lot alike. Both of you have that strength that drives you forward; no matter what the world throws at you. Both of you have known the hardships that come with the paths that you have chosen. Both of you know what you must continue to do to prove that despite all the doubts, you can in fact become splendid ninja. And with everything, both of you have found comfort and compassion with one another" said Gai. "But, Yakumo's not just any girl. She is the heiress of one of Konoha's noble clans, and as such they do have to make sure that the man she eventually ends up with will be for the best of their clan."

"But I can't just let Yakumo-chan go like that. I've put in too much effort with her just to let her go because her clan says so" replied Lee, tears coming from his eyes. "I care too much for her!"

A small smile appeared on Gai's face. "I know. I haven't seen fires as bright as the two of you since…well I honestly don't think I've seen fires burn as brightly as the two of yours. Which is why…" Gai paused momentarily, building up the suspense. "Which is why you must…SHOW EVERYONE JUST HOW BRIGHT YOUR YOUTHFUL FLAMES CAN BURN AND THAT YOU ARE THE BEST PERSON THERE FOR YAKUMO!"

"Gai-sensei…" said Lee before allowing his entire being to ignite in a brilliant flame of youthful passion. "Yosh! I understand Gai-sensei, I shall do everything in my own power to prove to Yakumo-chan's family that I am the right man for her. And I will never give up, no matter how difficult the task may be!"

"Yes, Lee! That's the spirit! LET YOUR YOUTH BE YOUR GUIDE TO TRUE LOVE!" shouted Gai.

"I WILL, GAI-SENSEI! I WILL MAKE YOU PROUD AND I WILL SHOW THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE JUST HOW BRIGHTLY MY FLAMES CAN BURN WHEN THE ONE I LOVE IS AT STAKE!"

"AND FEAR NOT LEE, I WILL DO WHATEVER I MUST TO ENSURE YOUR YOUTH SHINES EVEN BRIGHTER THAN 10,000 SUNS!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

* * *

On the outskirts of Konoha,

A squad of ANBU was returning from what would be the final mission for two of their members. As of this day, Ice and Rabbit would be returning to the regular jonin forces of the village, as recommended by the Hokage. Since Ice and Rabbit joined the Konoha ANBU Hunter Nin unit nearly three years ago, they had proven to be valuable assets to the village. However, both of them felt that it was time for them to return to the regular forces and that their skills would be better off there.

As they approached the gates of Konoha, a chill ran down Rabbit's spine before all of them noticed a great flame erupt from the village itself, a large wave crash overtop the Hokage Monument with the sun setting directly behind it, and cries of 'Youth' calling out to the very heavens.

With speed that would make even the Yellow Flash envious, Rabbit was already bolting in the opposite direction, away from Konoha and screaming "I'm getting the fuck away from that hellhole before that freaking monstrosity can challenge me to another one of his challenges!"

Ice and the other two ANBU just sweat dropped at this. "And here we go again…" sighed one of the ANBU.

"I wish he would stop doing that. I know Gai can be a little…extreme, but if someone didn't know, they'd think he was actually trying to flee the village and I'd hate to have him marked as a missing-nin, although I honestly can understand" commented the other unnamed ANBU.

All three ANBU were darting off in pursuit of their AWAL comrade.

About 30 minutes later, the team of ANBU passed through the village gates, two of them dragging a bound Rabbit, while Ice carried the rather large sword that Rabbit wielded.

As they arrived at the ANBU HQ, a few agents noticed the bound Rabbit and one spoke up. All the ANBU present knew what was up as this was not a first time occurrence. "Yeah, I know. That last one really was like nothing else" commented the ANBU referring to the genjutsu, which had been dubbed as the Eternal Passionate Flames of 1000 Setting Suns of Youth. This one in particular appeared to be even more devastating than the original Ocean Sunset of Eternal Flaming Youth, if that was even possible (and shockingly it was).

* * *

"About time you two showed up!" shouted Ino as everyone's attention turned to the couple who had just walked into Barbe-Q.

"Naruto? Is that really you?" asked Chouji, earning a grin from the blonde who had just walked into the restaurant accompanied by a certain Hyuga.

Looking around, Naruto spied everyone (except Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei) sitting at the table. Shino was next to Fu. Shikamaru had been dragged there by Temari, who was now done with the preparations for the chunin exams. Apparently they no longer were keeping their relationship secret from Ino. Neji was with Tenten and Lee was with Yakumo, a rare moment that the group's newest couple. Kiba and Akamaru were already trying to contain themselves at the delicious smell of grilling meat and Sakura was next to Ino, with a seat on Ino's side and two open for Naruto and Hinata. The last two at the table were Kurenai and Asuma, which had surprised Naruto a bit that they had actually shown, but he wasn't complaining.

Naruto and Hinata took their seats in the open seats next to Sakura. "Looks like everyone's here…well except Teme." A small tick mark appeared on Sakura's head. She wasn't mad at anyone present, just the certain scarecrow that was keeping her Sasuke-kun away from her.

"Well, now everyone's here" said Asuma, a few seconds later as he pointed to the door where a young man, who could easily pass for a woman, was standing.

"Haku?" asked a pleasantly surprised Naruto, getting a nod from Haku. Haku was wearing a turquoise coat with a pair of loose pants. It was kind of like what he wore when he and Naruto first met back in the Land of Waves, but it was tailored more for civilian life, not shinobi life. By now, Haku was 16 years in age and he still retained a rather feminine look, something that was apparently characteristic of all Yukis whether they be male or female. "So does this mean the ANBU gave you a bit of a break?"

"Actually, today was the end of the last mission Zabuza-sama and I did as part of them. We have been discussing it for some time and we are rejoining the regular forces" said Haku as he took the seat next to Ino. "Hello, Ino-chan." Ino let out a slight blush at Haku's warm smile to her.

"_You know, Haku's actually kind of cute. And he seems really sweet too. Hmm…I wonder if he's single"_ thought Ino, letting out a very faint giggle that didn't go unnoticed by Sakura. Sakura whispered something into Ino's ear and the two of them giggled a bit, confusing most of the guys at the table.

"It looks like your party has arrived, may I take your orders?" asked the waitress. Going around, the orders were taken and conversation began with many asking for a story of what Naruto's trips with Jiraiya were like. The one that they found most interesting was Naruto's little escapade in the Land of Snow, seeing it came as a pleasant surprise to Konoha when an ambassador from Yuki showed up at the gates of Konoha requesting to negotiate an alliance and trade agreement. It was known that ever since the takeover of Yuki by Kazahana Doto that Yuki was considered hostile to Konoha as Konoha had sent some aid to fight Doto's takeover.

A few other stories regarding missions were told. Probably another one that reached right up there as one of the more exciting stories was told by Team 8 where they had been assigned to escort a prince by the name of Tsuki Michiru during the final leg of his world tour; however, upon returning home to the Crescent Moon Kingdom, they had found themselves in the middle of a coup d' etat where the current advisor had attempted to overthrow the current regime out of greed and a strong desire for the nations bountiful wealth.

Thanks to the actions of Team 8, the coup was ground to a halt and the leader, Shabadaba, and his three hired shinobi, Ishidate, Kongo, and Karenbana were defeated and brought to justice. They had proved to be tricky opponents at first, but once their strange abilities were analyzed, the fight against the three hired ninja proved not to be much trouble for Team 8.

Team 8 wasn't the only team with their own stories and Team Gai had one or two of their own, in which Naruto had actually already heard one night while they were all getting dinner at the resort town on the other side of the continent. This mission involved a mission to Hoshigakure to investigate the disappearance of a strange star in which the ninja of that village drew some strange chakra from to augment their own abilities. For some reason, the training of this star's chakra had been ended by the Sandaime Hoshikage, but was ordered resumed by the current leader of the village, Akihoshi, who in reality was looking to claim the star's power for his own. Team Gai managed to defeat Akihoshi after he had taken in too much and became overloaded with the star's power, returning the star to the village but not before revealing the reason why the training was ended in the first place. After realizing what the star did to them, the village of Hoshigakure resolved themselves to become as strong as the Five Great Villages without the aid of the star's power.

Team 10 would have told a story but Chouji was too busy inhaling Barbe-Q, Ino was to infatuated with a certain ice user that she was sitting next to as well as some talking with Sakura, and Shikamaru just didn't feel like saying anything despite Temari's urging.

As dinner finished up, Kurenai stood up, wanting to make an announcement to not just her team, but all the others present as well.

"I want to thank you for the lovely evening tonight. It was a wonderful way to spend my last night as your sensei" announced Kurenai.

"…What?!" shouted everyone after letting what Kurenai was about to say sink in. The only three who didn't seem surprised were Sakura, Shikamaru, and Hinata. Shino could also probably be mistakenly lumped into that group, but even by the Aburame standards, he was surprised.

"You can't, Kurenai-sensei!" shouted Kiba. "Why are you leaving?!

"It's not like I want to leave, but I've been ordered by Tsunade-sama. I will still be around if any of you want to visit, but it won't be as sensei for some time. You see, I've just recently discovered that I am pregnant and will be on maternity leave for quite some time" announced Kurenai. One of things Tsunade stressed on the most was pulling a kunoichi from duty in the early stages of pregnancy, as early as a month or two, as the battlefield was no place for a soon-to-be mother.

"Really?!" squealed Ino. Kurenai smiled. "Who's the father?"

"That would be me…I hope. I am the father, right?" joked Asuma as he stood up next to Kurenai.

"Of course you are" giggled Kurenai.

"Congratulations you two!" cheered Ino and a few others. "So does this mean you two are getting married?"

"Asuma actually proposed to me a month ago, but we've been waiting for the right time to announce it. As to when the wedding's going to be, we've decided to have it after the baby arrives" said Kurenai. "And yes, you are all invited."

* * *

"I'm afraid this is where we must call an end to this most youthful evening, Yakumo-chan" said Lee as the group exited from Barbe-Q.

"I just wish my uncle was so oblivious to see what I see in you. I swear when I get home, I'm going to pound some sense into him for that stunt he pulled on you earlier" replied Yakumo.

"No, please don't" said Lee. "I will prove to him that I am worthy of being with you. That I swear." Lee smiled a glistening smile while holding up his hand in the 'Nice Guy Pose'. "And until then, we will just have to have faith that our friends will help us out whenever we want to get together."

"I know. I just hope it won't be too long before he sees that you really are an amazing person" said Yakumo, giving Lee a soft kiss goodnight before meeting up with Kurenai to return to her home.

"Don't worry Lee, if there's anything you need, just ask" Naruto said as he rested his hand on Lee's shoulder. His other hand was in the hands of a certain Hyuga girl.

"We're your friends Lee, and Yakumo is our friend as well. We want the two of you to be happy and whatever happens, we'll help the two of you out no matter what" agreed Hinata. Behind the two of them was the rest of the Konoha 15 (minus Sasuke, who was the latest victim of a certain one-eyed jonin), giving Lee a bunch of smiles and thumbs up.

"Thank you, everyone" said Lee as he began to tear up a little. As that happened everyone began praying that Gai wouldn't show up and the two would cast that horrific genjutsu that they did earlier in the day.

"And once again, it's just us" said Naruto to his girlfriend as everyone else departed to go about their own business for the rest of the evening.

* * *

_**Omake: Aftermath of the Eternal Passionate Flames of 1000 Setting Suns of Youth**_

It was a clam day in Konoha with clear skies and everyone going about their daily business. It was one of those days where no one expected anything terrible and earth shattering to happen. Well, today was not one of those days.

Cries of youth were soon heard throughout the entire village and before everyone knew it, they were engulfed in a raging inferno of eternal passion. Thankfully, the flames were soon extinguished by a massive wave of raging youth that swept over the entire village, crashing down upon the village from over the Hokage Monument.

As the water settled, the intense rays of the setting sun swept over the village, bathing the village in the most intense rays of youthful energy that the universe had ever experienced.

Once everyone recovered from the horrific genjutsu that had just befallen their village, everyone found themselves wearing some sort of spandex tracksuit. Upon further inspection, everyone in the village realized that their hair had also been styled in a glossy bowl cut and their eyebrows had become incredibly bushy.

* * *

_**Jutsu**_

Suiton: Water Whip; **Rank:** C; **Users:** Hinata, Haku, and probably a few other water users

Suiton: Great Waterfall Vortex; **Rank:** A-; **Users:** Zabuza, Kakashi, Hinata

Suiton: Tearing Torrent: An Uzumaki clan jutsu where water erupts from the base of the user's feet and surrounds them with a mighty whirlpool of water, blasting anyone within a 10m radius. This jutsu possesses a great deal of power that will virtually destroy anything within its range. **Rank:** A; **Users: **Naruto

Katon: Fire Fox: The fire version of Futon: Fox Gale where Naruto conjures a fox-shaped mass of fire that ignites anything it touches. ** Rank: **B-; **Users: **Naruto

Kitsune's Wrath: A combination jutsu with Futon: Fox Gale and Katon: Fire Fox. A multi-tailed fox of flame and wind is formed that engulfs its target and the surrounding area in a powerful golden-white flame. This jutsu requires exceptional skills with a shadow clone to perform. Also, the more tails on the fox that is conjured, the more powerful the jutsu. **Rank:** A; **Users: **Naruto

Eternal Passionate Flames of 1000 Setting Suns of Youth: The ultimate genjutsu in existence. The Youthfulness exerted by this jutsu more than even the gods themselves can comprehend. No one knows how to counter this and should it rear it's Youthful and bushy-browed head, all you can do is embrace it...embrace the youth with a bowl-cut haircut, bushy eyebrows, and a spandex jumpsuit of a youthful color (preferably green). **Rank:** SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS (and no my 'S' key was not stuck); **Users:** Lee, Gai

* * *

_**Author Notes**_

**Okay, so quite a few things here as I said I would explain where things began for Book 3. Also, as some of you may have noticed, I attempted an Omake with this chapter. While it was relatively short, I do plan on adding them every now and then.**

**1) Just a reference on the current time in-story. It is approximately late-April in Konoha. Everyone's current age is: Naruto/Sakura/Sasuke/Hinata/Kiba/Shino/Fu/Shikamar u/Chouji/Ino (15); Neji/Lee/Tenten/Haku (16); and Yakumo (late 14, almost 15). Sai will come in as 16.**

**2) Yakumo. For those of you who don't know, Kurama Yakumo appeared in a filler arc in the pre-time skip anime (episode 203 I think). Also, the demon that manifested within her subconciousness is not gone, just sealed away and isolated from her own genjutsu abilities. This will eventually cause a bit of a problem in the future. While most of her training was with her genjutsu, she did train her body physically to get it up to at least acceptable by shinobi standards, but her physical progression not going to be much more than the basic. Instead she will have focused mainly on her genjutsu, kind of like Lee and his taijutsu.**

**3) Pairings: Current pairings are NaruHina, SasuSaku, ShinoFu, NejiTen, ShikaTema, IrukaAyame, LeeYakumo, and KurenaiAsuma. LeeYakumo is the one that I mentioned is having problems. There is one more that formed during Book 2's time and I will begin to develop the next one here pretty soon. I have pairing ideas for pretty much everyone, although I'm still not entirely certain on a few.**

**4) I've had some people ask me about lemons in Book 3 and I do intend to put a few lemony scenes. They will be clearly marked when they appear and won't appear for awhile yet, but please do realize that as the characters of this book mature, so will the contents of this story. Any lemons in this story will most likely be with the NaruHina and SasuSaku pairings as those are the two main pairings (and possible a JiraiyaTsunade one drunken night).**

**5) Asuma. I will not guarantee Asuma's fate in this story. I have the whole Hidan Kakuzu thing planned out completely different, so no…Asuma will not die by Hidan or Kakuzu's hand. However, I am still uncertain as to what will happen after that. I am leaning slightly towards him dying of old age, but I will guarantee that he WILL be alive to see his son born and to get married at the very least.**

**6) Skills. Okay, so everyone has gotten much stronger since the end of Book 1 and I'll outline where their abilities and strengths lie. This will only give kind of a brief overview and their actuall skills will be revealed at points throughout the story.**

_**Konoha 16**_

**Naruto**** (A rank). Specialties lie in fuinjutsu and kenjutsu. Also has a strong ninjutsu arsenal. His primary ninjutsus still remain the Rasengan (and its variants) and any variation of the Shadow Clone Jutsu, although he does have many more jutsus under his belt as compared to cannon. Likewise, he also has full control of Kurama's powers. Pushes S- rank when using Sage-mode and easily S+ when using Kurama's powers. His primary element is wind, which is also extremely strong and well refined. He also is able to use fire and water elements.**

**Sasuke**** (A rank). Specialty lies in ninjutsu. Also has strong taijutsu and kenjutsu skills. Proficient in genjutsu with most of his genjutsus being Sharingan-based. Sasuke also has some fuinjutsu skills (after all, he was trained by one of the greatest seal master's students), but nowhere near the level that Naruto is. His main elements are lightning and fire, both of which are very well refined, and he is able to use water and earth to a high level of proficiency. For those of you wondering, Sasuke's genjutsu abilities are below those of Itachi's, but his ninjutsu is better (minus Itachi's Mangekyo).**

**Sakura**** (A- rank). Specialty lies in medical ninjutsu. Her skills as a medic are about where they were at the time of the Fourth Shinobi War in cannon. She is also strong at genjutsu, having spent a good deal of time with Kurenai and studying her genjutsu during the past 2-1/2 years. Taijutsu is about where it was in cannon, with it relying mainly on chakra-enhanced strength and her ability to dodge with relative ease. Her main element is fire with some training in her second element (earth). She does possess some skill in fuinjutsu, primarily dealing with medical seals.**

**Kiba**** (B+ rank). Specialties lie in his clan-based taijutsu and tracking. Kiba's one of the characters who truly has come a long way since Book 1 and has taken his training seriously over the past few years. His current synchronization with Akamaru is nearing perfection, and he has even begun to improve some of his own techniques as well as develop some new ones. His primary element is fire, and he has begun looking into his second element (lightning). He has incorporated fire into some of his main attacks**

**Shino**** (B+ rank). Shino has always been one of the stronger members of the Konoha 11 (for cannon) and 16 (for this story), except everyone just seems to forget about him, which really turns out to be a big mistake on their behalf. His specialty lies in insect-based ninjutsu and he is also an intelligent thinker and effective tactician (not as much as Shikamaru, but most definitely second). Like Kiba, he has begun to develop his own jutsus (finding the clan jutsus to be a bit limiting). His primary element is earth and he has delved a bit into his secondary element (water).**

**Hinata**** (A- rank). Specialty lies in close combat. Over the years, she has refined her wind element and Jyusho fighting style to the point where she is probably the last person (besides maybe an enraged Tsunade) who you want to fight in close combat. Her primary element is wind, which has been incorporated, for the most part, into her Jyusho. She does possess some mid-ranged wind and also some water (her second element is water) to supplement her fighting style. She does possess some knowledge in fuinjutsu beyond the basics. Lastly, Hinata does possess some basic medical skills, but is nowhere near to Sakura in terms of medical knowledge.**

**Shikamaru**** (B rank). The most intelligent member of the Konoha 16. While he has learned and developed some skills revolving around his clan's Shadow Release* techniques, his strength lies in his mind and his ability to formulate complex and valid strategies. His primary element is fire which he can use effectively to create light and shadows to aid him in combat. While he is B rank, he should be treated as a higher rank because of his mind.**

**Chouji**** (B- rank). Specializes in using his clan's techniques through the use of their Body Propagation. His specialties are in close quarters combat. His primary element is earth in which he can use to augment his own clan-related techniques.**

**Ino**** (B-/C+ rank). While Ino may be the weakest member of the team in terms of open combat, her true skills lie in interrogation and mind jutsus, thanks to her clan's bloodline, Mind Walking. Under the tutelage of Anko and her father, Ino's become a top-notch interrogator who will likely surpass her father in skill one day. Her primary element is water and she is also well versed in poisons and even a few assassination and stealth techniques (thanks to Anko). While her rank may be low, that's because the rank would only take into account her skills in open combat.**

**Lee**** (B rank). Specializes entirely in taijutsu with little to no abilities in genjutsu or ninjutsu due to a medical condition that caused him to be born without the ability to mold chakra. Despite his disability, Lee is a top notch fighter in close combat and out of everyone in the Konoha 16, is the best in taijutsu. Also, don't let him near any alcohol as he has been blessed with the youthful gift of the Drunken Fist style of taijutsu. Lastly, despite his inability to use genjutsu, Lee is one of the only two people alive who can cast the ultimate genjutsu: ****Eternal Passionate Flames of 1000 Setting Suns of Youth****.**

**Tenten**** (B rank): Specializes in weapon usage and is the most skilled member at using any sort of ninja tool (with the exception of the sword). She has also studied in some of the techniques of Uzumaki Mito which are not limited to those of Uzumaki blood. Tenten is well versed in fuinjutsu, second only to Naruto in the Konoha 16, although the gap in sealing knowledge between her and Naruto is quite large.**

**Neji**** (A- rank): Specializes in taijutsu and close combat. However, Neji has not limited himself to his clan's techniques and constantly seeks new ways to incorporate jutsus into his fighting style and to improve the clan's fighting stlye. As such, he does possess some rather advanced earth jutsus as well as incorporating earthen chakra into some of his Jyuken derived jutsus. He does have a secondary element of wind, but it will most likely become strong enough to the point where he can accomplish what Hinata can with her wind element (actual destruction of tenketsu).**

**Haku**** (A rank): A very skilled shinobi who specializes in ninjutsus that utilize his bloodline (Hyoton). Being trained by Momoichi Zabuza, Haku is also well versed in kenjutsu. Haku's two primary elements are wind and water, which he can actually combine to utilize the sub-element ice.**

**Fu**** (B rank): The jinchuriki of the Nanabi. One ability she possesses as a result of simply being a jinchuriki is the ability to fly by utilizing wings that she can subconsciously grow from her lower/mid back. She then can use these wings to increase her speed and striking powers or as leverage when fighting in close quarters. She has a primary element of lightning and a secondary element of wind.**

**Yakumo ****(B rank): Possesses her clan's kekkei genkai that allows her to cast extremely powerful genjutsu that can actually trick the brain into believing that it's reality. Out of everyone in the Konoha 16, she is the most powerful genjutsu user; however, she is very weak in taijutsu and close combat. While her primary element is fire, she rarely utilizes ninjutsu as her genjutsu has proven much more effective.**

**Sai**** (B+ rank): The final member of the Konoha 16 and a member of Konoha's ROOT division of ANBU. Specializes more in infiltration and espionage and his fighting style revolves primarily around his drawing-based jutsus. He will make an appearance within the next few chapters.**

***For the purposes of this story, I am considering the Nara's, Yamanaka's, and Akimichi's abilities as a bloodline, Shadow Release and Body Propagation. **

_**Others**_

**Hatake Kakashi**** (S rank): The Copy Ninja of Konoha or Sharingan Kakashi, who is believed to have copied over 1000 jutsus. **

**Jiraiya**** (S+ rank): One of the Sannin and Toad Sage of Mt. Myoboku. He is renowned as a seal master, with the only person in Konoha who might be better than him in fuinjutsu being Naruto. Also, with the acquisition of a perfect sage-mode, Jiraiya is most likely the strongest of the three Sannin.**

**Tsunade**** (S+ rank): One of the Sannin, Godaime Hokage, Slug Princess, and world's foremost expert in medicine. She also has perfect chakra control and superhuman strength that make her a deadly force to her enemies (and perverts).**

**Iruka**** (A- rank): A newer jonin. Specializes in barrier fuinjutsus and also water-style ninjutsus. **

**Wow…long A/N. There may be a chance I missed something. If I realize that I did, I'll mention it next chapter.**

**Please Review!**


	73. Dance and a New Mission

_**Chapter 73: Dance and a New Mission**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters.**_

_**Posted: June 27, 2013**_

"Well, you were right Naruto. Konohamaru just got that jutsu down this morning" commented Iruka as he and his former student were enjoying a ramen lunch.

"I told you he'd get it down in no time" replied Naruto. "So does this mean that you're going to let him take a C-rank mission?"

"Well, I kind of promised I would and I've already talked with the Hokage and got one reserved for us. It's a simple mission, but it's a starting point for him" said Iruka. "It's a delivery mission to a village a few days away. They are apparently having some trouble with common criminals and have ordered a sizable portion of supplies for the local law enforcements to deal with the criminals, but they are afraid the bandits will try to rob the supplies on the way there and use them against them."

"With the number estimates they've sent us, I shouldn't have any issues with the bandits alone and perhaps it is time I give them some combat experience" said Iruka. "At least it's something that I can handle with relative ease and should be able to respond in time if something goes wrong. But I'm still a bit worried that they're too young. It's only been two months since they've become genin."

"Wow, I'm impressed" commented Naruto. "I was on the breaking point for a more challenging mission after the first week and it only took about a month before well, you were there."

"You know, thinking back on your first C-rank mission doesn't make me feel any better. I may be a jonin now, but even I'm not sure I would be able to defeat someone like Momoichi Zabuza" said Iruka.

"And that was a one in a million chance encounter" responded Naruto. "The odds of you running into someone like Zabuza and Haku are nothing. Even if you do run into a missing ninja, I know you're strong enough to take care of everyone."

"You know, I would normally expect something like that coming from your mouth to unnerve me a bit, but it actually kind of helps" smiled Iruka.

"Don't worry, you'll do fine on your mission. I'd like to say I'll see you when I get back, but I've only got a few more days before Baachan puts me back on mission duty" replied Naruto as he gulped down the remainder of his ramen. "Well, I'm off. I've got to go find something to wear for my date tomorrow night."

* * *

It was evening in Konoha, and a certain blonde Uzumaki was whistling as he walked through the streets towards the home of his date for the evening. Despite his objections when he first agreed to this, years ago, Naruto actually found himself excited for the evening. While he was no master at dancing, he had picked up quite a few steps from his lessons in Yukigakure from Princess Koyuki and his own ravenous fan-girls, who barely gave him a moment to rest. Still, while the lessons were just plain brutal at times, they had done their job and now the blonde quickly picked up his pace, wanting to arrive sooner.

Currently, Naruto was dressed in a loose black suit with an open-collared dark red shirt (the same color as his cloak). He personally would have liked orange, but somehow he figured he'd get a jyuken strike or two for trying to pull that off, and besides red was a good color for the dance floor. He has also managed to find a pair of comfortable dancing shoes which he spent all night the previous night breaking in. All of this he got the previous day from Fazaku Michigo, the first clothing merchant to actually accept Naruto's business with fairness and the provider of not only his old orange jacket, but also that awesome kimono he got for the festival before leaving.

As he arrived at the Hyuga compound, Naruto was greeted by Neji. "I see that you can still manage to clean up rather well" said Neji as he scanned the blonde over. "That dress will do just fine for your night. Just enough that you can manage to present yourself well, yet loose enough that you shouldn't have a problem moving. And if I'm correct Michigo-san's work?" Naruto nodded. "Good, then you should have absolutely no problems. But still, you couldn't do something about that rat's nest of hair you have?"

"If it's anything like his father's trying to groom it is near impossible" commented Hiashi as he walked to greet Naruto. "I remember trying to help him out at his wedding and if I'm not mistaking, we only succeeded in making his hair even messier…and that was after about 3 gallons of styling gel."

"Hello Hiashi-san" bowed Naruto in respect to the father of his date.

"And good evening to you as well, Naruto. My daughter will be out momentarily" commented Hiashi.

"Naruto-kun" called out a sweet voice from the direction of the home after a few moments and Naruto finally caught a glimpse of Hinata. Naruto's beautiful girlfriend was dressed in a long dark purple dress that was frilled from the waist down to allow for the movement she would need on the dance floor. Unlike the dress from their first time to the Flaming Leaf Inn, which had now been renamed the Dancing Flame, Hinata's dress was a little more open than last time as the shoulders were completely exposed with the exception of the straps and it cropped down to just below her neck. Naruto mentally groaned as it still wasn't quite cropped low enough to show her cleavage, but still it was a step forward from last time, and showed off her figure rather well until the dress fell straight down after her hips, and that was enough to satisfy Naruto's eyes for the moment.

"_Oh yeah, definitely looking forward to tonight"_ thought Naruto. _"That reminds me, I'm cutting you off for tonight, Kurama."_

"_**Oh sure, take all the fun for yourself…"**_groaned Kurama.

"_Really? You're going to be like that?"_ replied Naruto, rolling his eyes.

"_**Nah, I'm just joking. Have some fun. Although you could let me take over for lunch tomorrow. I've been hearing good things about this yakitori shop in town"**_ replied Kurama, who had picked up a strong liking to yakitori ever since Naruto let him out for a bit during his trip.

"_I'll think about it"_ replied Naruto before cutting the mental link between him and Kurama and turning to his date. "You look amazing tonight, Hinata-chan."

"T-thank you, Naruto-kun" blushed Hinata.

Taking each other's hand, Naruto and Hinata left the Hyuga estate towards the Dancing Flame. The couple made their way through the village, during a warm late spring evening. Everyone was going about their own business, either not noticing the young couple walking amongst them or stopping and 'awing' at some of the memories that the older generations had of their own young romances.

As they arrived at the location of the new Dancing Flame, Naruto was amazed at how exactly the place changed. It had gone from a rather ordinary and plain building that kind of just blended into the surrounding blocks to a warm building that just drew attention. Overall, the building was in a flame shape with the entrance from the street being the tip of the flame. In the middle of the building, there was a cut out resembling a smaller flame, open to the atmosphere. This was the dance floor and it was colored blue with the building being a mixture of orange and red, helping to give the impression that the restaurant itself was a flame dancing on top of a candle.

As Naruto and Hinata entered through the main entrance, they were led down a warmly lit hallway/entryway until the room opened up into the main dining room. Like the entire restaurant, the dining room was warm and lively with it wrapping around the dance floor with the entire room open to the dance floor, and as such the evening air.

"Wow, this place is just…" Naruto was left speechless at the place he'd be spending his evening with the most beautiful girl in Konoha.

"Neji-niisan was right. This place is incredible" commented Hinata. However, Neji was also right about the place being Konoha's biggest hotspot as every table was filled and there were even quite a few people sitting on couches along the side of the restaurant.

"Well look who it is. Welcome to the Dancing Flame, Hyuga-san and Uzumaki-san" greeted the familiar face of Rekinu Satonara.

"This place is just simply amazing! –ttebayo!" exclaimed Naruto.

"It is, isn't it. And thankfully, it was just what my husband needed to pull him out of the slump he was in from seeing the old restaurant demolished" chirped Rekinu. "Anyways, I assume you're here for the reservation Hyuga-san made in your name a few months ago?"

"Yes please" replied Naruto.

"Very well, let me go and see if your table is ready and I'll be right back with you" said Rekinu as she went to check on the table reserved for Naruto and Hinata.

"This is going to be wonderful Naruto-kun" said Hinata after she took a look around and held onto Naruto's arm.

"You know, when I first heard about this idea, it was probably the last thing I wanted to do. After all, I was afraid I would embarrass you dancing and stuff, but now…I can't wait!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Your table will be ready in a few moments" said Rekinu as she returned. "While we wait, there are a few policies that I believe the two of you are unfamiliar with. The first is that while our dress code is not as strict as it used to be, we do have certain expectations from our guests. And fortunately, you two have no issues there. What you're both wearing is perfectly fine. Second is that this is a dine and dance establishment. You're free to do both, but that leads me into my third point. Since patrons typically spend a good deal of time here as a result of our dance floor, and from a business standpoint, we can't have our table just acting as some place to set your coats and bags, you will be asked to vacate your table after 90 minutes to make room for other guests. You will still be free to enjoy our dance floor and any seating you may find on the deck directly surrounding the dance floor and 90 minutes will be more than enough for you to enjoy your food."

"We understand" said Naruto and Hinata.

"Also, in an attempt to increase the restaurant's clientele, we have drastically lowered prices. It's 600 ryo ($60) a person and that includes an appetizer, a main course, desert, access to the dance floor, and a drink. Unfortunately, we do not allow those under 18 to drink, even if they are chunin rank as this restaurant serves both shinobi and civilian alike. So you will have to wait a few years before you can sample our wine selections."

"That's fine I suppose." Smiling, Naruto and Hinata followed Rekinu around the restaurant towards the back of the dance floor to a table for two that was seated up against a large glass window and had a good look at the dance floor opposite the window. The window itself gave a gorgeous look over the forests behind the restaurant and seeing as it was getting later in the evening, the moon was also slightly visible through the window in the evening sky.

"Now, here is our menu. As I told you before we left, our son was on a tour to the western continents to pick up some recipes. Our menu contains a mix of western recipes and traditional ones, both are very delicious. Your server will be around momentarily to get your orders" said Rekinu before leaving the couple to their thoughts.

Naruto and Hinata looked through the menus, discussing the dish choices with one another. Thankfully, for the recipes that neither were familiar with (primarily the western ones), there was a description of the dish underneath. After a few moments, the waiter came around to collect their orders.

"Umm I'll have the gyoza (Japanese/traditional) for an appetizer. I do want to try this agnollotti with cheese and beef stuffing" said Hinata, going with a comfortable appetizer, yet trying something a little different for the entre. "And I'll have some green tea to drink."

The waiter took Hinata's order and turned to Naruto as the blonde gave his. "I'll have the miso and onion soup…"

"_I should have known. It's the closest they have to ramen here" _thought Hinata.

"And I'll go with this balsamic-honey glazed salmon" said Naruto, going with something similar to what he ordered the first time, only from the looks of it a western interpretation of the dish. "And I guess I'll have tea to drink as well."

"Very well, and for desert?" asked the waiter.

"Oh that's easy. Two slices of your cheesecake" chirped Naruto, remembering that from the first time they had eaten here (or rather at the old place). Thankfully, the cheesecake desert that the Flaming Leaf Inn was so well known for was carried over from the previous restaurant. The waiter nodded and walked away with their orders, returning with their tea a few minutes later.

Their food arrived maybe 20 minutes later after Naruto and Hinata had finished sharing some more of their stories from the two years they were apart. Naruto had told Naruto about the resort town he and Jiraiya had stayed in, and Hinata was most certainly interested in going there someday with Naruto after everything Naruto told her about that place. She was also intrigued by the stories that Naruto had from the Land of Iron, especially all of Hiro's attempts to out-eat Naruto at ramen which gave her a laugh or two. Thanks to the blonde, Hiro's Uzumaki ramen addiction was kicked into overdrive and he was able to eat two dozen bowls by the time Naruto was finished with him…not quite Naruto-level, but two dozen bowls of ramen would give an Akimichi a good run for their money.

Overall, the food did not disappoint. It was exceptional and the best thing Naruto had since he left Konoha (except perhaps for the ramen made by Kairi in the Land of Iron) and Hinata was lost in western-style pasta that she had chosen. Desert was the last thing after they were done with their entrees and as revenge for the last time, Hinata had snatched up both slices of cheesecake before Naruto had a chance to do the same, proceeding to tease her blonde boyfriend for a few minutes before falling victim to Naruto's own Puppy Dog Eyes Jutsu (still nowhere near as powerful as Hinata's).

The dinner may have been delicious, but the time had come for Naruto and Hinata to do what they truly came here for and that was to dance the night away in each other's arms.

Walking out onto the dance floor, they were greeted with a fresh spring breeze as they found their place amongst the other dancers on the open-aired dance floor.

The next song began playing and slowly, Naruto took Hinata's hand in his own while placing the other one on her waist as Hinata placed hers on his shoulder. A few moments later, and it was Hinata who began to lead, considering that she was probably the more experienced of them even after Naruto's lessons at the hands of the Yukigakure girls.

It was one of Hinata's wildest dreams come true, dancing around with her love under a star-filled sky. And as she felt Naruto finally take the lead, she was able to rest her own head against Naruto's shoulder and drift away into her own fantasies.

"_Mmm…Naruto-kun. He really is pretty good at this. I'll need to thank Princess Koyuki for helping Naruto-kun"_ thought Hinata.

"You enjoying yourself, Hime?" asked Naruto.

"Oh very much so" replied Hinata.

They stayed for a few more songs before vacating the dance floor and taking a breather on the back porch of the restaurant.

"It really is beautiful tonight" commented Hinata.

"It is, and that's not the only thing that's beautiful" charmed Naruto, coming up from behind Hinata before leaning on the railing directly next to her and allowing Hinata to rest up against him. "You know, being away for two years made me realize something, but it was tonight that made me realize just how true that is."

"And what is that?" asked Hinata, hoping Naruto was going to say what she thought he was building up to.

"Being away for that time and being here with you tonight has made me realize it is true, that I do love you, Hinata-chan."

Now, two things would most likely happen here. The first was that Hinata would go completely red and faint, but thankfully that was not the case. Thankfully, her blush stopped at a warm light red and she managed to throw herself into Naruto's arms, pressing her lips firmly against his. It was official, Naruto knew her feelings for him, which is what ignited their relationship, and now Naruto had confirmed his feelings for her.

* * *

Tsunade was wiping a tear away from her eye as she looked up from the crystal ball, which had somehow been focused on a certain couple enjoying the joys of young love.

"So how's it going?" called out a white-haired man from the window.

"Can't you ever use the door Jiraiya?" said the irritated Hokage.

"I'm a ninja, so no. Anyways, there's something important that I need to discuss with you" said Jiraiya. "It regards Orochimaru."

Sighing and putting the crystal ball away, Tsunade slipped into Hokage mode. "What do you have?"

My spy network has located one of his bases. It's located just south of the Land of Tea in the Land of Seas" said Jiraiya. "We are pretty sure it is one of his major bases and one of the two we are aware of that is responsible for Orochimaru's research regarding bloodlines."

Tsunade pulled out a book that contained the pending missions waiting to be assigned and turned to the C-rank mission section. "Hmm, I wonder."

"What's that, Tsunade?"

"It's a C-rank mission request from the Land of Seas. They've reported multiple disappearances of fishermen and have asked us to send a team to investigate into the matter. All they want is to locate the disappearances of their fishermen and then they would go from there. I was actually going to give this to Anko's team in a few days after they return back from their current mission, but…"

"So you think the disappearances are linked to Orochimaru?" asked Jiraiya.

"It wouldn't be the first time. If this mission really does involve Orochimaru, then it should be A rank, S rank if Orochimaru himself is encountered" said Tsunade. "How certain are you that one of Orochimaru's bases are in the Land of Sea?"

"I'm almost positive that my spy network has come across one of him major bases" replied Jiraiya. Tsunade thought for a moment before pulling out another book and flipping to a few pages.

"I see" replied Tsunade. "What is he up to? He's been quiet for too long and I don't have a good feeling about this."

"I also should remind you that he has an Uzumaki girl in his custody. Whether she's a cohort or a prisoner, I do not know" said Jiraiya. "You know because of that, Naruto's going to want in on any mission dealing with Orochimaru."

"Yeah, he's set on finding the remains of the Uzumaki clan, the closest thing he has to family and he knows Orochimaru has her" said Tsunade. "I'll think on it and form the teams tomorrow, have them set out the next day."

* * *

It was rather late, nearly midnight and later than any time Hiashi had allowed Hinata out before he left. For Hinata, the only way this evening could have honestly been better, was if she had a ring on her finger, but even she realized that was still quite a few years off. Still, Naruto had actually said that he loved her directly to her face and she couldn't be happier.

Naruto was relishing in the feeling of having Hinata close to him as the two of them walked through the nighttime air. A huge weight had been taken off of his shoulders when he told Hinata he loved her and that she practically threw herself at him. He figured that she wouldn't reject it, but anything like that was always a bit nerve-wracking, especially for someone who hadn't known what love truly was for the first 12 years of his life. He did love her with all his heart and Naruto would do whatever it took to keep his princess safe, including suddenly pushing her out of the way of a random tiger/lion/beast-thing that suddenly pounced upon the spot where they were standing.

"Naruto!" shouted Hinata as she landed on her feet, quickly raising her guard as Naruto did the same and reestablished the mental-link with Kurama.

"**Hey Kit, this was earlier than I expected. I thought I wouldn't be talking to you until late in the morning after the two of you woke up in the same bed and after mating"** said Kurama, making Naruto blush.

"_Now's not the time, you Ero-Kitsune! Some freak of a lion-thingy just attacked us out of the blue!"_ shouted Naruto as Kurama's senses synched with Naruto's.

Naruto and Hinata quickly went back-to-back as five more lions surrounded them.

"What the hell is this?!" replied Naruto as one of the lions pounced towards them. Not having a kunai or any sort of weapon on him to fend off the beast, Naruto resorted to an old-fashion Rasengan, causing the beast to suddenly tear apart into…ink?

Hinata struck with a quick wind-infused palm, slicing directly down the middle of one of the lions as it to collapsed into ink. As they finished off the remaining 4 lions, both Naruto and Hinata sensed a negative emotion/chakra signature (depending on who it was) coming from down the alleyway to their side. When they looked, they saw a boy sitting on top of the roof who had skin that was easily paler than Hinata's, black hair, and a black jacked that cut off just above his stomach.

"Yeah, this guy's definitely suspicious" growled Naruto. "He's wearing a Konoha headband. Who the hell is he?"

"We need to take him to Hokage-sama" replied Hinata, getting a nod from Naruto.

Before they had a chance to move though, about a dozen more lions emerged from a scroll that the attacker had just scribed something on. Looking at one another, Naruto and Hinata nodded before biting their thumbs.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Two puffs of smoke appeared and a Naruto-sized Gamakichi appeared along with a beautiful white tiger about the same size.

"Yo, what's up Naruto? You're all dressed up, got a hot date or something?" greeted Gamakichi.

"Well, I was on a date until we got jumped by that guy" said Naruto, pointing towards the pale attacker.

"I see. He should know better than to attack such a pretty lady then" glared Gamakichi before leaping into battle with the lions.

"Hinata-sama, how may I be of service?" spoke the tiger in a feminine voice.

"Nishiko, I need you and Gamakichi to take care of those beasts that attacked us while Naruto-kun and I capture their conjurer" ordered Hinata, earning a bow from the tigress before said tigress charged into battle and Naruto and Hinata made their own charge towards their attacker.

Naruto Rasenganed through one of the lions that got in their path while Hinata just spun and ducked underneath another one, only for that one to earn a vicious slash from Nishiko's claws.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu" called out Naruto, making three clones of himself as he closed in on the attacker, jumping and drawing the attention of his opponent.

The pale boy drew the tip-less tanto he had on his back and Naruto was wishing he had brought his sword with him, or at least one of his kunai. Still, Naruto sent his clones on a suicide attack to attempt to subdue the attacker. The attacker dodged the first two clones and used his blade to disperse the other two; however, the clones were never meant to subdue him. The pale attacker realized this just in time to avoid a chakra-infused strike from behind. Hinata's distraction gave Naruto the opportunity to land an open palm on the pale boys back.

"Fuin: Paralyzing Seal."

The attacker dropped to the ground as all mobility left his body, courtesy of Naruto's seal.

"Now, you won't be giving us any problems for some time. Let's go see Baachan" said Naruto.

"Naruto-kun!" shouted Hinata as she pointed towards the attacker, her eyes noticing something odd with his chakra. Indeed something was different as the attacker melted into a puddle of ink.

"What?! Damnit! Where the hell did that bastard go?!" exclaimed Naruto as he frantically tried to sense the pale boy. Turning to Hinata, the Hyuga beauty shook her head, not being able to see him with her Byakugan.

* * *

"Baachan!" shouted Naruto as he disregarded knocking on the door to the Hokage's office to simply barge right in. Despite it being nearly midnight, Tsunade was still at her desk, going over multiple files that Jiraiya and his spy network had just acquired.

"WHAT IS IT BRAT?! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M BUSY AND ON THE VERGE OF PASSING OUT?!" shouted the exhausted Hokage.

"Sorry for the interruption, Hokage-sama" bowed Hinata as she closely followed her boyfriend.

"Some bastard wearing a Konoha headband attacked us out of the blue!" rambled Naruto.

"What did you do now?" groaned Tsunade, figuring Naruto had done something to provoke this attack.

"Tsunade-sama, it wasn't Naruto-kun's fault. We were walking back from dinner when we were suddenly jumped by multiple lions made out of ink. We tried to apprehend the attacker but once Naruto-kun placed his paralyzing seal on the attacker, he turned to ink as well" explained Hinata, causing Tsunade to rub her temples in frustration. The last thing she needed at midnight was a potential spy in the village.

Tsunade made a quick signal with her hand and an ANBU appeared. A moment later, the ANBU disappeared, going to investigate the scene where Naruto and Hinata were attacked with hopes of finding the renegade.

Naruto's attention was quickly drawn to what was on Tsunade's desk, the picture from a certain snake's file catching his gaze. "Baachan?"

Tsunade nearly facepalmed herself for being so careless to leave the Orochimaru files open on her desk, but it was midnight and Naruto would most likely learn sooner or later. "Jiraiya just gave me the location of one of his bases." Tsunade saw that Naruto was about to speak, but stopped him before words could leave his mouth. "I know you want in, right?"

"Yes, please" replied Naruto. "Orochimaru has her and if there's a chance I can save her from Orochi-teme, I've gotta take it."

"Her?" asked a concerned Hinata.

"She's that Uzumaki I told you about from my trip to Uzu. To me, she's family, kind of like you and Neji see each other" replied Naruto. "There's no way I'm going to let Orochimaru continue keeping her captive any longer! –ttebayo!"

A warm smile appeared on Hinata's face. Naruto was right. To him, this Uzumaki girl was family, and considering Naruto hasn't known what having a family was like until his time in the Land of Iron, she understood how he felt completely. If that was Neji in Orochimaru's grasp, she would stop it nothing to save him from the snake as well. "Hokage-sama, I would also like to request being on the mission as well."

Tsunade thought for a moment on this. "Naruto, considering you're one of the few in this village who actually has experience dealing with Orochimaru and his experiments, I was going to assign you to the mission already" said Tsunade, earning a sincere 'thank you' from Naruto. "And now that I think of it, I think I might have a place for you on the mission teams Hinata. I won't guarantee you anything at this moment, but I'll call the team assigned to it for briefing tomorrow."

"I understand, Hokage-sama" replied Hinata.

"Good. Now get out of here! I'm tired and can't have a loud Gaki keeping me up all night!" shouted Tsunade, throwing them out of her office and passing out on her desk (this wasn't her first late night on the job recently).

* * *

"Good afternoon Sakura-chan" chirped Naruto as he passed his pink-haired teammate in the street the following day. Sakura seemed distracted by something and Naruto figured a simple cheerful greeting would help.

"Huh? Oh, hey Naruto" replied Sakura in a depressed voice.

"What's wrong Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto.

"He should have been back last night" replied Sakura. "Tsunade-shisho said they'd be back by week's end."

"You're talking about Sasuke, aren't you?" continued Naruto, getting a nod from Sakura. "Sakura-chan, I'll be completely honest, I never expected them to be back by week's end. This is Kakashi-sensei we're talking about."

"Kakashi would be late to his own funeral" said a familiar voice from behind Naruto and Sakura. Turning around, there was Kurenai and her team (minus Shino).

"Hinata-chan!" chirped Naruto, both of them still on cloud 9 from the previous night. Naruto received a warm smile from Hinata.

Sakura let out a disappointed sigh before laughing a bit. "I suppose you're right, Kurenai-sensei. Now that I think of it, I'd be worried someone was impersonating them if Kakashi-sensei was actually on time." _**"Cha! When Kakashi-sensei get's back I'm going to pound some punctuality into that tardy head of his!"**_

"Don't worry Sakura-chan, he'll be back soon and then maybe the two of you and me and Hinata could all go on a double date some time" suggested Naruto, pulling Hinata to his side.

"Perhaps. Hey speaking of dates, so how was it last night?" asked Sakura.

"It was amazing. I can't wait to go back" squealed Hinata. "Too bad we couldn't make another reservation sooner than 4 months from now."

"The wait on that place is insane" replied Kurenai. "And just so you know, Asuma and I have already reserved that building for the day of our wedding."

"Really?! That's going to be some wedding then!" exclaimed Hinata.

"Hey, I don't suppose we could move on from this little chat. Akamaru and I came to train, not to gossip" called out Kiba.

"Sorry Kiba-kun, we kind of got carried away here" apologized Hinata, rubbing the back of her head, much like the blonde next to her.

Unfortunately, before they could set out to the training ground, an ANBU appeared in front of the group. Said ANBU wore a cat-like mask with red and green markings. Behind the mask, you could tell that he had short brown hair. "Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, you are all to report with me to Hokage-sama for a mission briefing."

"All four of us? That's kind of a surprise. I wonder what the mission will be" asked Sakura. Naruto however, already had a good guess what the mission was about.

"Alright Akamaru! Time for some action" cheered Kiba, earning a bark from Akamaru. "You got that right. We're gonna kick some bastard's ass!"

"Sorry Kurenai-sensei" apologized Hinata.

"No worries. Good luck on your mission and I'll see you when you get back" replied Kurenai as the four chunin left to follow the ANBU to Tsunade's office.

* * *

"Enter!" called out Tsunade as she heard a knock on her office's door. The door opened and in walked the ANBU with Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Kiba following closely behind.

"Well if it isn't the Gaki. I see you're no longer a shrimp" called a familiar voice to Naruto. Looking over to the source of the voice, it was none other than the ex-Demon of the Hidden Mist, Momoichi Zabuza, Haku standing next to him.

"Zabuza? It's certainly been awhile. How come you didn't show up at the restaurant with Haku?" asked Naruto.

"You know the usual. Killing enemies, kicking asses…"

"You were hiding from Bushy-Brows-sensei, weren't you?" asked Naruto earning a sigh of defeat from Zabuza.

"I can't stand him anymore. Where is that bastard Kakashi?! I'm going to kill him the next time I see him for leaving me alone with that spandex freak!"

"Take a number and get in line" replied Sakura. "You're not the only one who has a bone to pick with him."

"Aww, is the big bad scarecrow keeping your precious boy toy away from you at night?" taunted Zabuza, causing a tick-mark to appear on Sakura's forehead and the sound of cracking knuckles to be heard throughout the office.

"Alright, that's enough everyone!" ordered Tsunade. "Now we're just missing one and we can get this started."

"Huh? Who are we missing?" asked Naruto.

"I don't know. Those mummies of advisors said they had a perfect person for this mission" replied Tsunade.

Flashback (earlier that morning)

Tsunade was going over files pertaining to the mission regarding Orochimaru when the two village elders, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homaru, entered her office without knocking.

"Can I help you?" asked an obviously irritated Tsunade. She had not gotten much sleep and she was trying to put all her attention into this Orochimaru mission.

"It has come to our attention that you are planning on sending Naruto on a mission" stated Homaru. "You know he's no ordinary child. He's one of our valuable jinchuriki."

"_One of…damnit! How the hell did they find out?"_ thought Tsunade. Naruto's status as a jinchuriki was actually widely known throughout the older generations in the village, but Tsunade had fought hard to keep Fu's jinchuriki status on a 'need-to-know only basis'. In short, that meant that the only ones who knew were the clan heads, the Aburame clan, her group of friends, and her team once she was placed on a team until she became chunin. She had never intended for the elders to get a hold of that bit of information.

"And yes, we are aware of the presence of the jinchuriki of the Nanabi in this village. And while we are pleased that you have acquired a valuable power for the village, you should not have kept us in the dark" explained Koharu. "But back to the matter regarding Naruto. Because he's a jinchuriki, we need to keep him here, where we can keep an eye on him to ensure that nothing happens to disrupt the seal, or he gets captured be some enemy. Surely it won't be too long before Akatsuki begins making their move."

"_Thankfully, it sounds like they aren't aware of the status of Naruto's relationship with the Kyuubi"_ thought Tsunade. Them getting a hold of that, would possible be the worst thing that could happen to Naruto at this point in time. If they found out Naruto had full control over the Kyuubi's power, they'd do everything imaginable to bend that power to their will. "I understand your concerns, but keeping Naruto locked in the village would be a waste. Even you have to admit that before he left, Naruto was already proving himself as a capable shinobi, and based on the reports from my teammate, Naruto's abilities have only improved drastically. I won't put those abilities of his to waste when they can be better put towards something important, like taking out a significant threat to Konoha."

"Besides, what if Akatsuki came after Naruto? He would be here in the village when Akatsuki attacked, putting numerous people in danger. He can be better protected in the field with his team when there's no one around to become an unnecessary casualty. Not to mention, he will be constantly moving if he's on missions, making it harder for Akatsuki to get a lock on his current location" explained Tsunade.

"And what if you're wrong and one of our enemies get a hold of the Kyuubi? Or what if Iwa sends an even stronger strike team to assassinate him? He's in the books now, placing an even bigger target on him" argued Homaru. "What will you do if he does get himself captured or killed? What if our enemies gain a significant advantage over us?"

"Then I'll do what I must to ensure the safety of Konoha. As Godaime Hokage, I'll even put my life on the line if that means saving a single life. Besides, I know Naruto better than you ever will and I can assure you he won't fail" declared Tsunade. "And in the end, I AM HOKAGE. You can tell me to keep Naruto in the village all you want, but he falls under MY jurisdiction. You two may not fall under the same category as the Civillian Council, but you don't have the powers to encroach into my territory."

"That may be, but we do have some powers. We will choose a member to add to Naruto's team" conceded Homaru.

"But Naruto's already a part of a four-man team" stated Tsunade. "Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke may not have returned yet, but they are still the third and fourth members on the team."

"Well then perhaps this will give you an opportunity to experiment with that idea you had regarding adding a fifth member to teams" stated Koharu.

Tsunade growled a bit as the mummies had just used one of her better ideas (besides placing a medic on every squad) against her. Tsunade was thinking of making 5-man teams out of the Konoha 15 and their senseis, sending four members of each team out on missions while keeping the fifth back in Konoha on standby. This would allow for some flexibility in team formation depending on what the mission required, give one member a chance to rotate between a period of rest where they could work on honing their own skills, and if need be, form a back-up or relief squad out of the four fifths on standby.

"Fine…" growled the busty Hokage.

"Very well, enter…Danzo" called out Koharu.

End Flashback

"Tenzo, you can remove your mask. You're being reassigned to the regular forces for the time being" said Tsunade to the masked ANBU present. Everyone watched as the ANBU nodded and removed his mask, revealing a man to be in his mid/late twenties wearing a happuri-style forehead protector, kind of like the Nidaime. "Also, you'll be known as Yamato for the duration of your assignment."

"I understand, Hokage-sama" replied Yamato.

"I also want you and Naruto to remain here after the mission briefing for a moment" said Tsunade.

"Hai" replied Naruto and Yamato before a knock was heard on the door. Tsunade called for the person to enter and everyone turned to see who the final member of the team was.

"Hello" called out the final member with a creepy smile.

"YOU!" shouted Naruto with a shocked look on Hinata's face. "Baachan, that's the bastard who attacked us last night!"

"He's also the final member of the team" stated Tsunade. It was obvious that she wasn't too fond of the pale boy either.

"WHAT?! You can't be serious Baachan!" argued Naruto. "He attacked me and Hinata-chan. He should be arrested and taken to the interrogation!"

"I apologize about that. I just wanted to gauge my new team member's abilities" spoke the boy. "And I must say I was disappointed at how weak you were. Do you have any balls at all?"

…

Hinata instantly went bright red at the mention of Naruto's genitals and everyone else was now trying to hold back a raging Naruto who now wanted to kill the pale boy more than before.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY?!" raged Naruto as he struggled against his restraints, trying to get to the boy who was simply smiling. "HOW ABOUT I KICK YOUR ASS AGAIN AND THEN WE'LL SEE WHOS SMILING!"

"ENOUGH!" shouted Tsunade. "Insults and threats aside, there's a mission at hand."

"Our intelligence has discovered the existence of one of Orochimaru's larger bases in the Land of Sea. About a week ago, we received a mission request from a village in the Land of Sea, ranked as a C rank mission, to investigate the disappearance of a number of fishermen. However, with the recent discovery of Orochimaru's activity, we believe the two to be connected. As such, this mission is no longer a C rank and is A rank at the very minimum, S rank if by some chance you encounter Orochimaru himself. The objectives of this mission are as follows: You are to investigate the base and determine what it is that Orochimaru is up to. You are also to find the missing fishermen and rescue any prisoners you may be able to find amongst the base. We believe this base to be one of Orochimaru's main bases that focus on bloodlines. What exactly he is doing with them is for you to find out. Now given that Orochimaru is involved, it is very likely that some of his prisoners are beyond saving; however, should you encounter any prisoners that can be saved, you will do such" explained Tsunade.

"There are also a few individuals that you are to try and discover the locations of." Tsuande held up a few pictures. "The first is Yakushi Kabuto, Orochimaru's right-hand man. He is an A-rank threat, at least, to this village and a dangerous opponent. If it is possible, capture him and return him to the village for interrogation. The second is Orochimaru himself. An S-rank ninja and even with your team, it would be ill-advised to engage him. The last of these three is a girl who we believe to be of the Uzumaki clan."

"Wait, you mean like Naruto?" asked Sakura.

"Yes. As it stands, Orochimaru does hold someone with Uzumaki blood, and while her access to the Uzushiogakure libraries has been restricted thanks to Jiraiya, but should Orochimaru find a way to break through Jiraiya's barrier seals, then the knowledge he will have access to will most definitely prove detrimental to the village" stated Tsunade. "Just to give you an idea, the Uzumakis were allies with Konoha and many of the seals this village uses in forms of protection is derived from the Uzumaki sealing arts. Should Orochimaru get a hold of some of the sealing knowledge inside that library, it is very likely he will find a way to bypass many of our defenses."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

"As for the girl, we have no idea whether she is actually working for Orochimaru willingly, or if she was forced into his service as a prisoner" stated Tsunade. "For the moment, assume the former, but capture and secure her and bring her back to the village and we will sort out her role in Orochimaru's service here."

"Now I'm sure you're wondering why there are eight of you here, when a typical team is composed of a three or four-man cell" asked Tsunade, earning a nod from a few. "In short, there's going to be two teams. I would have preferred to have sent Teams Kakashi and Kurenai, but seeing as Kurenai is now on maternity leave, Shino is away on clan business, and Kakashi is who knows where with Sasuke, I had to improvise a little. There's going to be a search and retrieval team who is responsible for locating and liberating any prisoners, as well as obtaining any valuable information regarding Orochimaru's operations. That team will consist of Haruno Sakura, Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Sai." Tsunade pointed at the newcomer. "Now, considering this is Orochimaru we are dealing with, opposition is to be expected. Uzumaki Naruto, Yuki Haku, Momoichi Zabuza, and Yamato will be assigned to the strike team. Your job is to eliminate any opposition you may encounter. Of course, the most troubling enemy you could face is Orochimaru himself, but it is highly likely you will encounter some of his Curse Seal test subjects. All four of you have some level of experience dealing with Orochimaru's Curse Seal ninja and his henchmen."

"Hai!" saluted everyone upon learning their assignments.

"Lastly, Yamato will be the team leader with Haruno Sakura acting as lead of the search team should the teams become separated" stated Tsunade. "Now, you are all dismissed. You'll depart for the Land of Sea tomorrow. It should be about a 3-4 day trip so I expect the mission will take about two weeks."

Everyone bowed before leaving the room, except for Yamato and Naruto.

"Do you want to do it, or should I?" Tsunade asked Naruto as the blonde jinchuriki activated his own form of privacy seals on the office. "Now Yamato, there's a secondary mission I have for you."

"Given who is on my team, I assume you want me to keep an eye on the Kyuubi and ensure Naruto doesn't lose control" said Yamato.

"**Hmph, figures"** snorted Kurama, momentarily taking control.

"So you must be Kurama" asked Tsunade, getting a nod from Kurama. Despite Naruto reporting back with Jiraiya, and Naruto being in the village for a week, she had yet to actually talk to Kurama himself.

"**Tell me you're not actually having this human play the part of your little watchdog. I already said that I'm not a threat to your village unless you do something to betray the Kit"** said Kurama. Now, Yamato was confused.

"Oh that's right. Yamato, meet Kurama. You probably know him as the Kyuubi" said Tsunade, acquainting the two. Immediately, Yamato stiffened.

"K-K-KYUUBI?!" he shouted before four wooden pillars shot up, surrounding the Naruto-form Kurama. This immediately caused Kurama to raise an eyebrow.

"**A wood user, eh? Haven't seen one of those since the Shodai. So I take it you really don't trust me?"** asked Kurama.

"I've looked through and analyzed everything from the Yondaime's notes from that night to everything Jiraiya and Naruto have told me. While I'll admit I'm still a little weary, I'm convinced you won't try anything funny" assured Tsunade. "And no, Yamato is not here to 'keep you under control'."

"I'm not?" asked a now dumbfounded Yamato.

Tsunade shook her head. "This is to remain a secret. Most of the team you have been assigned to already knows, but Sai does not and I want to keep it that way. You see, the elders and Danzo forced my hand and as a result, Sai was added to the team. He's from the ROOT division of ANBU, under the command of Danzo. I've been trying to usurp Danzo's control over his little ANBU regimen, but with little success. Your mission Yamato, is to keep an eye on Sai. I suspect Danzo has another agenda, which would explain why he was so interested in getting one of his agents on the team. You're also there to act as a cover for Naruto and Kurama. Danzo doesn't know that Naruto can utilize the Kyuubi's power to its fullest and I intend to keep it that way."

"I see…" replied Yamato, looking over at Naruto/Kurama.

"Naruto, you already understand not to use too much of Kurama's powers unless it's as a last resort" said Tsunade, getting a nod from Naruto. "I need you to be extra careful on how you use that power around Sai or anyone for now on. I suspect Danzo's going to try to make a move soon to try and sway you under his control."

"I see. I guess that means I'll have to be extra careful then as well whenever I let Kurama take control" replied Naruto.

"You let the Kyuubi control you on a regular basis?" gulped Yamato.

"Sure. I let him get yakitori earlier for lunch, although I would have preferred ramen" replied Naruto nonchalantly.

"Hokage-sama, you are serious about me not having to worry about the Kyuubi?" asked Yamato once again.

"Believe me, it was a surprise to me at first as well, but you'll get used to it. Kurama's on our side" said Tsunade, handing Yamato a few papers. "Those detail the whole Kyuubi attack 15 years ago. Kurama wasn't behind the attack, he was controlled by a man the Yondaime believed to be Uchiha Madara, or someone with a similar power as Madara."

Yamato took a moment to look over the documents. "I see. This is troubling then" commented Yamato. "So I'm to keep an eye on Sai and help to hide the fact that Naruto and the Kyuubi…"

"**I would prefer it if you refer to me by my name"** commented Kurama.

"Sorry, Kurama is it?" asked Yamato, getting a nod from Kurama. "So I'm to keep an eye on Sai and to help hide the fact that Naruto can fully control Kurama's powers, alongside the regular mission objectives?"

"Correct."

* * *

_**Jutsu**_

**Fuinjutsu: Paralyzing Seal**: The seal applied immobilizes the target's movements. **Rank:** B; **Users:** Naruto, Jiraiya

* * *

_**Author Notes**_

**First, I apologize it took me so long to get this chapter out. **

**Second, I hate to do this, but this is a good point in the story for me to do such. July is a big vacation month for me and I am leaving for a few weeks just after the 4****th**** of July. As such, I won't have time to write. Due to this, my stories will be on a short hiatus until the first week or two in August. I promise I'm not abandoning anything and the little break will also give me some time to think on how exactly I want these first few arcs of the story to go. This will be the last chapter before my vacation for this story and I will get one more chapter for ****Rewriting the Past**** up before I leave (I may also get ****A Sealed Memory**** updated if I have time). Again, I promise I'm not just leaving you guys hanging and I'll be back in the beginning of August 2013. Thank you for understanding and apologies for the inconvenience.**

**This concludes the reintroduction chapters of Book 3. Sasuke and Kakashi will return after this first arc. The next 3-4 chapters will cover this Orochimaru arc and things will pick up a little.**

**Well, I'll leave it there for now. I'll answer some reviews/comments with the next chapter. **


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